2008-01-08 Release Summary

1. Installment Summary

ClickBank is pleased to announce the availability of installment payments. Broaden your product offering by allowing customers to purchase and access a single product, but spread out the payments over a period of time after the purchase. ClickBank will automatically bill customers according to the terms you specify during installment product setup.

If you have comments or suggestions about installments or how we can further improve the site in general, please send an email to feedback@clickbank.com.

2. How Installments Work

ClickBank's product management tools make managing installment-based transactions easy. ClickBank will communicate with you and your customer each step of the way. Plus, the information that is gathered throughout the process is summarized in installment reporting, allowing you to manage your installment customers with ease.

In order to best explain how to use installments first the "rules" outlining its use are defined and then step-by-step instructions for implementation are detailed. Next, a discussion of what publishers, affiliates, and customers will see. Lastly, the notifications and reporting that are available are described.

2.1 Installment Rules

The following business rules apply to ClickBank installment products and services. Each rule was put in place to maximize your successful use of the program. Please be sure to review them prior to implementing an installment product. Installments are a subset of our existing recurring billing functionality. As such, each of the rules is also outlined in the Recurring Billing FAQ areas of ClickBank.com.

Installment Product Fields

Installment products will consist of the following fields:

• Test Mode - When selected, test mode allows publishers to make a test purchase without incurring any charges. Publishers will need to deselect this feature in order to begin collecting payments from customers.

• Thank You Page URL - The URL where the publisher provides instructions on how to retrieve the product. In most cases, the product is also delivered immediately on the Thank You Page URL.

• Item - Each product is assigned an item number between 1 and 500, which is how the system knows where to send the consumer upon completion of a successful purchase.

• Product Title - The publisher selects a title, limited to 70 characters, for each installment product. This title will appear on the ClickBank order form, not in the ClickBank Marketplace.

• Product Description - The publisher selects a description, limited to 250 characters, for each installment product. This description will appear on the ClickBank order form, not in the ClickBank Marketplace.

• Installment Price - The price the customer pays per installment for the purchase of the product. The minimum installment price is $7.95.

• Frequency - The timeframe for which rebilling will occur. The initial frequency allowed for installments is monthly.

• Duration - The total number of times a customer is billed, including the initial payment and all rebills (i.e. 2-4). The installment payment feature allows up to four equal monthly payments.

Commission

Commissions range from 1% to 75% and are determined by the publisher of the product. The minimum commission for a single sale is $0.25, and the maximum is $100.00. If you are selling an installment product, affiliates will earn commission for each installment. The commission rate offered at the time of the initial payment remains the same for all future installments. Keep in mind that all installment payments are required to be equal. If an installment product is cancelled, we award no future commissions.

Installment Markup Model

For products sold in installments, ClickBank purchases the product from the publisher at a wholesale price. The wholesale price is equal to 92.5% of retail, less a $1 stocking charge per installment. Here is an example of how commissions would be calculated if a publisher offered a 55% commission for a product sold as a 4-month installment with a per installment price of $25.00:

Supported Frequencies

The initial frequency allowed for installments is monthly.

Payment Types

The payment types allowed for installments are credit card and PayPal.

Product Approval

Every installment product must go through the product approval process.

Payment Process Timing

This section describes normal timing, unavailable date timing, and payment failure process timing for installment payments.

Normal Timing

The following is an example of normal payment timing:

Unavailable Date Timing

If you have a subscription payment scheduled for a day that does not occur in a given month (e.g. the 30th does not occur in February), the bill will occur on the last available day of the month. Thereafter, the payment will occur on the newly established day of the month

The following is an example of unavailable date timing:

Payment Failure Timing

Unlike many of our competitors, we don't give up after one payment failure. ClickBank understands that scheduled payments may fail for several reasons, including insufficient funds, so we have optimized our installment process to reduce authorization declines and increase your revenue.

Authorization Failures

In the event that customer's credit card cannot support the payment request, we will attempt authorization again three days after the first failure date. After a second failure, we will reattempt four days after the second failure date. After a third failure, we will try once more seven days after the third failure date. A fourth failure will lead to an automatic cancellation of the installment purchase. We send notifications to the customer and publisher on the final two attempts.

The following is an example of payment failure timing due to an authorization failure:

Card Validation Failure

In the event that customer's credit card becomes invalid, we will deliver the customer up to four notifications requesting new credit card data. The notifications are delivered once a week. If there is no response after the fourth notice, the installment purchase is automatically canceled. In order to keep the publisher informed, we also send them each notification. If updated credit card data is received from the customer, the installments from that point forward are executed from the date of the successful authorization.

The following is an example of payment failure timing due to a card validation failure:

Returns

The return policy for installments allows for the most recent payment to be returned. Multiple payment returns can be provided as long as they are within the standard 8 week return period. A refund will also result in a cancellation of future installment payments.

Cancellation

Upon receipt of an installment cancellation request, ClickBank will encourage the completion of installment terms, but installments may be canceled at any time. A cancellation means that no future installments are charged to the customer's account. A cancellation does not necessarily generate a refund.

Installment Term Modifications

Other than the product description, changes to an installment product are not permitted. If you wish to change the price of a product for future sales, you will need to create a new product in the "My Products" section of your account. If a change is made to an installment product, it will not affect any installments that are currently in progress. All installment terms are captured at the time of purchase and preserved for the life of the installment.

2.2 Getting Started

This section defines how to create, test, and request approval for your installment product or service.

1. Go to "My Account" and login to your ClickBank account.
2. Click on the "Account Settings" tab.
3. Click on "My Products".
4. Click on the "Recurring Billing Products" tab.
5. Click "Add New Product".
6. Select "Installment" in the product type radio button
7. Add the necessary data to the adding a product window (see Screenshot 2.2.1).
Screenshot 2.2.1

8. Click "Save Changes".
9. The system will assign a "Pending Approval Request" status to the product.
10. Test the product:
    1. Click on "My Products" under the "Account Settings" tab.
    2. Click on "Edit" located in the "Action" column for the product you would like to test.
    3. Click in the "Test Mode" box to enable testing for the product. Testing is enabled if the box shows a checkmark in the box.
    4. Click "Save Changes".
    5. Go to the Pitch Page for the product you want to test, and click through the payment link which should take you to the ClickBank order form.
    6. Enter information into each field of the order form. You can use fictional information or you can use valid information; nothing is charged to your account. Click the button to complete the purchase.
    7. Verify the information on the order confirmation page. Click through to download your product, which should take you to the correct Thank You Page URL for the product you are testing.
    8. Click back to "My Products" under the "Account Settings" tab in your ClickBank account.
    9. Click on "Edit" located in the "Action" column for the product you just tested.
    10. Disable "Test Mode".
    11. Click "Save Changes".
11. Request product approval by clicking "request approval" in the action column of the recurring billing product listing.
12. Fill out the "Request Product Approval" form (see Screenshot 2.2.2).
    Screenshot 2.2.2
    
13. Verify the information and provide additional data if necessary.
14. Click "Submit Product Approval Request" at the bottom of the form.
15. The system will assign a status of "Approval Requested" (see Screenshot 2.2.3).
Screenshot 2.2.3

16. A team member from the ClickBank product approval department will review your site and product information to determine if it is approved or disapproved as an installment product (see Screenshot 2.2.4).
    1. If approved, the system will update the product status to "Approved"
    2. If disapproved, the system will update the product status to "Disapproved"
Screenshot 2.2.4

17. Once approved, be sure "Test Mode" is disabled before you begin your marketing efforts:
    1. Click back to "My Products" under the "Account Settings" tab in your ClickBank account.
    2. Check to see if there is an "x" in the "Test Mode" column for the product(s) that you are ready to begin selling. If there is an "x", you are still in "Test Mode".
    3. Click on "edit" located in the "Action" column for the products you have tested and are ready to begin selling.
    4. Disable by unchecking the "Test Mode" box.
    5. Click "Save Changes".

2.3 During the Purchase

What the Customer Sees

This section outlines how customers will interact with both your installment product or service and ClickBank during the initial purchase and the remainder of the future installments.

1. The customer arrives at your product's Pitch Page and clicks the installment product paylink.
2. The customer is taken to the ClickBank installment order form where he/she is required to enter thier payment information (see Screenshot 2.3.1).
3. Once the customer clicks the checkout button, the initial payment is authorized.
Screenshot 2.3.1

4. Once the customer's payment information is authorized, he is sent to the order confirmation page, which leads to your Thank You Page (see Screenshot 2.3.2).
Screenshot 2.3.2

5. ClickBank delivers an email notification to the customer summarizing the purchase (see Screenshot 2.2.3).
Screenshot 2.3.3

6. On the next scheduled payment date, ClickBank automatically authorizes payment information for the installment transaction.
7. Once the customer's payment information is authorized, ClickBank delivers an email notification to the customer to inform him of the installment payment (see Screenshot 2.3.4).
   Note: Please refer to the installment rules for notification delivery logic (see Section 2.1).
Screenshot 2.3.4

8. Notifications will continue until the term of the installment has expired or until the customer cancels the installment purchase.

What the Publisher Sees

This section outlines what you can expect to see during a customer's purchase of your installment product or service.

1. The customer arrives at your product's Pitch Page and clicks the installment product paylink.
2. The customer is taken to the ClickBank installment order form where he/she is required to enter thier payment information.
3. Once they click the checkout button, the payment information is authorized.
4. Once the client's payment information is authorized, they are sent to the order confirmation page, which leads them to your Thank You Page.
5. ClickBank delivers an email notification to you, alerting you of the purchase (see Screenshot 2.3.5) and an entry is logged in your account's transaction detail (see Screenshot 2.3.6).
Screenshot 2.3.5

Screenshot 2.3.6

6. On the next scheduled payment date, ClickBank automatically authorizes payment information for the installment amount.
7. Once the customer's payment information is authorized for the rebill (see Screenshot 2.3.7), ClickBank delivers an email notification to inform you of the installment payment (see Screenshot 2.3.8) and an entry is logged in your account's transaction detail.
   Note: Please refer to the business rules for notification delivery logic (see Section 2.1).
Screenshot 2.3.7

Screenshot 2.3.8

8. Notifications will continue until the term of the installment has expired or until the customer cancels the installment purchase.

2.4 The Marketplace

In order to accommodate recurring billing subscriptions, the Marketplace listings featured two new fields. The same fields are leveraged for installment products. The fields and their descriptions are listed below:

Marketplace Statistic Examples

2.5 Email Notifications and Reporting

This section outlines how publishers and affiliates access or are notified of activity for installment transactions. You can retrieve information about your installment product transactions from email notifications (publishers only) or via the information available on the reporting tab.

Email Notifications

Email notifications are sent to the publisher for the following installment product actions.

• Initial installment transaction
• Rebill installment transaction
• Refund
• Cancellation
• Technical support
• Chargeback
• Credit card update

Notifications for installments are delivered after the installment transaction has occurred, not before.

Reporting

Transaction Search

Installment transaction records can be located in transaction search for the following actions.

• Initial installment transaction
• Rebill installment transaction
• Refund
• Chargeback

The initial transaction for installment product sales will appear in the "Txn Type" column as "Sale - RB" and rebill installment transactions will appear in the column as "Rebill". An additional indicator has been placed in the receipt column value, which will follow the traditional receipt with a "-@###" value ("@###" that represents the rebill number within the installment term). For example:

The first, second, and third transaction receipts would look like this: (see Screenshot 2.5.1)

Analytics: Recurring Billing Subscriptions & Installments

Summary level information about each of your subscriptions and installments has been provided to help manage your recurring billing programs. The report summarizes the status, number of processed and unprocessed payments, and the contact information for each purchase (see Screenshot 2.5.2). The subscription or installment detail may also be retrieved by simply clicking the hyperlinked receipt in the subscription & installment report (see Screenshot 2.5.3).