ClubPal Payments Are Changing

We're making some significant improvements to how payments work on ClubPal. Two changes are coming, both designed to save your club money and make life easier for members who book on behalf of family or other linked profiles.

Here's everything you need to know.

1. Lower processing fees for every club

ClubPal is switching payment providers. This means we'll no longer be processing card payments through Stripe and Square; instead, all transactions will move to a single new provider behind the scenes.

What this means for you: every club will pay less than they do today, regardless of transaction volume, so you keep more of every payment your members make. On a £50 booking you keep £48.05 instead of £47.80, and on a £100 payment you keep £96.30 instead of £95.80. Across a season of subscriptions, session fees and event tickets, that adds up.

When is this happening?

The switch goes live on 15th September 2026. In the weeks before that, you'll need to complete a short onboarding process; this includes confirming your club's bank account details and identity verification. We'll be in touch with step-by-step instructions and a deadline well ahead of the switchover.

This part isn't optional: from 15th September, clubs that haven't completed onboarding won't be able to take payments until they do. Members won't be able to pay for sessions, memberships or tickets in the meantime, so please don't leave it to the last week.

How much will I save?

Today, your club pays two separate fees on every transaction: a card processing fee (charged by Stripe or Square) and ClubPal's own fee. After the switch, these are combined into one simple flat rate: 20p + 3.5% per transaction.

Today's figures are based on Stripe (20p + 1.5% card fee + 2.5% ClubPal fee) and Square (25p + 1.4% card fee + 2.5% ClubPal fee). The new combined fee replaces both of these with a single flat rate.

How do refunds work?

When you issue a refund, the whole fee is returned to your club, in proportion to the amount refunded: refund a payment in full and all of it comes back, refund half and half of it comes back.

That includes the part of the fee covering the cost of processing the card payment. The card networks and payment provider keep that cost whether or not the payment is later refunded, so ClubPal absorbs it rather than passing it on to your club. Most platforms do not, which is why a refund elsewhere still leaves the club out of pocket on a session that never happened.

The rate itself is lower too. The combined fee is less than the two fees you pay today, so your club keeps more of every payment it takes and loses nothing on the ones it gives back.

Refunds are still issued the same way, from Admin > Payments > Dashboard, with both full and partial refunds supported. See the refunds documentation for the step by step.

Payments taken before 15th September can still be refunded from the same dashboard after the switchover. ClubPal sends those refunds back through the provider that originally took the payment, so there's nothing different for you to do and no separate system to log into.

A new option: pass the fee on to your members

Many clubs already build payment processing costs into their pricing. From the switchover, you'll have a built-in option to transparently pass the processing fee on to the member at checkout instead, rather than adjusting your prices to absorb it. Whether you absorb the fee or pass it on is entirely your choice.

The setting applies to all payments your club takes: session fees, memberships, event tickets and facility hire alike, rather than being switched on for some and off for others. If you pass the fee on, the member sees it as a separate line before they confirm, and a refund returns what they paid for the session, membership or ticket itself.

When will I receive my payments?

Payouts run daily, Monday to Friday, on a two-working-day basis. For example, a payment taken on Monday will reach your bank account on Wednesday. This is comparable to Stripe's standard settlement terms, so you shouldn't notice any disruption to your cash flow.

Any balance still held by Stripe or Square at the switchover is paid out to you as normal, on their usual payout schedule. Nothing is stranded and there's nothing you need to claim.

Will I lose my payment history?

No. Your payments dashboard and reporting continue to show everything your club has taken, before and after the switch, in one place.

Will saved cards still work?

No. Card details are stored securely with the payment provider itself, not by ClubPal, so saved cards won't carry across to the new provider. Members will need to re-enter their card details the next time they make a payment after the switchover. This is a one-time step; once added, the card will be saved again for future use. Members that use Apple Pay or Google Pay will not be affected by this change.

What about auto-renewing memberships and passes?

Auto-renewal relies on a saved card, so a renewal that falls due after the switchover needs the member to have added their card to the new provider first. If a renewal is attempted and there's no valid card on file, the renewal won't go through and we'll email the member to ask them to add one.

We'll be prompting members to re-add their card at their first payment after the switchover, but if your club has memberships renewing in the days just after 15th September, it's worth a heads-up to those members so their renewal isn't interrupted.

2. A smoother experience for managed profiles

If your club uses ClubPal's profile management feature (where one account holder manages bookings for linked family members or other members), we've made some changes that make payments work more consistently, and which lay the groundwork for a future improvement: a shared cart that lets members book and pay for multiple sessions, for themselves or any linked profile, in a single checkout.

What's changing:

• Payment cards are now always stored against the main account holder, not against an individual profile. This means a card added while booking for yourself is automatically available when booking for any linked profile, and vice versa.
• All charges for bookings made on behalf of a managed profile are taken from the account owner's card, since the account owner is the person responsible for payment.
• Receipts for these bookings now show the account owner as the payer, matching what appears on their card statement.

What you and your members need to know:

• If a member previously added a card while viewing a managed profile, that card may no longer appear. They'll need to re-add it once to their main account; after that, it'll be available across all profiles they manage.
• New memberships and passes purchased on behalf of a managed profile will now renew using the account owner's saved card, rather than relying on the profile having its own card on file. Existing memberships and passes purchased before this update are unaffected and will continue renewing exactly as they do today.

This is a behind-the-scenes improvement first; most members won't notice anything beyond cards being easier to manage. It's also a building block toward shared cart checkout, which will let members book and pay for several sessions, across multiple profiles, in one go, reducing the number of separate transactions (and fees) your club pays.

FAQ

Will this cost me more?

No. Every club will save money under the new fee structure, though the exact amount depends on your transaction volume and average booking size. You'll also have the new option to pass the processing fee on to members at checkout.

What happens to fees when I issue a refund?

The whole fee is returned to your club, in proportion to the amount refunded. That includes the part covering card processing, which ClubPal absorbs rather than passing on to you. Refund a payment in full and the fee comes back in full, so a cancelled booking costs your club nothing.

Can I still refund payments taken before the switch?

Yes, from the same payments dashboard as always. ClubPal automatically routes those refunds back through whichever provider took the original payment, so there's no separate system to log into. Refunds on those payments follow the fee arrangement that applied when the payment was taken.

What happens if my club doesn't finish onboarding in time?

Payments stop working until you connect. From 15th September, your club won't be able to take payments through ClubPal, including sessions, memberships and tickets, until onboarding is complete and your bank account is connected with the new provider. There's no grace period, so it's worth starting as soon as we send the instructions rather than waiting for the deadline.

When will I receive my payments?

Payouts are daily, Monday to Friday, on a two-working-day basis. A payment taken on Monday is paid out on Wednesday. This is in line with Stripe's standard settlement terms. Any balance left with Stripe or Square at the switchover is paid out on their usual schedule.

Will members' saved cards still work after the switch?

No. Card details are stored with the payment provider, not ClubPal, so saved cards won't transfer. Members will need to re-add their card once after the switchover.

What do I need to do before 15th September 2026?

Complete the onboarding process for your club, including bank account details and identity verification. We'll send full instructions and a deadline ahead of time.

Will auto-renewing memberships still renew after the switch?

Only once the member has a card saved with the new provider. Renewals falling due shortly after 15th September may need the member to add their card first; if there's no valid card on file, the renewal won't go through and we'll email the member.

Does the managed profiles change affect my club's existing memberships?

No. Memberships and passes purchased before this update will continue to renew exactly as they do today. Only new purchases made after the update use the account owner's card for renewals.

What happens next

We'll be sending onboarding instructions to all clubs in the coming weeks, with a clear deadline ahead of the 15th September switchover. Keep an eye out for emails and in-app announcements with everything you need to get set up.