What are Amazon Payments?
Amazon Payments is a way for people to securely send and receive money. Read more about Amazon Payments.
On Meetup.com it is a way for Organizers to charge members to attend their Meetups and receive sponsorship payments - to cover their costs, pay for venues, or generally make their Meetup Groups strong organizations.
How do Amazon Payments work?
If you want to charge your members to attend a Meetup using Amazon
Payments, simply create a Meetup, select the check box next to "charge
members to attend this Meetup," decide on an amount to charge your
members, state your refund policy, and that’s it.
If your group is participating in a sponsorship brought to you by Meetup HQ paying Organizers money, Amazon Payments is how you can get your money.
Are Amazon Payments optional?
Yes, Organizers can choose to use Amazon Payments for their Meetup Groups.
Why did Meetup integrate with Amazon Payments?
Meetup HQ wanted to make it easier for Organizers to charge their
members to attend their Meetups and receive sponsor support. It's not
easy organizing Meetups and sometimes people need help: to cover their
costs, reserve a venue, whatever! So we integrated with Amazon Payments
to give Organizers and members more options. If you use PayPal you can
continue to do so. We didn't change how PayPal works.
When scheduling Meetups with Amazon Payments organizers will be able to:
1. Require that members pay in order to rsvp. We have learned
from Organizers that if members pay to RSVP, they are more likely to
show up
2. Both members and Organizers will get to see detailed transaction information on the Meetup.com site
3. Refunds are super simple with just one click
4. If Organizers don't select the "require payment to RSVP" option, Organizers will be able to manually add offline payments
When participating in a sponsorship Organizers will automatically receive their scheduled payments through Amazon Payments. Learn more about Meetup HQ sponsorships here.
How much does it cost to use Amazon Payments?
Setting up an Amazon Payments Account or an Amazon Payments Business
Account is free. To pay for a Meetup with Amazon Payments, there are
transaction fees. Learn more about fees.
What does it mean to "Charge members to attend this Meetup"?
Checking this option when you're creating a Meetup means that you're
asking that your members pay to attend your Meetup. How much they pay
is totally up to you, the Organizer!
Why would I want to charge my members to attend my Meetups?
You may want to cover your costs, reserve a venue, pay yourself or your
assistant organizers. You know your Meetup Group best – so it’s up to
you. Plus, we’ve learned over the years from Organizers that charging
members to attend means they're more likely to show up.
What does "require payment to RSVP" mean and how does it reduce no-shows?
If you check this box when you’re setting up your Meetup, it means that
your members will have to pay using Amazon Payments at the time they
RSVP. If you don’t check this box, it means members can RSVP as usual,
then pay later – using Amazon Payments, or whatever method you’re
willing to accept.
How does this reduce no-shows? We've learned from Organizers that members are more likely to show up if they must pay in order to RSVP.
Where does the money go that is collected using Amazon Payments?
The money the Organizer collects goes to the Organizer’s Amazon Payments Business Account.
Can I still use Paypal?
Of course! We didn't change how PayPal works. You can continue to use it as you've always used it.
Why is Amazon Payments in "beta"?
Amazon Payments is in beta because the Amazon Web Services technology Meetup integrated with is also in beta. (Go here to learn more Amazon Web Services.) "Beta" means it's a new product that is still evolving.
Is there a maximum charge can I ask my members to pay?
Yes, currently, Organizers can't charge their members more than $1000 to attend a Meetup.
Tell me more about Amazon Payments!
Learn more about Amazon Payments.
