Payments
The Payments tab at Ignition → Settings → Payments lists every payment method Ignition can use, along with each one’s current state. The listing is a summary: you set a method up, and switch it on, on its own Configure screen. The Offline method is bundled with Core and ships enabled; gateway add-ons appear in the same listing as soon as they are installed and activated.
Gateway listing
Section titled “Gateway listing”Each row in the listing shows:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Method | The method’s name (e.g., Offline payments) and a one-line description. |
| Status | A badge that reflects the method’s current state — see Status badges below. |
| Pledges | The number of pledges and the total amount recorded against this method, sitewide, for your current view mode. In Live view the figures cover live pledges only; in Test view they cover test pledges only, and a line above the table explains the zeros when no test pledges exist yet. The figures come from succeeded payments, so a pledge canceled after its payment succeeded still counts. See Live and Test view. |
| Actions | A Configure → link to the method’s own screen, where its settings and its on/off switch live. |
The Offline method is always present. Additional methods appear when their add-on plugin is active — for example, the Ignition PayPal Gateway add-on adds online PayPal and card payments.
Status badges
Section titled “Status badges”The Status column uses one of four badges:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Not configured | The method is registered but missing required configuration. Its switch stays locked off until you complete the setup on its Configure screen. |
| Required | The method is the only one currently enabled. Its switch is locked on, because at least one method must remain enabled at all times. |
| Enabled | The method is configured and turned on. Backers can pick it at checkout. |
| Disabled | The method is configured but turned off. Backers cannot pick it at checkout. |
Turning a method on or off
Section titled “Turning a method on or off”Only administrators can switch a payment method on or off or change its settings. An operator does not see the Payments tab.
The switch lives on the method’s own screen, not in the listing — you set a method up and switch it on in the same place, rather than configuring it on one screen and remembering to go back and enable it on another.
Click Configure → on any row. At the top of that screen, beside the method’s name, is an Accept PayPal (or Accept Offline Payments) toggle. Flip it and the change saves immediately — there is no Save button for the switch itself.
Two rules are enforced, to prevent a checkout with nothing on offer:
- A method must be configured before it can be switched on. Until it is, the toggle is locked off and the Not configured badge sits beside it, with a hover explanation of what’s missing.
- At least one method must always be on. When only one is enabled, its toggle is locked on and its badge reads Required. Switch another one on first if you want to turn this one off.
Why a method isn’t offered on a campaign
Section titled “Why a method isn’t offered on a campaign”A method that is switched on is normally offered on every campaign, but not always. It may not be set up yet, or an add-on may limit it to some campaigns. For example, a method may need the campaign’s creator to connect an account first. When that happens, checkout leaves the method out for that campaign.
To see why, open the campaign’s page under Ignition → Campaigns and look at the Payment methods row. It lists every method the campaign offers, and each one it doesn’t with the reasons and a link to fix them.
Configuring a method
Section titled “Configuring a method”Click Configure → on any row to open that method’s screen. It shows the method’s name, the on/off toggle, and the method’s own settings form.
A Status badge appears beside the toggle only when the toggle is locked — Not configured or Required — with a hover explanation of what is holding it. A method that is simply enabled or disabled shows no badge here; the listing row is where you read that at a glance.
Who receives the money
Section titled “Who receives the money”On a multi-creator site, one more choice applies to every method at once: whether pledges go to you or straight to each campaign’s creator. It is a single site-wide setting under Ignition → Settings → Add-ons → Platform Mode, and each method’s screen follows it — see Who receives pledges. A default install has no such choice: pledges come to you.
Offline payments
Section titled “Offline payments”The Offline method is configured at Payments → Offline. Its screen contains the Payment Instructions rich-text editor — these instructions are shown to backers on the pledge confirmation receipt after they complete an offline pledge. The editor supports the placeholders {amount}, {campaign_name}, and {pledge_id}.
On a site where pledges go straight to each creator, this editor is not there: one set of instructions written by you would send every backer’s money to the wrong account. Each creator writes their own instead — see Offline payments.
How offline payments work
Section titled “How offline payments work”Once a backer completes the pledge flow with the Offline method, the pledge is recorded with status Pending and the receipt page shows the offline payment instructions you authored. The backer pays outside the site (bank transfer, cheque, in-person handoff). When the funds arrive, staff open the pledge on the wp-admin Pledges screen and chooses Record offline payment, which moves the pledge to Succeeded. If money later needs to go back, the administrator can Issue a refund against the same pledge. See Managing Pledges for the admin screens, Refunds for how refunds work, and Email Notifications for the messages backers and administrators receive at each step.
For developers
Section titled “For developers”If you maintain or build payment gateway add-ons, see the developer guide on Registering a payment gateway for the abstract class, registration action, and checkout hooks.