- 03 Apr 2024
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System Emails for Slate Payments
- Updated 03 Apr 2024
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Slate will send emails as they relate to Slate Payments based on a set of triggers. Many of these mailings can be customized, and some emails need to be configured using Deliver in order to send. This article will detail the content of automatically configured mailings, and the cases in which automatic Slate Payment emails can be customized.
For more information on system emails unrelated to Slate Payments, see Configure Automatic System Emails.
These emails only pertain to the built-in Slate Payments system. Any payment made involving external payment providers will not trigger these automatic emails.
Contents of Automatic Slate Payment Emails
Slate Payment emails automatically send based on the following triggers. The content of each standard email is outlined below, with merge fields noted by double curly brackets {{ }}.
Successful Payment
Sent to the payer when a charge succeeds:
Subject: {{school}} Payment Succeeded
You have been successfully charged {{amount}} {{currency}} on behalf of {{school}}.
If you are not the primary account holder, please alert him / her to expect this
charge. Disputed transactions may cause delays with the processing of your
application.
Your reference number for this transaction is {{transaction_id}}.
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment_type}} (ending with {{last4}})
Checking Account Payment Failed
Sent to the payer when a payment from a checking account fails.
Subject: {{school}} Payment Failure
Your attempted checking account payment of {{amount}} {{currency}} on behalf of
{{school}} has failed.
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment_type}} (ending with {{last4}})
Credit Card Payment Failed
Sent to the payer when a credit card payment fails. (for recurring Credit Card Payments only / only available for Slate for Advancement)
Subject: {{school}} Payment Failure
Your attempted credit card payment of {{amount}} {{currency}} on behalf of {{school}}
has failed.
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment_type}} (ending with {{last4}})
Payment Refunded
Sent to the payer when a charge is refunded.
Subject: {{school}} Payment Refunded
You recently made the following online payment to {{school}}:
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment_type}} (ending with {{last4}})
The amount of ${{amount_refunded}} has been refunded at this time.
Payment Refund Failed
Sent to the payer when a requested refund has failed, for example because the account no longer exists.
Subject: {{school}} Refund Failed
A recent attempted refund of ${{amount refunded}} to you has failed. This was associated with an online payment made to {{school}}:
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment type}}(ending with {{last4}})
Refund failed for the following reason: {refund_failed_reason}}.
Payment Disputed
Sent to the payer when a charge is disputed.
📝 NoteThis notification is separate from (and not related to) notifications that are sent from Slate to the payment processor (Stripe) regarding the submission of dispute evidence. Please see the separate article on Disputes for more details.
Subject: {{school}} Payment Disputed
You recently made the following online payment to {{school}}:
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment_type}} (ending with {{last4}})
Since then, the payer has disputed the charge (i.e., reported it to the bank or credit
card company as an error). It is possible that the payer did not recognize the charge
when it appeared on the statement. If that dispute is continued, the payment may be
automatically refunded and you will not be registered as paid. In order to ensure
that you are properly credited, please contact the payer and ask them to contact the
bank or credit card company and verify that the charge was correct (that is, withdraw
the dispute).
Payment Disputed, Won by Payer
Sent to the payer if a payment was disputed and the payer won the dispute.
Subject: {{school}} Payment Disputed
You recently made the following online payment to {{school}}:
{{date}} -- ${{amount}} ({{summary}}) using {{payment_type}} (ending with {{last4}})
The payer disputed this charge with the credit card company or bank, and the dispute
was decided in the payer's favor. As a result, the payment has been refunded. You will
need to contact {{school}} and make a new payment. Thank you.
Transfer to Bank Account Failed
Sent to the Slate user if there is a problem transferring funds into a bank account.
Subject: Slate Payments transfer issue
An attempted transfer of funds between Slate Payments and your bank account has failed.
Amount: {{amount}}
Bank: {{bank}}
Account ending with: {{last4}}
Date: {{transfer_date}}
Error message: {{error}}
Please contact the Slate Service Desk if you need assistance.
Account Verification Failed
Sent to the Slate user if there is a problem verifying the Slate Payment account.
Subject: Slate Payments verification issue
Your Slate Payment account called {{account_name}} had a verification problem. The
payment processor (Stripe.com) needs to verify identity information for each account
to comply with Know Your Customer laws, and they were not able to verify this account.
Error message: {{error}}
Please see your Slate Payment accounts for details at
and please contact the Slate Service
Desk if you need assistance.
System Templates That Can Be Customized
Not all Slate Payment emails can be customized, but several are available as templates to be recreated in Deliver. If there is a corresponding automatic Slate Payment email for that template, the custom email will replace it:
Successful Payment
Checking Account Payment Failed
Credit Card Payment Failed
(currently only available for recurring payments in Slate for Advancement)Payment Refunded
Transfer/Settlement Received
(Note: No standard system email exists for this template. This mailing will need be created in Deliver in order to send.)
Other automatic payment emails listed in this article cannot currently be customized.
Customizing Slate Payment Emails
To customize a system email, override the default message by creating a new Deliver message in the System folder. When selecting the System folder, the user will be constrained to a list of possible templates (the System emails). By creating a message with one of these templates, the default message is replaced. When editing these messages, the merge fields representing the data available in that message will appear. It is not possible to add additional data or merge fields at this time.
To create a custom system mailing:
Click Deliver in the top navigation bar.
Click New Mailing.
Enter the following configurations in the popup window:
Name - Give the mailing a descriptive name.
Folder - Select System as the folder. Once this folder is selected, Template will appear as a configuration.
Template - Select the template that relates to the purpose of the mailing.
Key - Once a template is selected, the key will automatically populate and cannot be edited.
Click Save. This will bring up the message view where the message content can be edited as desired.
🔔 Important!The presence of a custom Slate Payments mailing will stop the automatic version of the mailing from sending. For instance, when a Deliver mailing with the key of /payment/refunded is saved, the automatic mailing Payment Refunded will be overridden, and the default version will not send.
⭐ Best PracticeRemember to reference Slate Payments when configuring a Slate Payment account and its related communications. Fully test both standard and custom communications before collecting payments.