July 17, 2022
C2 Education (C2) specializes in in-person and online test prep, tutoring and college counseling. Their services and partnerships with schools have helped thousands of students receive acceptances to top schools including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and Yale, just to name a few.
C2 began in 1997 and has grown and evolved over time. They had been processing payment online for quite some time, however as their company has expanded, so did their payment processing needs. Working with K12 schools, a large portion of their payments are seasonal and are often relatively large, often in the range of a car down payment to a house down payment. Due to their unique payment situation, their initial processor, Stripe, decided to part ways. This allowed C2 to look for other processors that could better handle their unique needs. Through this process, they were introduced to Pay Theory.
A conversation with a Pay Theory Payments Expert revealed some of C2’s needs:
1. Quickly and seamlessly implement payments onto their system
2. Compliance with national, state and local K12 education regulations
3. Assistance with underwriting and other payment related legalities
4. A flexible platform that would not disrupt their current workflows and operations
Tools and Assistance to Get Them Processing Payments Quickly
With C2 parting ways from Stripe, they needed to get integrated to a payment processor quickly. Working with the development team at Pay Theory, they were able to get payments up and running in no time.
C2 was provided with all the tools required to integrate. They were provided access to Pay Theory’s SDKs, APIs and Documentation, as well as a direct line of communication to one of Pay Theory’s integration experts. In addition to these resources they were set up with multiple Sandbox environments to test the integration on different levels to ensure there were no breaking changes to their current system.
Payment Related Tools That Maintain Compliance with K12 Regulations
Being in the K12 education space, C2’s values align with other must-pay service providers. A must-pay service provider is any service that is considered essential that all parties be given equal access (ie K12 education, healthcare, government programs, etc.). Integrating with Pay Theory has enabled C2 to provide inclusive payments to their clients. What this means is that C2 can now accept online payment methods including: card, ach(bank routing number), and cash.
In addition to inclusive payments, C2 also needed to make sure client information was secure. Through integrating Pay Theory payments, they were equipped with level 1 PCI compliance as well as secure websockets that provide payments with the highest level of security.
Underwriting and Payment Related Legal Guidance
One of the biggest headaches tied to payments revolves around underwriting, in which a payment processor assesses a merchant’s risk. Along with underwriting, there are also legal hoops a merchant must hop through in order to process payments. With C2 having unique processing needs, it was crucial that these items be addressed quickly and thoroughly.
C2 was set up with a payment expert, who was able to guide them through this process. In order to make this seamless, they were provided all necessary forms and paperwork in advance. This lengthy and complicated process was reduced to a matter of minutes and when questions arose, they were able to get quick answers from their payment expert.
An Undisturbed Workflow
As mentioned, C2 has been around since 1997. That said, they had many flows and processes that had already been refined. They were not looking to compromise these workflows. In order to leave these workflows in place, C2 worked directly with one of Pay Theory’s integration experts to bring this to life.
After a conversation with C2 and Pay Theory it was revealed that they needed custom labels for payments, processor redundancies, and system monitoring services that accompany other payment processing systems.
“Pay Theory has been great to work with to ensure our payments reporting is what we need and have found their customer service to be top-notch.”
C2 was processing with Pay Theory payments, with all their unique processing needs, in a matter of days. They now have access to customize labels, and notifications, to ensure their current workflow is uninterrupted. Additionally, all the legal requirements and K12 education regulations are handled and kept up to date, and their direct line of communication with Pay Theory’s integration and payment experts has enabled them to get quick answers and resolutions when required.
Overall, C2’s processing needs have been addressed and Pay Theory continues to advance its services in accordance with their and other business requiring these unique needs.
