Sierra PrairieCat provides this service for patrons to be able to make online payment of fines and fees through the online catalog.
FAQ
Q: What is eCommerce?
A: eCommerce allows patrons to make online payments of fines/fees in the public catalog. This is a PrairieCat-wide service. It is not possible for a library to opt out.
Q: Is there a minimum payment amount?
A: The minimum payment for eCommerce is $1.01. It is not possible to pay part of an individual “fine.” Users can select which “fines” they want to pay for, but must pay fully for any fines they select. The total to be paid via ecommerce adjusts based on the user’s selection.
Q: Can users print receipts?
A: Users can choose to print a receipt, or have it emailed to them. An email address is not required for the eCommerce transaction to be accepted.
Q: Is credit card information saved?
A: For security reasons, no credit card information is stored on the PrairieCat server, so users must enter their credit card information each time they make an eCommerce payment.
Please Note: The transaction will appear as PrairieCat on the patron’s credit card account.
Q: When will the payment be reflected in Sierra?
A: Once a payment is made, it is credited to the patron’s account in Sierra and can be seen in Fines Paid with a payment type of eCommerce. The payment is usually credited almost immediately, but can be delayed for several minutes if the PrairieCat system is unusually busy. If the patron tells staff they have made an eCommerce payment but it has not yet been posted to their account, staff should wait a few minutes for the payment to post, rather than collecting a duplicate payment.
Q: Can users pay for other charges through eCommerce?
A: Many PrairieCat libraries add manual fees to a patron’s account when a patron wants to pay via credit/debit card, for example for a non-resident card fee, photocopying fees, etc. This allows the patron to make their payment via credit/debit card on a mobile device or on a public workstation.
Q: When will my library receive payment?
A: When a patron makes an ecommerce payment, it is processed through PayPal PayFlow Pro. The payment is deposited in the PrairieCat bank account. PrairieCat staff runs monthly Fines Paid reports to reconcile the payments, which are posted on the PrairieCat website as eCommerce Transactions. Checks are distributed at Delegates Assembly or mailed quarterly (April, July, October, and January) to member libraries for payments made through eCommerce.
- Please Note: eCommerce credits all payments for overdue or lost materials to the owning library of the item. Manual fees paid through eCommerce are paid to the library that added the manual charge.
- This is different from how PrairieCat members handle fines paid on site at a library that is not the item’s owning library. Any fines paid on site at a library are kept by the library where the fine is paid. Payments for bills for lost materials paid on site are sent to the item’s owning library. (See Section XV. Circulation Policies)
- When a minimum amount of $15 due to a member library is reached, then a quarterly check will be issued. This check could include transactions from a previous quarter.
- Members that are issued a quarterly check will receive quarterly reports that are emailed to the member's PrairieCat email account that details the payments included in the quarterly check.
- All amounts received during the fiscal year will be paid out with the activity from the final quarter of the year, regardless of check size.
Q: What service does PrairieCat use for eCommerce?
A: eCommerce is processed through PayPal Payflow Pro, which accepts all major debit and credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diners Club. All the merchant fees for eCommerce are charged to PrairieCat and are part of the regular PrairieCat budget, so shared between circulating members through the fee formula. There is no service fee currently passed to the patron for using eCommerce.
Q: What if a patron requests a refund for a payment made through eCommerce?
A: PrairieCat will not issue refunds for any payments made through Ecommerce. Any user who believes they are entitled to a refund should contact their home library to discuss the issue. This is different from a chargeback. A chargeback is a debit or credit card transaction that's reversed by the cardholder's bank after they dispute a charge on their account.
If a patron requests an ecommerce refund, the library should contact PrairieCat to verify the transaction was processed. The library may then issue the refund with cash or check. The library will receive the original payment with the normal ecommerce checks that are distributed quarterly. (see General Policy Manual for details)