|| On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 00:11:07 +0100 || Sven Krewitt deadbob@web.de wrote:
sk> So maybe someone can say something about the payment methods? I'm sk> interested in that topic, too.
We discussed the possibility of monthly payments.
The problem is that it adds some complexity to the procedures and some financial overhead -- which is often transaction-based. And it is not clear how useful it would be in the end.
Associating payments to bank accounts with the fellowship dues requires manual labor, which is an expensive resource. If things are done through PayPal, that may be not as bad, but there is still an added overhead.
Also, what about the SmartCard? When should it be sent out? Probably not immediately for monthly payments, as it would take more than one rate to cover the overall handling costs. But when should it be sent? And how to structure this process robust enough? How to avoid spending too much time to explain this to people who ask why they did not yet get their SmartCard?
So monthly payments would have to be higher than just dividing the yearly rate through 12 -- and the percentage of overhead would be higher for the reduced rate.
So we might end up with something like 12 EUR per month full rate and 8 EUR per month reduced rate in order to come to the same net contribution.
Yearly rates are common for many things from insurances to taxes and a normal part of any financial planning. That is why in the end it seemed like most people who feel strongly compelled to go with a monthly rate are probably likely to choose the reduced rate, as their financial calculation is apparently tight.
So the question ultimately seemed to be coming down to: "How much more difficult is it to spend an additional 52 EUR once per year?"
We were not decided whether the answer to this question warranted the added work and overhead to allow for monthly payments.
Do you think it does? Or should we for instance only allow monthly payments for the full rate? What is your perspective?
Regards, Georg