Canadian pre-authorized debit (PAD) is a bank-account payment method for Canadian schools, processed through Stripe under Payments Canada rules. You need Security Full or Security Read roles to access the Security portal and the DBA Full role to access the Payment Configuration page. Finance setup requires the FinanceAR Full role.
Prerequisites
- A Stripe account for your school with pre-authorized debit payments enabled. Your Stripe dashboard shows the Publishable Key and Secret Key under Developers, API keys.
Setting up the payment configuration
- Navigate to Security, Maintenance, Payment Configurations and add a Stripe payment configuration. See Configuring Payment Configuration.
- Enter the Publishable Key, Secret Key, and Webhook Signing Secret from Stripe.
- Set the Processor Culture to en-CA. This processes every Stripe payment, including PAD, in Canadian dollars.
- In your Stripe dashboard, register a webhook endpoint pointing to https://{your school site}/Common/StripeWebhook.aspx?pcid={payment configuration id}&pid={any page id of your site}, subscribed to payment_intent.payment_failed, setup_intent.succeeded, and setup_intent.setup_failed. Enter the endpoint's signing secret on the payment configuration.
Setting up Auto-Pay configurations
- Navigate to Finance, Maintenance, Auto-Pay Configurations. See Auto-Pay Configuration (Finance).
- Point both the credit card and the eCheck Auto-Pay Configurations at the Stripe payment configuration when they share a Stored Payment Type.
- Set the Receipt Method on the eCheck configuration to a bank value rather than Credit Card so receipts and deposits reconcile correctly.
The family experience
- Families open the Auto-Pay page in the portal and enter their bank details. The routing number is the 9 digit electronic format: 0, followed by the 3 digit institution number and the 5 digit transit number.
- After saving, the portal shows a verification notice. Stripe sends two small deposits within 1 to 2 business days, and the family confirms the amounts through the linked Stripe verification page. Payments cannot be drafted until verification completes.
- Stripe emails the family a confirmation of the debit agreement and a notification for each debit, as Payments Canada requires.
Settlement and failures
PAD debits are accepted immediately and settle in roughly 3 to 5 business days. A debit can still fail after acceptance, for example for insufficient funds. PCR Educator is notified automatically and coordinates the receipt reversal with your business office, following the same procedure used for returned eChecks. See Reconciling eCheck Deposits with Payment Processor.