Hello, Regarding RON - I’m going to use Stripe for billing (outside of the Blue Notary platform) and was wondering if notaries usually have the signer pay before the remote notarization or after? I had to do a remote notarization as a customer and I paid beforehand. Thanks!
I’m assuming this is GNW and I, personally, would
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I don’t do RON nor do I use Stripe, but if I were going to collect a fee in advance, I would clearly think out how I would make refunds, and how much the refund would be in different circumstances. Full refund, including any KBA or credential analysis charges I have to pay, if one of these checks fails? What if there’s something about the document that prevents me from continuing with the notarization, such as a notarial act that isn’t allowed in my state?
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I would think you could use a pre authorization and push it through once the notarization is complete to make the refund process easier if the signing was canceled, as well as alter the amount if you choose to charge a cancelation fee!
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I also use Blue Notary and bill on my own via Square. In my experience, I’ve requested the client to provide a CC prior to the RON but wouldn’t charge it until the completion of the session. There are too many potential tech hiccups (at the client’s side, not with BN) and have had a few occassions we had to reschedule a session so they could address the issue (e.g., their tech setup or ID verification). Of course, that impinges on my time, but creates more goodwill and a better client experience. I’m willing to take the risk of wasting some time without recompense over having a poor reputation or a bad Google review.
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Thank you - how do you go about requesting the CC? Do you use a secure platform or?
How I’ve done it on BN is I send them an invoice, along with options to pay. If they’d like to pay in advance, that’s fine (most customers do). If they want to pay after the notarization, that’s also fine, I just won’t release the docs until I have received payment. I’ve done this using the Hybrid plan on BN.
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I ask for the CC when scheduling the RON session. By that time, we’ve already reviewed the basic process, their tech requirements, the ID verification steps they’ll go through, and fees. I’ve not had anyone hesitate or question the reason for having the CC info readied as I would have already outlined the process. Of course, I take great care to keep the info secured and then erased/destroyed. Hope that helps!
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For individual signers, I use PayPal, Venmo, and ApplePay. For my real estate clients, I do the normal emailing of the invoice that I did when I was a mobile notary. Either way, I don’t ask for payment until I have completed the work to their satisfaction.