MicroPayments Plugin (CMMP) - Use Case - How to Allow Users to Buy Points and Sell Items for Points

Use Case - How to Allow Users to Buy Points and Sell Items for Points

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Introduction

MicroPayments Platform Plugin allows you to create digital wallets for your users, reward them with points, and let them pay for them using real money.

Use Case Front-End Example

Use Case Assumptions

In this example use case guide, we'll cover how to set up wallets for you users and allow them to buy points with real money.

We consider that you have already bought the plugin, but not installed it. 

It follows:

• Installing the MicroPayments plugin
• Setting up MicroPayments Plugin
  • Step 1) Set points values
  • Step 2) Adding and assigning wallets
  • Step 3) General settings
  • Step 4) Managing wallets
• How users can obtain points
  • Buying with PayPal
  • Buying with EDD
  • Buying with WooCommerce
• Grant points for purchase
  • EDD
  • WooCommerce
• Use points for discounts
  • EDD
  • WooCommerce
• Translating the forum interface
• Extra
  • Shortcodes
  • Reports
    • Exporting wallets to CSV
  • Adding or subtracting points periodically 
• Troubleshooting
• Use case result

Installing the Plugin

The process is the same for all CM plugins.

• Download the add-on from your customer dashboard.
• Log in to WordPress and navigate to the WordPress Admin → Plugins settings.
• Click on Add New.
• Activate it and add the license.

Learn more: Getting Started - Installation And First Steps

Setting Up MicroPayments Plugin

Step 1) Set up Points Values

Finding The Settings

To create points navigate to the CM Micropayment Platform → Settings.

Click on the Points tab.

Click Add New.

Setting this up is required if you want to enable your users to buy the points packages. Starting from version 1.5.1, the plugin supports up to three decimals (for instance, 0.025).

Please note that the points value must be unique – so you always have one standard price for a given amount of points.

"Points is lower than 0 or is not a number" message

If you receive this error message while trying to add values, include 0 as decimals. For instance,

• Right - 6.00
• Wrong - 6

Step 2) Adding Wallets

As The Admin

Head to the General tab. 

The relevant settings from the Wallets section.

• Assign a single wallet to each customer - if this option is enabled a single Wallet will be tied with each of your WordPress user accounts. (so users won't need to remember their wallet names as long as they're logged in). 

  Note: This setting must be on for the Transfer Shortcode to display a dropdown menu with the accounts. Learn more.

  • Wallets quantity limit - You can set any number of wallets to each customer. To change this value, Assign a wallet to each customer has to be disabled

Click the Generate missing wallets button for existing users to create wallets.

Learn about all Wallets settings - MicroPayments Plugin (CMMP) - General Settings

How To Delete All Wallets

To delete all wallets, click on Remove all Wallets. Be careful, as this cannot be undone.

Creating Wallets - As The User

As the admin, apply the shortcode [create_wallet_button] to create a button generates a new wallet code to the current user. 

On success, the wallet code will be displayed. You can choose to hide the button by enabling the option "Hide button after wallet creation".

When 'Multiple Wallets' is Active

If users can have multiple wallets (Wallets quantity limit is bigger than 1), they can use the button to create additional wallets.

Until the limit is reached:

Learn more: MicroPayments Plugin (CMMP) - Shortcodes - Overview

Step 4) Managing Wallets

To manage the Wallets you need to go to Settings → Manage Wallets.

This is a very important screen, as it allows you not only to see the details about Wallets but also to maintain control over all of your user's wallets.

On this page, you can:

• list all of the Wallets that have been created on your site.
• check the users they're assigned to - you can go to the user's profile by clicking on the login.
• check their balance - in the Points column.
• check if they're active - in the Status column.
• go to the list of their transactions - by clicking on Transactions link in the menu under Wallet Code.
• change their points value (charge manually) - by clicking on "Change points value".
  • after you click that the form will appear in place of the menu where you can put the number of points you'd like to set the wallet to.
  • eg. if the wallet now has 100 points and you put 300 in the form and click "Accept" - 200 points will be manually added to the wallet.
• activate/deactivate the wallet - deactivated wallets cannot be used.
• remove the wallet.
• use PayPal Payout.

Step 3) General Settings

Head to Admin Dashboard → CM Micropayment Platform → Settings → General tab.

Here you decide how the Wallets will work in your page.

• Assign a wallet to each customer - if this option is enabled a single Wallet will be tied with each of your WordPress user accounts. (so users won't need to remember their wallet names as long as they're logged in). Note: This setting must be on for the Transfer Shortcode to display a dropdown menu with the accounts. Learn more.
  • Wallets quantity limit - You can set any number of wallets to each customer. To change this value, Assign a wallet to each customer has to be disabled.
• Disable anonymous payments - If enabled, users will have to input a wallet ID when making purchases.
• Hide 'create wallet' button after wallet has been generated - this is option related to the [create_wallet_button] shortcode. You can read about it in Shortcodes section of the documentation.
• Number of transactions in My Wallet - this is the number of the last transactions which will be displayed using the [cm_wallet_history] shortcode.
• Initial amount of points in the wallet - this is the amount of points each newly created wallet will contain (a great way to give a welcome bonus for new users).
• Allow to charge inactive wallets - with this option you can disallow users to charge their wallets once they are deactivated.
• Transaction fee for adding points - Every time a user receives points, he/she will be charged this amount. This deduction will be shown in the log. Example: buying points, receiving a transfer. The field accepts both flat amounts and percentages. The default value is 0. Examples:
  • 5
  • 15%
• Transaction fee for subtracting points - Every time a user loses points, he/she will be charged this amount. This deduction will be shown in the log. Example: sending a transfer. The field accepts both flat amounts and percentages. The default value is 0. Examples:
  • 5
  • 15%
• Allow decimals? (e.g. 2.34 points) - Supports decimals and centesimals for wallet operations. Milesimals and lower units will be disregarded - for example, 1.2399 = 1.23.
• When points are shown, round decimals to - Rounds points every time the points are shown. Only works if you enable decimals. Choose between
  • Highest integer (e.g. 1.5 will become 2)
  • Lowest integer (e.g. 1.5 will become 1)

Admin Dashboard

This section allows you to enable the Dashboard widget and the Payment Currency.

If enabled the box displaying the wallet name and the amount of points will be displayed.

The Payment Currency is used to calculate the value of your user's points and it's widely used across the plugin.

By default the Dashboard widget is disabled, and the base currency is US dollar ($).

Presentation

The presentation section allows you to select two most important pages from the users perspective:

• Wallet page - where the user can see the information about their wallet - it's balance, the transaction history etc.
• Checkout page - the page where user can purchase more points.

Obtaining Points

1) PayPal

MicroPayments Platform Plugin has a built-in PayPal integration.

After activating the plugin you should set up your PayPal credentials.

Go to the Admin Dashboard → CM MicroPayment → Settings → PayPal tab.

When you create the account in the plugin’s settings you’ll be asked for the e-mail which identifies your account on the PayPal system.

You can mark the “Test Mode” checkbox to use the PayPal’s sandbox environment and be able to test the payments before you launch the website.

PayPal Payout Configuration

The PayPal tab of the settings allows you to set up PayPal Payout. This functionality lets admins and users to "sell" points for real money.

To make this work you have to:

• enable the first checkbox,
• choose the point to currency ratio e.g 10 means that each 10 points are worth 1 currency unit so 50 points = $5,
• create the Application in PayPal (or use the already created one) from PayPal's Developer Portal,
• fill the Client ID and App Secret,
• before using this feature on live site we suggest trying the Test Mode.

Video Tutorial

2) EDD

If you choose to use the EDD integration option, the only payment related setting within the MicroPayments Platform Plugin you have to select is the Use Easy Digital Downloads for Checkout.

After saving the changes you’ll be notified about the fact that all MicroPayments Payments Settings have been disabled. For the setup of Payments in Easy Digital Downloads, please refer to the plugin’s EDD help.

The setting can be found on the General tab.

Use Easy Digital Downloads for Checkout – all of the Payments will be forwarded to the Easy Digital Downloads checkout page.

The integration is transparent. You don’t have to manually add the products to the EDD product catalog. It will be done automatically for each entry from the Point Price table. The changes will be replicated as well. The products will have the category assigned so they stand out.

• Grant MicropaymetPoints per purchase - This option allows you to grant virtual currency points for purchases users make in your Easy Digital Downloads shop. This can reward users for purchases they are making in your store which they can also convert later to coupon codes or purchasing directly with the virtual currency in your store (the last two options needs to be enabled to support this).
• Allow to convert Micropayment Points into discounts - This setting option allows users to use the shortcode to use the accumulated points to buy the discounts for Easy Digital Downloads products. The conversion ratio between points to real money value is based on the MicroPayments setting.
  • You can learn more about it here.
• Allow only to buy products with MicropaymentPoints - You can add the MicroPayments also as a payment gateway in your EDD checkout page. This means that once paying for products user can choose to pay with thier virtual currency. The conversion between the real value of the product and the virtual currency will be calculated based on the MicroPayments setting for conversion rate.

Of course, it'll still be possible to buy packages of points with the real money using the other defined gateways

Currency Settings

In the EDD currency settings (Admin Dashboard → Downloads → Settings, Payment Gateway tab) you can define the MicroPayment defined virtual currency as the default currency for your EDD shop. 

This will display the price of each product as set in your product download page in MicroPayment currency value and will only allow you to pay with the MicroPayments payment gateway at checkout. Using this is of course optional.

3) WooCommerce

Part A) WooCommerce

First, head to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments.

Here, make sure the CM MicroPayment method is enabled.

Then click Manage.

There's another toggle to enable or disable MicroPayments plugin as a payment method and you can also to configure the title and checkout button labels.

Here you can also edit the labels for Title and Checkout Button Text that are displayed on the checkout page:

More importantly, the Currency to Points Ratio defines the value of points. 

There are also 3 other useful options:

• Show wallet code
• Show purchase cost
• Show digital wallet balance

These options were introduced in version 2.1.1. They allow you to show or hide Wallet ID/Nickname, purchase cost and wallet balance:

For more information about setup of payments and payment gateways in WooCommerce, please refer to the WooCommerce plugin’s help.

Part B) - MicroPayments

Head to the General settings tab.

WooCommerce Plugin integration settings:

• Use WooCommerce for Checkout – Necessary to activate the integration.
• Apply WooCommerce currency format on points - Enable it to apply WooCommerce currency format settings on points. You can manage this format from WooCommerce → Settings → General → Currency options. Note: this option was introduced in version 2.1.1.
• Grant Micropayment Points per purchase - Grant virtual currency points for purchases users make in your WooCommerce shop. This can reward users for purchases with points, which can also convert later to coupon codes or purchasing directly in your store (the last two options needs to be enabled to support this).
• Allow to convert Micropayment Points into discounts - This setting option allows users to use the shortcode to use the accumulated points to buy the discounts for WooCommerce products. The conversion ratio between points to real money value is based on the MicroPayments setting explained above. Discount codes can be used in the checkout before making the payment.
• Replace default currency to points in orders - Converts default prices in orders to points (in the admin section). For instance, instead of "$3", it will be "3 points". Note: this option was introduced in version 2.1.3.

• Replace default currency in e-mails when purchasing with Gateway - Converts the prices of items from the default currency to points. For instance, instead of "$3", it will be "3 points".
• Additional user who should get points for purchases - Choose "Admin" to grant the admin points for each WooCommerce purchase.
• Final order status of purchasing micropayment points - When points are bought, the order status will be set to the value of the option. Default is Completed.
• Order status after payment with micropayment points - When the order is paid, its status will be set to the value of the option. Default is Processing.

Granting Points For Purchases (Video Tutorials)

EDD

WooCommerce

Use Points for Discounts

1) EDD

One of the options of using the points is changing them to the Easy Digital Downloads discounts.

The discounts are created by exchanging the selected (by user) amount of points to the discount having the fixed amount in the selected currency (not a percentage discount!) using the ratio set by the administrator. To enable this functionality the Easy Digital Downloads must be enabled and the feature has to be enabled in the MicroPayments Settings page.

Example

Note: The option Allow to convert MicropaymentPoints into discounts is required for the functionality to work

Example

The ratio used for generating the discounts is the same ratio which is used in the Easy Digital Downloads Gateway. You can find these settings in Downloads → Settings →  Payment Gateways

Shortcodes

There are two shortcodes - one to create the discounts, one to list the created discounts.

• [cm_micropayment_points_to_discount] - this is the shortcode for displaying the form allowing to change the points into discounts
• [cm_micropayment_points_discounts] - this is the shortcode allowing to display the table of all generated discounts (Note: it won't display anything if no discounts were generated!)

Frontend

The form displayed by the [cm_micropayment_points_to_discount] shortcode contains:

• Field to input the Wallet ID - if the user is logged in, and the Wallets are assigned it will be pre-filled with the user's wallet ID
• Points to exchange - user needs to put the amount of points which they want to exchange for a discount
• Remaining points - it displays the remaining amount of points in the Wallet together with their value (calculated based on the ratio)
• Discount value - this value changes dynamically, based on the amount entered in the Points to exchange

Example

Page entitled CM Micropayment Easy Digital Downloads Discounts displaying the form coming from the [cm_micropayment_points_to_discount] shortcode.

Example

After the discount has been created the [cm_micropayment_points_discounts] will display a table with the discount code, it's value and status (marked with the red border).

Using the Discounts

After creation you can copy the Discount code displayed in the table and paste it on the Easy Digital Downloads checkout form to lower the total value of the transaction (all of the Easy Digital Downloads rules for discounts apply).

Video Tutorial

2) WooCommerce

The discounts are created by exchanging the selected (by user) amount of points to the discount having the fixed amount in the selected currency (not a percentage discount!) using the ratio set by the administrator.

Example

The ratio used for generating the discounts is the same ratio which is used in the MicroPayments payment gateway for WooCommerce.

Shortcodes

There are two shortcodes - one to create the discounts, one to list the created discounts.

• [cm_micropayment_points_to_woo_discount] - this is the shortcode for displaying the form allowing to change the points into discounts
• [cm_micropayment_points_woo_discounts] - this is the shortcode allowing to display the table of all generated discounts (Note: it won't display anything if no discounts were generated!)

Frontend

The form displayed by the [cm_micropayment_points_to_woo_discount] shortcode contains:

• Field to input the Wallet ID - if the user is logged in, and the Wallets are assigned it will be pre-filled with the user's wallet ID
• Points to exchange - user needs to put the amount of points which they want to exchange for a discount
• Remaining points - it displays the remaining amount of points in the Wallet together with their value (calculated based on the ratio)
• Discount value - this value changes dynamically, based on the amount entered in the Points to exchange

Example

Page entitled CM Micropayment WooCommerce Discounts is displaying the form coming from the [cm_micropayment_points_to_woo_discount] shortcode.

Example

After the discount has been created the [cm_micropayment_points_woo_discounts] will display a table with the discount code, it's value and status (marked with the red border).

Using the Discounts

After creation, you can copy the Discount code displayed in the table and paste it on the WooCommerce checkout form to lower the total value of the transaction (all of the WooCommerce rules for discounts apply)

Video Tutorial

Translating Interface

There are also extensive options so that you can determine the Front-End text (the one that your users see).

Note that you can use any language of choice.

Example

Click on the Labels tab.

Main Label: The Points

• Singular is used when the amount of the "points" is 1.
• Plural is used when the amount of "points" is higher than 1.

Other names and labels

On the Labels tab you can also change other names and labels used on the client side (especially in the shortcodes). 

There are over 50 labels to edit!

TIP: Stripe Labels

The tab also has three labels specifically related to the Stripe payment method.

WooCommerce Plugin Integration

The WooCommerce plugin integration offers two labels that can be managed from the WooCommerce settings.

You can find them by heading to Admin Dashboard → WooCommerce → Settings → Payments → CM MicroPayment, as highlighted below:

Clicking Manage will direct you to this screen, where you can change two labels related to the WooCommerce payment page.

Integrations - EDD

The EDD integration also offers labels that can be managed from the EDD's settings.

You can find them by heading to Admin Dashboard → Downloads → Settings → Payment Gateways, as highlighted below:

In the lower part of this screen you will see the relevant options:

Shortcodes

This page contains a list of the shortcodes you can use in the MicroPayments Plugin. 

There are many possibilities, so we have grouped the shortcodes into groups:

1. Wallet Management Shortcodes
2. Transfer and Payment Shortcodes
3. Checkout Shortcodes
4. Discount Shortcodes

1) Wallet Management Shortcodes

Create Wallet Button

Shortcode: [create_wallet_button]

Description: Shows the button which – once clicked – creates a new wallet code to display the wallet. This action is done with an AJAX request so it doesn’t reload the page.

On success, the wallet code will be displayed. You can choose to hide the button by enabling the option  "Hide button after wallet creation".

Example

After the "Create Wallet" button has been clicked, the wallet code is displayed. The user should save or remember their wallet code and use it when asked.

Show Wallet History

Shortcode: [cm_user_wallet]

Description: If user is logged in, shows latest transactions on wallet.

Example

Check Wallet by Code

Shortcode: [cm_check_wallet]

Description: Shortcode shows a form, where user enters the wallet code/name, and displays wallet info.

Example

Show User Balance

Shortcode: [cm_user_balance]

Description: Show how many points logged-in user has on his wallet.

Example

Show User Balance Value

Shortcode: [cm_user_balance_value]

Description: Show how many the points logged user has on his wallet are worth.

Example

2) Transfer and Payment Shortcodes

Show "Purchase More Points" Link

Shortcode: [cm_micropayment_buy_more_link]

Description: Displays the link to the page allowing to buy more points (checkout).

Example

Transfer Points Between Users

Shortcode: [transfer_wallet_points]

Description: Shows the form which allows to make a transfer of points from your own wallet to the other wallet with the known code. Of course only the amount of points lower or equal to the amount of points available on the wallet can be sent.

For more information, read the guide MicroPayments Plugin (CMMP) - Transfer Points Between Users

Tip Button

Shortcode: [cmmp_tip_button]

Description: Shows a button which allows to transfer tip to a selected user.

Attributes:

• tipamount - Amount of the tip (default: 0)
• account - The user_login of the WordPress user that will receive the tip (default: empty)
• class - CSS class, if applicable (default: empty)
• text - Plain text shown above the button (default: empty)
• label - Button label (default:Pay Tip)

PayPal Payout Exchange form

Shortcode: [cm_micropayment_points_to_paypal]

Description: Displays the form allowing to exchange the points to money using PayPal Payout system.

Stripe Exchange form

Shortcode: [cm_micropayment_points_to_stripe]

Description: Displays the form allowing to exchange the points to money using the Stripe system.

Attribute: 

• connectbutton (optional) - "1" includes link so users can connect with Stripe. "0" does not include it (default: "0") Example:  [cm_micropayment_points_to_stripe connectbutton="1"]

3) Checkout Shortcodes

Checkout Page

Shortcode: [cm_micropayment_checkout]

Description: The shortcode allows to display the form allowing to buy the defined points sets using the built in PayPal Gateway. If the Easy Digital Downloads integration is enabled, the items will be added to EDD cart.

Example

Option to buy 25 points for 5 USD. After clicking on the "Send" button the payment process starts. 

Show Wallet Balance After Checkout

Shortcode: [get_transaction_wallet_points]

Description: Shows on the success page how many points the wallet has after completing a successful checkout.

Example

Show Wallet Name After Checkout

Shortcode: [get_transaction_wallet]

Description: Shows on success page name of charged wallet.

4) Discount Shortcodes

Show Discounts

Shortcode:  [cm_micropayment_points_discounts]

Description: Displays the list of the discount codes generated with the cm_micropayment_points_to_discount.

Example

Exchange Points to Discounts

Shortcode: [cm_micropayment_points_to_discount]

Description: Allows users to exchange their points to Easy Digital Downloads discount codes.

Example

Point Usage Reports

Head to Reports.

To switch between them you need to select the type you want from the first dropdown on the left and click Apply.

1) Graph Report

The first type of report allows you to see the graph displaying the data about the flow of the points in your payment system.

You can manipulate the data displayed on the graph in two ways:

By changing the type of data displayed:

• Points - displays the amounts of points being used in transactions
• Count - displays the amount of different transactions which take place
• Amount - displays the value of the transactions in the real-life currency

By changing the timeframe (using the third dropdown).

Example

Graph displaying the amount of points which were used in the given period.

2) List Report

The second type of report allows you to list all of the wallet transactions and filter them by date and by status (Successful only or All).

Things you can change on this screen:

• Timeframe - by using the dropdown next to Apply button, you can select the timeframe you'd like to display
• Status - by selecting Show only successful you can filter out the transactions which have failed for any reason
• Page - by using the numbers and arrows over and under the table you can change the pages of the data

Example

List report displaying all of the transactions from the current month

TIP: Exporting Report

You can export the report a CSV file.

To do so, click the Export to CSV button.

Understand how the file looks like: Download CSV example file

Adding or Subtracting Points Periodically

To set this visit the Periodic Grant/Charge tab.

You need first to Enable this option. Then, define the amount add or subtracted and the interval.

Note that the interval will be calculated starting from the present day - that is, from the day when you save these settings.

Troubleshooting

I'm getting the message "Until the errors are fixed (see other notices) the CM Micropayment Platform integration has been suspended"

1) Causes

This message is displayed if the plugin is missing basic configuration. It usually comes accompanied by other notices. For example:

2) Fixes

Check the other notices, if available, to understand the specific cause. Here are the two more important ones:

• Message: "CM Micropayment Platform : There are no Points defined. Please go to Settings -> Points and "Add New" to add the possibility to buy points."Solution: Make sure to add at least one point value from Settings → Points. 

  

  Learn more: MicroPayments Plugin (CMMP) - Getting Started - Points

• Message: "CM Micropayment Platform : Missing Paypal credentials. Please go to Settings -> PayPal and fill the credentials." Solution: If PayPal is enabled and not on Test Mode, you need to add your credentials. Also note that you need a merchant PayPal account: 

  

  Learn more: MicroPayments Plugin (CMMP) - Getting Started - PayPal Configuration

• Unlikely Causes
  • Make sure your chosen payment method is properly configured (Stripe / Easy Digital Downloads / WooCommerce)
    • Note that, in the case of Easy Digital Downloads and WooCommerce, the respective plugins must be installed and activated! Otherwise, the relevant settings will not be displayed in MicroPayments.

  • Make sure all pages are assigned (this should happen automatically when the plugin is installed)

    

I'm getting a message that says I need to add [cm_micropayment_checkout] to my Checkout page. How to remove it?

Solution

If you're getting this notification and you're using EDD integration, all you need to do is to uncheck the following checkbox:

"Point is lower than 0 or is not a number" message

The message can appear while adding point values. 

Solution

If you receive this error message while trying to add values, include 0 as decimals. For instance,

• Right - 6.00
• Wrong - 6

Use Case Result

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