Feature Updates 03/31/2023
NEW OnlineGiving.org Automatic Adjustment of MP Timeout to 30 days (720 hours) for Abandoned Invoice Clean-up MP Process
We're pleased to announce an update is now live that will automatically check and adjust the MP Abandoned Invoice Clean-up MP Process timeout window from 1 hour to 30 days (720 hours) when a new invoice checkout session is started. Moving forward, anytime a new MP Widget invoice checkout session is received, OnlineGiving.org will automatically check the timeout value of the Abandoned Inovice Clean-up MP Process and adjust it to 720 hours. The update will allow new MP Invoice payments to have a proper amount of time to be recorded instead of the very short 1-hour window.
The primary issue with the MP process at the moment is the deletion aspect of invoices which causes data loss for MP churches. OnlineGiving.org leadership directly conveyed the issues to MP in a leadership meeting between the two companies. We recommended that MP consider creating two different processes; one process to cancel (expired) unpaid MP Widget invoices and a secondary process for invoice clean-up (deletion). Having two different processes would better allow MP churches to control a short invoice expiration window while allowing a longer window for expired invoice automatic deletion.
Our team used the example of email inbox; when emails are deleted, they are typically moved to a "deletion folder" for a period of 30 days to allow a significant amount of time for the user to recover them should the deletion be a mistake. This example was well received by MP leadership. Until such a change or similar could be implemented by MP, OnlineGiving.org was granted permission to adjust the timeout window as we see fit to ensure invoice payment recording could happen.
The biggest issue OnlineGiving.org has been dealing with is that the current design of the MP Widget payment recording doesn't allow successful payment delivery messages to be accepted by MP after a 1 hour period. Additionally, the MP process, as of the last month or so, was updated to delete invoices which was a poor design choice by MP.
That being said, the update above is the short-term workaround as it allows invoices a significantly larger window for payment to be recorded before deletion by the MP clean-up process. While we do believe the actual resolution would come from MP directly in the form of a two-process update and perhaps changing the event registration participant status handling. In the meantime, OnlineGiving.org is committed to doing all that is in our power with creative integrations to work around the shortcomings of the existing MP Widget payment design.
We're hopeful this update will smooth out the small use cases in which an invoice payment record cannot be delivered to the MP server within an hour. Should you have any questions, we welcome you to please reach out to support@onlinegiving.org.