Blackthorn Payments Solutions
Client Case Studies
Click on each client to view their detailed Blackthorn Payments implementation journey.
Client: Yoga Alliance
Platform: Salesforce + Blackthorn Payments + Stripe
Partner: NIRA Systems
Payment Methods: Credit/Debit Card · ACH Bank Transfer · Other Stripe-Supported Methods
Global Reach: 130+ Countries
Problem Summary: Yoga Alliance operates a global membership platform supporting Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) and Registered Yoga Schools (RYSs) across more than 130 countries. Members use the Salesforce Experience Cloud portal to manage memberships, access continuing education resources, and annual membership renewals. As membership volumes increased, Yoga Alliance required a scalable and automated payment infrastructure. NIRA Systems implemented Blackthorn Payments integrated with Stripe within Salesforce — introducing a flexible payment framework supporting Card, ACH, and alternative payment methods while enabling an opt-in membership auto-renewal experience powered by custom Salesforce automation.
Business Challenges
Solution
NIRA Systems implemented a unified Blackthorn Payments and autorenewal solution across the Yoga Alliance member portal through five structured workstreams:
1 — Blackthorn Payments Installation & Stripe Integration
Blackthorn Payments was deployed and configured natively within Yoga Alliance's Salesforce org. Stripe was connected as the payment processor, with a unified payment gateway configuration supporting all three member-facing payment methods: Credit/Debit Card, ACH bank transfer, and other Stripe-supported methods. Blackthorn's native Salesforce objects — Payment Gateway Customer, Payment Methods and Transactions — were mapped directly to the existing Yoga Alliance member data model, ensuring every payment captured in real time against the correct member record.
2 — Website Payment Flow (Manual — Member-Initiated)
For member-initiated payments through the portal, NIRA implemented a seamless end-to-end flow. The payment form on the Experience Cloud site presents all three supported payment methods. On submission, Blackthorn communicates with Stripe to process the transaction and immediately writes the result — success or failure — back to the member's Salesforce record. Membership status and renewal date are updated in real time upon successful payment, with no manual reconciliation required. Autorenewal opt-in is available directly at the point of payment — both during first-time membership signup (for teachers and schools) and at annual renewal. Members opt in by ticking a checkbox on the payment form, with their preference stored immediately in Salesforce against their membership record.
3 — Autorenewal Engine (Custom-Automated)
For members who have opted in to autorenewal, NIRA designed and built a custom automation engine operating entirely within Salesforce. Custom Apex logic runs on a scheduled basis to monitor membership expiry dates across the member base. On each member's renewal due date, the automation triggers Blackthorn to initiate and capture the transaction against the stored payment method — without any action required from the member or Yoga Alliance staff. On success, the membership status is renewed and the next renewal date is advanced automatically in Salesforce. Autorenewal is opt-in only — members elect to the program by ticking the autorenewal checkbox when completing payment, either at first-time signup or at any annual renewal. The preference can be updated by the member from their portal account at any time.
4 — Retry Logic & Card Expiry Notifications
A 3-day retry window was implemented for failed autorenewal charges. When an autorenewal attempt fails, the custom logic automatically retries the charge on subsequent days within the window before flagging the membership for staff review. This significantly reduces failure-to-renewal drop-off without requiring any manual intervention within the retry window. A separate notification workflow reads expiry dates from Blackthorn's payment method object and identifies members on autorenewal whose stored card will expire within a configurable lead-time window. An automated reminder is sent to those members directing them to update their payment method via the portal — preventing expiry-driven failures before they occur.
5 — Refunds & Membership Status Reversal
Refund processing — both full and partial refunds — is handled by Yoga Alliance staff directly through Stripe. When a refund is issued, a custom Salesforce integration reads the Stripe refund event and automatically reflects the outcome in the member record. For full refunds, the membership status and renewal date are reverted by custom logic — rolling back to the pre-payment state and ensuring member records accurately reflect the current entitlement.
Key Features
Unified Multi-Method Payment Processing
Card, ACH, and other Stripe payment methods handled through a single Blackthorn configuration on the Experience Cloud portal, with real-time Salesforce record updates on every transaction.
Opt-In Membership Autorenewal
Members elect to autorenewal at first-time signup or annual renewal via a checkbox on the payment form. Preference is stored in Salesforce and drives automated charge capture on the renewal due date — no member or staff action required.
Custom Autorenewal Engine
Purpose-built Apex logic monitors membership expiry dates and triggers Blackthorn automatically on the due date, advancing renewal dates and updating membership status in Salesforce upon success.
3-Day Retry Window
Failed autorenewal charges are retried automatically on subsequent days within a 3-day window before escalating to staff, reducing revenue loss from transient payment failures.
Card Expiry Notification Workflow
Custom logic reads Blackthorn payment method objects and proactively notifies members on autorenewal when their stored card is approaching expiry, directing them to update payment details via the portal.
Stripe-Managed Refunds with Salesforce Reflection
Full and partial refunds processed in Stripe are automatically reflected in Salesforce. Full refunds trigger custom rollback logic that reverts membership status and renewal date, maintaining accurate member records without manual data correction.
Real-Time Payment Capture in Salesforce
Every transaction — manual or automated — is written back to the corresponding Salesforce member record in real time via Blackthorn's native data model, eliminating reconciliation lag and providing staff with an always-current view of payment and membership status.
Performance Metrics
Data & Security
All payment data collection, processing, and storage was implemented in full alignment with Yoga Alliance's data governance policies, Salesforce security model, and applicable payment industry standards.
PCI DSS Compliance via Tokenization
Card and ACH payment method data is tokenized via Stripe and stored as Stripe payment method tokens within Blackthorn's Salesforce objects — no raw card or bank account data is retained in Salesforce at any point, substantially reducing Yoga Alliance's compliance scope.
Salesforce-Native Security Boundary
Blackthorn Payments operates natively within Salesforce, ensuring payment transaction data is held within the org's existing security boundary and subject to Yoga Alliance's role-based access controls.
Role-Based Access Controls
Visibility of payment transaction records, payment method objects, and autorenewal configuration is restricted to authorized staff only. Refund processing permissions are limited to designated staff roles within Stripe and reflected in Salesforce read-only for audit purposes.
Technical Differentiators
Salesforce-Native Payment Architecture
Blackthorn Payments is built natively on Salesforce, meaning every transaction, payment method, and autorenewal record exists within the Yoga Alliance org's data model — without external middleware, data silos, or synchronization latency. This eliminates the integration overhead and data drift common to third-party payment integrations.
Custom Autorenewal Engine With No Managed Package Dependency
The autorenewal logic — expiry monitoring, charge triggering and status advancement — was built as custom Apex rather than relying on out-of-the-box Blackthorn scheduling features. This gives Yoga Alliance full control over renewal logic and failure handling behaviour and allows the engine to adapt to policy changes without managed package update cycles.
Opt-In Autorenewal Embedded in Payment Flow
Rather than managing autorenewal enrolment through a separate member journey, the opt-in checkbox was integrated directly into the website at both first-time signup and annual renewal. This placement drives high enrolment rates by surfacing the option at the moment of highest member intent — the point of payment.
Proactive Card Expiry Management via Blackthorn Object
Card expiry notifications are driven by reading Blackthorn's native payment method object — no external data source or third-party service required. The notification workflow is entirely Salesforce-native, ensuring expiry data is always current and notification targeting is accurate without data pipeline dependencies.
Delivery Model
Manual website payment flows were implemented and fully validated in production before being switched on for the broader membership — ensuring payment integrity was confirmed. Throughout, a cross-functional NIRA team worked in close collaboration with Yoga Alliance's product, member experience, and finance stakeholders.
Project Team Roles
- Blackthorn Implementation Lead
- Salesforce Developer (Custom Logic)
- Salesforce Experience Cloud Developer
- QA Analyst
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