Sell tickets on Namaste: bank transfer, pay at the door, and no more spreadsheet of who paid

Ask anyone who runs a Garba night, a Diwali dinner or a Telugu association’s Ugadi lunch abroad how they sell tickets, and you will hear some version of the same thing. A Google Form for names. A WhatsApp broadcast with the bank details. A spreadsheet where someone matches transfers against names at midnight — “is ‘R. KUMAR’ the Rakesh who booked four, or the Ravi who booked two?” — and on the night, a printed list at the door and a queue behind it.

The big ticketing sites exist, of course. But a community event at a church hall does not want a booking fee on every ticket, many of the people buying would much rather pay by bank transfer than type a card number into a site they have never heard of, and half the audience will pay at the door anyway. So the spreadsheet wins, every year.

From today, Namaste can do that job. Organisers can take free registrations or sell tickets on their event page, and buyers can pay the way they already do — by bank transfer, straight into the organiser’s own account, or at the door. We are starting with events in Belgium, and more countries will follow.

🎟️ What you can do

🏦 How a bank transfer reservation works

This is the part that replaces the spreadsheet. When a buyer chooses bank transfer, Namaste holds their seats and shows them three things: the amount, a payment reference that looks like NMT-XXXX-XXXX, and your account details. In countries that use SEPA payments, there is also a payment QR code: they open their banking app, scan it, and the amount, the account and the reference are filled in for them. No typos in the IBAN, no missing reference.

1. 1

   The buyer reserves

   Their seats are held for a few days — never past the start of the event — and they get one reminder before the hold runs out.
2. 2

   They pay you

   From their own bank, into yours. The reference on the transfer is the order, so there is nothing to match by name.
3. 3

   You tap Mark paid

   From your ticket desk on namaste.community. Their QR tickets are emailed straight away.
4. 4

   Or the hold lapses

   If no payment arrives, the seats go back on sale on their own and the buyer is told. Nobody has to chase anybody.

If the money arrives a little late, you can still mark the order paid as long as there are seats left. You can also hand the job to a trusted co-organiser: give them the Manager role and they can mark transfers paid and read the report.

🚪 And at the door

Pay-at-the-door tickets are issued immediately, each showing what is still due. When your volunteer scans one, the screen says “Collect” and the amount. They take the payment, confirm, and the check-in records it — so at the end of the night the report tells you what should be in the cash box.

Scanning works in an ordinary phone browser, so the uncle who refuses to install anything can still run the door. If a ticket will not scan, search the list by name. Volunteers can be added with the Door role, which lets them scan and check people in and nothing more.

✅ Why sellers are verified

Because buyers are sending money to someone they found on Namaste, an event can only collect payments once our team has checked who is behind it. You ask once, from the event form or your ticket desk, with your organisation’s name, a phone number, the account buyers should pay into and a short note about what you run. Your event does not wait for it: it can be published as usual, and ticketing switches on by itself when the request is approved. Free registrations need no verification at all.

🏷️ What it costs

Free registrations are free, always, and never count towards anything. For events that collect money, Namaste does not take a cut of your ticket sales — the transfer lands in your account in full. What we charge for is an event plan:

1. 1

   Your first paid events are free

   A number of them, each up to a set number of attendees — enough to try it properly.
2. 2

   Then a flat fee per event

   For later events, or for a bigger one, a plan with a fixed price per event covers a much larger audience.
3. 3

   Bigger than that?

   Talk to us and we will set up a plan that fits.

The current numbers are on the organiser guide, and your ticket desk always shows how many free events you have left and how full this event’s plan is.

👀 What attendees see — and share

Right above the confirm button, every buyer reads: “The organiser will see your name and city from your Namaste profile for this event.” That is what you get: the name on each ticket, the booking member’s public name and city, and when they checked in. Guests who book on the website without an account share only the name they type.

What you do not get is anyone’s email address or phone number. The tickets go to the buyer’s inbox from us, and if you want to tell your attendees about parking, the event’s chat room already has every member holding a ticket in it. The audience breakdown in your report is counts, not people, and any group smaller than five is folded into “Other”.

Getting started

1. 1

   Create your event

   On the web at Namaste for Business. Every event is still reviewed by a person before it goes live.
2. 2

   Turn on tickets

   Free or paid. For paid, set the price and choose bank transfer, pay at the door, or both.
3. 3

   Ask to be verified

   Only if you are collecting money. Publish meanwhile.
4. 4

   Share the link

   Your event page gets a Get tickets button on the website and in the app.

The full organiser guide covers refunds, the door, the report and the small print. And if your community’s events still run on a Google Form, send this to whoever keeps the spreadsheet — or reach us on WhatsApp and we will help you set up the first one.