Where Camp Raquette Lake Started
Paying international Staff
Ninety percent of Raquette Lake Camp’s staff comes from around the world each summer. Although this internationalism is amazing for diversity and cultural exchange, paying non-US employees can be challenging for such a short period. The counselors only work for the summer season, and then return to their home countries.Â
Previously, Raquette Lake used a debit card platform to pay counselors their salaries. However, that platform’s registration process was extremely time-consuming and complicated, with it requiring uploading personal documentation and temporary SSNs, which left Tara and her team to manage a mountain of paperwork and ultimately, wanting a better solution.
Camper registration fees
When it came time to charge the camper registration fee, Tara relied mostly on accepting checks and wire transfers from parents, or a manual process to charge parents’ credit cards that took a 4% processing fee. This method was time-consuming as it required manual tracking, processing of incoming payments, and reminding parents. What if there was an easier way to collect camper payments that cut out the manual tasks?
After our previous experiences with other platforms, Crowded’s solution seemed too good to be true. The whole process of paying the staff was super easy, and our staff were happier. A definite win-win. Looking forward to next summer!
How using modern payment tools revolutionized Racquette Lake’s processes
Paying Staff with Per Diem accounts
Although Raquette Lake Camp is one of the oldest traditional sleepaway camps in America (since 1916!), they are not traditional when adopting the latest technology for camp operations.
Tara and her team used Crowded’s Per Diem accounts to seamlessly pay the international staff. Per Diem accounts are set up to allow camp administrators to pay counselors in just a few clicks and counselors could spend their salaries freely and easily with digital debit cards.
The camp created accounts for their staff easily and online – with no paperwork, SSN applications, or burdensome identity verification required. Each staff member had a dedicated account, with an auto-issued digital debit card tied to their account balance.
When it came time for payroll, Tara used Crowded’s platform to automatically deposit the proper amount into each staff member’s account, taking the data from her payroll provider. With no manual inputs required, Tara and her team could save time and avoid human error when paying salaries.
The camp also seamlessly reimbursed counselors for their visas or time worked outside of the payroll period through Per Diem accounts, using the technology beyond just payroll.
Staff have easy access to salary
Raquette Lake staff enjoy the process of getting paid through Crowded. Using their digital and physical Per Diem cards, they spend their salaries in-store, online, and anywhere globally that Visa is accepted. They track their transactions on the Crowded app, for easy expense management!
Staff-to-staff transfers
Raquette Lake staff especially enjoyed using Crowded’s instant free internal transfers from Per Diem account to Per Diem account. The staff liked to go on trips as a group during their off days. Because they could not split their accommodation bill multiple ways, one person would pay upfront, and the other counselors paid their share to that person instantly and for free through the Crowded app.
International transfers
At the end of the summer, staff who wanted to send their remaining salaries to their home countries did so right within the Crowded app! They used the ‘Transfer to Card’ feature to send money internationally to their home Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card accounts in the local currency. The money arrives within one day, making for a stress-free salary transfer process at the end of the summer.
Collecting Camp Registration Fees
For Summer 2025, Raquette Lake is processing camper registration fees through Crowded Collect. With Apple and Google Pay, credit and debit, and ACH payments accepted, parents can enjoy an effortless, and secure checkout process. Parents also enjoy lower processing fees with Crowded, saving up to $135 on fees!
On the camp administration side, the team can send payment reminders to parents in one click, and manage all incoming payments in one consolidated account.
Also, collecting camper fees, and paying counselors all in one platform cuts the need and cost of transferring large sums of money between accounts, saving time, and giving peace of mind to the Raquette Lake team.
Camps Raquette Lake save 180 hours and up to $54k a summer
since switching to Crowded
working with faulty platforms
of paperwork
Crowded Collect
