Stripe
About Stripe
Stripe is a payment gateway that processes credit card transactions, enables API connectivity, and provides a user interface. In practice, it is very similar to a bank account (in terms of regulations and security). By creating a Stripe account you are allowing transactions to go from the campaign page into your bank account. CauseMatch will have limited access.
Why we use Stripe?
- It sets the industry standard: reliable, secure, fast, and simple.
- Flat, predictable rates (Other providers may appear to be more affordable but after they charge for card authorizations, refunds, etc. Those “cheaper” options are often more expensive.)
- Nonprofit discounts
- No contract required
- Lower chargeback fee ($15)
- Stripe accepts the greatest diversity of card types.
- Stripe accepts credit cards from 150 different countries.
- Stripe circumvents machine learning to process even “high risk” credit cards.
If you are running an international call center, this feature is CRITICAL.
Have you ever had a card rejected while you were traveling because you forgot to inform the bank of your travel plans?
Stripe allows you to adjust the Fraud Shield settings so that even if the cardholder is in America but your call center is abroad, the transaction will still be processed. - Customers never leave your site during the buying cycle
- Stripe will send your donations directly to the appropriate country.
If you have a nonprofit branch in Canada, the UK, and the USA, then it is important to have your funds land directly in the respective bank account. This allows you to issue proper and automated receipts, which will save time with accounting. Depending on the currency of your donation, the funds will be rerouted accordingly. - Due to their size and immense resources, Stripe’s security is second to none. (Stripe is currently running on over 40,000 websites and businesses, whereas companies such as Payment Fidelity are only on 700 or so.)
- Keep and move your customer data
- 24/7 support (help center, phone, live chat, and email)
- PCI Compliant
Application and stripe fees
There are two fee types in a Stripe account:
- Stripe fee: This is the fee charged by Stripe. The amount varies depending on the country of the account and is NON-REFUNDABLE. (see table below).
- CauseMatch fee: This is the platform fee taken by CauseMatch. Our SOP is to withhold the fee % per the contract + an additional 7% security deposit. This security deposit is used to cover fees on offline donations as well as donations from other gateways. If any amount is left over after the campaign, CauseMatch will return it.
Stripe combines the application and Stripe fee together into one line called ‘fee’. If you hover over this amount with your mouse, you can see the breakdown of the two fees.
Non-Profit Pricing
For US and Canadian accounts, there is nonprofit pricing available. It must be specifically requested by the nonprofit itself. The pricing is 2.2% + 30c for non-Amex cards and 3.5% for Amex cards. For more information and to apply on Stripe please visit the link below:
https://support.stripe.com/questions/fee-discount-for-nonprofit-organizations
Currency Exchange Fee
The above fees assume that the card was issued in the same country as the Stripe account. Where the card processed was issued in another country, Stripe charges an additional 1%.
Breakdown of fees based on currency
(*For those who do NOT qualify for the non-profit discount!)
|
European Cards |
2.9% + 0.3 |
|
Non-European cards |
|
|
Dispute fee |
15.00 |
The fees listed here are based on our experience with Stripe and may be subject to change. For more accurate information and updates please visit Stripe.com.
Setup Process - Using Stripe Connect in the CauseMatch Dashboard
- Log into your CauseMatch Dashboard
- Follow the steps in the follow images:
1. Go to edit your campaign:
2. Navigate to the "Financials" tab:
3. Click on "Connect with Stripe":
4. Select "Connect New Account":
5. Sign in to your Stripe account or enter your email and create a new account:
Setup Process
- Go HERE to the Stripe/CauseMatch Dashboard
- Sign into your existing organization's account or create a new one!
- Repeat Above Step for different COUNTRIES (*not currencies- this is per country-due to specific tax receipts and laws)
- Please send Acct_ and EIN to your campaign manager.
- Watch the setup tutorial below:
Process for a NEW Account
*Please be aware Stripe will ask you for the following:
- Email address (ideally, it should be a generic organizational email address that is not associated with one person in case of departure- ie office@ or finance@).
- Legal Organization Name (& DBA)
- Registered Business Address
- EIN
- Bank account details (User ID & Password) and possibly the routing & account number for payouts
- Personal information: License/ID and SSN (for identity verification), phone number for 2-step authentication
- You will also need your Charity#/SS EIN letter (for applying to the nonprofit discount)
Tax receipts
After a donor donates, CauseMatch will send a tax receipt on your behalf as part of the thank you email. This thank you email is a valid tax receipt in the US and the UK (as long as it contains the donor’s name, donation date, donation amount, and name of the issuing entity).
In order to issue tax receipts in a specific country, two conditions MUST be present:
- There must be a registered nonprofit that can issue recognized tax receipts in the relevant country.
- The money must be received in the country where the receipt is issued. You must have a bank account in that country. For example, to issue tax receipts in the US, the money must be received in the US by an S501c3 non-profit that is willing to issue receipts.
Important notes
The Stripe account is fully owned by you and must be set by an authorized person at the non-profit.
- Accuracy of information:
Please note that ALL information entered when creating the Stripe account must be 100% accurate as per the nonprofit’s legal records in the relevant country.
If the account is restricted for any reason (like lack of information), CauseMatch won’t be able to launch the campaign.
If the account is restricted for any reason (like lack of information), CauseMatch won’t be able to launch the campaign.
- Emails from Stripe:
Please keep an eye out for emails from Stripe requesting additional information or verifications. If Stripe asks for information and doesn’t receive a response, they will freeze your account.
- Save your Password:
In the process of creating the account, you will be asked to create a username and a password. Please make sure to save those credentials for logging into the account.
- Authority:
Stripe will ask you for very confidential and sensitive
information when setting up the account so it is ideal that this account should be set up by the main person in the organization
- Refunds:
Stripe has a very strict refund policy that you can see
HERE
. In the case that a donation is refunded (because of an accidental duplication or mistake on the part of the donor) you are able to refund the entire amount to the donor or the amount minus the fee. If you choose to do a full-refund to the donor, you are taking responsibility for covering the Stripe fee. We will refund you the portion of the fee that would otherwise be owed to CauseMatch.
Example: A donor accidentally donates $10,000 instead of $10. Stripe takes 3% and CauseMatch takes 7% in fees. You can refund the full $10,000 to the donor or refund minus the fee (in this case it would be $300). CauseMatch will NOT charge the 7% on this donation ($700), but you are still responsible for the $300.
In the case there was an extremely large error (like above) you can contact Stripe directly and explain the situation.
Question:
If Stripe is so similar to PayPal, why don't we just use PayPal instead?
Answer
:
While we are integrated with PayPal, we do not recommend using PayPal as a primary credit card processor because:
- It redirects customers away from your website during the checkout process, increasing the likelihood of donation abandonment
- Can’t move all your customer data to another payment processor if you choose to change processors in the future
- No Recurring Billing
- Higher Chargeback Fee ($20)
- Inconsistent support quality
- They are more likely to refund donations/deny payouts if they deem the account is breaking their terms and conditions (which can happen after your campaign, with little notice).
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