There are no setup costs and no monthly costs for payment processing.

3.4% + 30c per transaction applies to each transaction.

• The processing fee is based on our partnership agreement with Stripe as a Connect Express account, providing a third-party integration to our customer base. 
• It is specific to our integration with Stripe to cover the cost to create and maintain all of the integration points to provide seamless setup, payment processing, reporting, and refunds directly from your Swimtopia site.
• It is the same for for-profit and non-profit organizations. 
• If you have multiple registration forms (lessons, clinics, etc.) and sell merchandise, sponsorships, coach donations, and meet entry fees through your registration and/or online store, then each purchase will include the processing fee.

Stripe's processing fees can be paid by the seller (you) or the buyer (your members). The default is set to the seller but is configurable from the Registration form > Payment tab. 

• "Buyer pays" only applies to the initial registration fees. It does not apply when capturing conditional fees, or on the online store (if you are using those features).
• There are states with laws prohibiting merchants from charging consumers with surcharges on credit card transactions. Click to see which legal jurisdictions are included. 
• If the buyer is paying the processing fees, an amount necessary to cover the fees is added to the total amount of the order, and the processing fees are calculated based on this new total amount. As a result, processing fees are, in effect, paid on the processing fees, which results in a net higher processing fee rate relative to a configuration where the seller is paying the processing fees. 
• For simplicity's sake, consider increasing your registration fees to cover the transaction cost or use an acknowledgment to charge a non-refundable transaction fee of your choosing. 

Before you begin, we suggest gathering the following information to ensure a quick setup:

1. Website - This will be pre-populated to your team site but may need to change if your team's Stripe account will be managed by your HOA, Country Club, PTO/Booster Club, etc., and that organization has its own website.
2. Mobile# - used to send a verification code for access to your account
3. Email - used for account updates 
4. Legal Business Name - can be different from your team name if your team's Stripe account will be managed by your HOA, Country Club, PTO/Booster Club, etc.
5. Employer Identification Number (EIN) - Federal Tax Identification Number used to identify a registered business or nonprofit. ➞ See the EIN section within our Stripe FAQs article for more details on this requirement and how to easily create a free EIN, if needed.
6. Business Address/Phone# - a valid address is required, but a home address can be used if you do not have a business address.
7. Personal Address/Birthdate/SSN - Stripe requires this information to confirm who is authorized to act on behalf of the business/team. This prevents unauthorized people from creating an account on behalf of your business. 
8. Bank Account - required during setup to establish your weekly deposits
9. Authorized ID (License, Passport, ID Card...) - upload an image or document

No worries! We suggest waiting until you have all of the information listed above, but if something comes up, you can access your Settings > Stripe Account page again and click the button to Continue Setup. You will be presented with the next step in the process from the last completed and saved screen.

Alternatively, you can choose to Restart Setup to start over.

• Your Organization Name and Website URL will be pre-populated (if your team's Stripe account will be managed by your HOA, Country Club, PTO/Booster Club, etc., change the Website URL to match that entity)
• If your organization qualifies as a non-profit, click the checkbox
• Select your Industry from the list provided
• Click the Create Stripe Account button

• Email - used for account updates 
• Phone# - will be used to send a verification code for access to your account (if you enter an invalid#, you will get stuck on the next screen. To resolve this issue, you will need to go back to your Stripe Account page on your Swimtopia site and click the Restart Setup button)

The mobile number provided on the previous screen must be valid or you will receive an error and will need to update the number.

• Legal business name - can be different from your "Doing business as" team name populated from your Swimtopia site if your Stripe account will be managed by your HOA, Country Club, PTO/Booster Club, etc. (As noted below this field, the name listed and your EIN must match what is used on your tax documents.)
• Doing business as - pre-populated with the team name from your Swimtopia site
• Employer Identification Number (EIN) - Federal Tax Identification Number used to identify a registered business or nonprofit. ➞ See the EIN section of our Stripe FAQs article for more details and how to create a free EIN, if needed.
• Registered business address - a valid address is required, but a home address can be used if you do not have a business address
• Business phone number - can be the phone number for the person in charge of the account if there is no business number available

Stripe requires this information to confirm who is authorized to act on behalf of the business/team. This prevents unauthorized people from creating an account on behalf of your business. ➞ See the SSN/Birthdate section of our Stripe FAQs article for more details if needed.

We know this Business Owners terminology will not resonate with most of our customers, but remember, you are setting up a banking account, and Stripe works with all types of customers. 

So what you should do here during setup is click + Add a business owner and enter the same contact information as in Step 5 for your Business Representative. 

Most teams will select to deposit into a Team/HOA/Country Club or PTO bank account. Stripe can send deposits to any bank, so enter the details even if you do not see yours listed.

If you click to enter your bank details manually, the following pop-up is presented:

Stripe is requesting my Username/Pw to link to my bank...is this secure?

This method of requesting the bank account username and password is a very common method in use today to confirm access to a bank account. Stripe is using a service called Plaid to verify and link bank accounts. Plaid is very widely used by a range of financial applications to securely verify bank account information.

A backup method of entering a routing number and account number is available during setup (look for small print), but this requires inputting the amounts of 2 micro-deposits to verify the account, which can take several days to complete.

You will be presented with all of the data entered for each section. You will need to complete all sections to complete the process. Be sure to click the Agree and submit button to complete your Stripe account setup.

As mentioned in Step 7, Stripe requires a hold on the first transaction for 7-14 days due to their fraud protection policy, and then payouts typically take 2-3 days to process.

Although charges can be accepted into the team's Stripe account while the account is pending review, members who are completing registration or an |online store purchase will be required to complete a 3D Secure (3DS) verification directly with the issuing bank before the transaction will be approved. This extra step will only occur until a team's site is verified as legitimate.

The cardholder will usually receive a code via text, phone, or email, but the specific interface is determined by the issuing bank.

Example of a 3DS Authentication:

If Stripe requires more information from your team, you will see that there is an issue with your account on your Settings > Stripe Account page. Click on the View your account to learn more link for more details.

For details on how to access and manage your Stripe account ➞ See Registration: Payment Section

For details on how to access and manage your Stripe account ➞ See Setting up the Online Store

For details on how to access and manage your Stripe account ➞ See Stripe Account Access & Management

• Step 1: Our Stripe FAQs article and Stripe Support Center provide an extensive repository of searchable topics (your Swimtopia team site uses Stripe Express Connect). 

• Step 2: Can't find the answer online? Contact our Swimtopia Customer Happiness Team. (Available M-F 9am-6pm Central Time)

• Step 3: If we cannot answer your question, we will contact Stripe Support on your behalf and will escalate if we do not receive a response within 24-business hours. If we determine the question requires that you contact Stripe Support directly, we will instruct you on how to best reach out to them.