Setting Up Stripe Payments: How Onboarding Works and How Fees Are Handled

Before you begin

You do not need an existing Stripe account. CooplyHQ creates auses Stripe Express accountto forprocess payments from families. Before you asclick part of the setup process. If you already have a personal or businessStart Stripe account,Onboarding, ahere separateis Expressexactly accountwhat willto stillexpect be— createdso specificallythere forare yourno co-op.surprises partway through.

To start,begin: go to Admin → Payouts & Billing → Stripe Connect andin clickyour Startco-op admin panel.

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You do not need an existing Stripe Onboarding.account

Stripe will create a new Stripe Express account for your co-op as part of this flow. If you already have a personal or business Stripe account, you can connect that one instead — but a brand-new account is fine and is what most co-ops use.

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What Stripe will ask you for (KYC)

Federal regulations require Stripe is required by law to verify theyour identity ofand anyoneyour whoco-op. collectsHave payments.these Thisready processbefore isyou called KYC (Know Your Customer). You will be asked to provide:start:

• Your Legallegal name and, date of birthbirth, —address, forand the account owner

SSN (last 4 digits orusually full)enough) Your co-op's legal name, address, and EIN — foror, individualif verification;you useoperate as an individual, your EIN if your co-op is a non-profit or LLCSSN A US bank account —(routing for+ account number) where payouts (routingwill land A phone number and account number) Contact informationemail — email and phone number for youraccount Stripe accountrecovery

Stripe's onboarding form walks you through each step. Most co-op admins complete it in about 10 minutes. Your information goes directly to Stripe — CooplyHQ never sees or stores it.

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Where yourthe money goeslands — and how to see it

WhenFamily apayments familydeposit pays through CooplyHQ, the funds go directly into your connected Stripe Express account. From there, Stripe automatically sends payouts to your linkedthe bank account onyou aconnect rollingduring basisonboarding. (typically 2–7 business days after each payment).

CooplyHQ never holds your funds.funds Everyin dollarthe collected goes to Stripe and then to your bank.middle.

Once connected, you can manage your balance,Stripe viewaccount individualis payouts, and handle any disputes throughlive, the Open Stripe Express dashboardDashboard —button accessible directly fromon the Stripe Connect page inopens your CooplyHQStripe adminExpress panel.dashboard, where you can view balances, payout history, individual transactions, and issue refunds.

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How Stripe fees are handled

Stripe charges a processing fee on each card payment (typically 2.9% + 30¢). CooplyHQ gives you twocontrol options forover how those fees are handled. You chooseset the mode per priced item when— youmembership setplans, itevents, up.classes, and classified listings each have their own setting.

Two modes are available:

Absorb (default)

TheYour co-op coverspays the Stripe processing fee. Families pay exactlythe thesticker price you set.exactly. If you list a class at $50, the family pays $50 and your co-op receives the remainder after Stripe's fee.

This is the default for new priced items. Choose Absorb when you want the simplest checkout experience for families and are comfortable building the fee into your pricing.

Gross-up

The displayed price is adjusted upward so that after Stripe deducts its fee, your co-op receives the full amount you intended. Families see oneOne all-in price —for therefamilies, iswith nothe separateStripe fee line. The fee is baked into whatthe theydisplayed pay.amount. The buyer effectively pays the fee.

Example: If you want to net $50, CooplyHQ calculates the grossed-up price (approximately $52.06) so that after the Stripe fee is deducted, you receive exactly $50.

Choose Gross-up when you want your co-op to net a specific amount on every transaction.

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Why paymentcheckout goeshappens toon checkout.stripe.com

When a family clicks to pay, they are redirected to a page at checkout.stripe.com. This— isStripe's expectedPCI-compliant andhosted intentional.checkout page — to enter card or bank details, then returned to your co-op site.

Stripe hosts the payment page directly so that cardCard numbers and payment details never touch CooplyHQ's servers. This keeps your co-op completely out of PCI compliance scope — a significant benefit that removes a large category of data security requirements from your organization.

The

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checkout page is co-branded with your co-op name and returns the family

Ready to your site after payment is complete.

Next stepsconnect?

Connect your Stripe account to start accepting payments: goGo to Admin → Payouts & Billing → Stripe Connect and click Start Stripe Onboarding. The guided Stripe flow takes a few minutes. Once complete, your co-op can immediately start collecting payments from families.

Once connected, you can add prices to your membership plans, events, and classes — and families can pay online at checkout.