Connecting to Stripe

Stripe is Recharge's most recommended and popular payment processor, as they have great support and affordable fees. Stripe also works seamlessly with all ecommerce platforms that Recharge integrates with and allows you to sell your items without any hassle. Connecting your Stripe account to Recharge is a straightforward process that can have your customers checking out within minutes.

This guide provides the steps to connect the Stripe account with Recharge, process manual payments via Stripe, connect with secondary payment processors, use Stripe in test mode and update the Stripe account credentials. 

Before you start

• If your store is on Shopify, the Stripe account must be separate from Shopify Payments in order to store customers' credit cards. For more information, visit Payment processors FAQ.
• It is important to know which types of businesses or products are restricted by Stripe as you can be denied due to the nature of the product. Products such as cannabis paraphernalia, pseudo-pharmaceuticals, guns, weapons, gambling, or a variety of others are not allowed.
• We recommend that you turn off the Stripe receipt email in your Stripe account settings since Recharge and your ecommerce platform handle order confirmation notifications.
• Stripe's processing fees vary depending on where you're located. Visit Stripe's documentation for more details. Contact Stripe for help if you do not see your country listed.
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
  • Australia

Step 1 - Connect to Stripe

1. In the merchant portal, click Settings and select Payment.
2. Under the Payment processor section, select Stripe from the drop-down.
3. Click Connect with Stripe.

Step 2 - Add a Stripe account

If you need to create a new Stripe account:

1. Enter your email address and click Continue. 
   
2. Enter a password and click Continue. Enter a mobile number to secure your account.
3. Enter your business information and personal details to create your account. 
4. Click Authorize access to this account to complete sign-up and connect your account to Recharge.

If you have an existing Stripe account:

1. Enter your email address and password to sign in to your Stripe account. 
2. Select the Stripe account from the dropdown and click Connect my Stripe account. 

Stripe deferred account activation

While signing up for Recharge, we offer the option to create a deferred Stripe account. Doing so will enable quick setup for Stripe and allow you to seamlessly finish the payments set up on Recharge. You have a week to finish account activation with Stripe, including filling out your banking information and providing personal information verification. 

Issue a manual charge

You may need to charge a customer directly through Stripe. If you are using Braintree, refer to Braintree's guide.

1. Log into Stripe.
2. Search for the customer.
   
3. Scroll down to the Payments section and click the + Create Payment button.
4. Enter the currency and amount. Be sure to note in the description that it's a manual charge. This will help you in the future when you need to know the reason for this. Click Charge Customer.
   

Stripe and PayPal

Although Recharge recommends Stripe, you can also accept payments with PayPal via Braintree. Both Stripe and Braintree can be enabled in your Recharge store at the same time. For help setting up both processors, visit Connecting Paypal as a secondary processor.

Test credentials

If you are setting up a development or test store, you can enable Developer Tools and enter your Stripe API test keys.

1. In the merchant portal, click Settings and select Payment.
2. Under the Payment processor section, select Stripe from the dropdown.
3. Under Developer Tools, click the checkbox to enable the Stripe testing environment.
   
4. Enter the secret key and publishable key for your Stripe test account.
5. Click Save.

Change Stripe accounts

If you have an existing Stripe account connected and you need to switch to a different Stripe account, visit Changing Stripe accounts.