We were recently informed by WePay, one of Action Network’s payment processors, that they would no longer provide service to us and our partners. That’s why we’re excited to announce a new enhanced partnership with our payment processor Stripe. We have built the ability to move recurring donations to Stripe, so they will continue to provide revenue for your groups.
To get started in this migration, follow the steps in this document. Please make sure to complete all steps. We will update this document and reach out to you with next steps as they become available.
Note that Stripe has a similar setup to Action Network. You, as a person, will need a Stripe login (your email and password) and that Stripe login can be an administrator on multiple Stripe accounts (which can represent your organization(s), different streams of money to your organization(s), etc.). Stripe accounts can have multiple logins as administrators as well, just like Action Network groups. So if you need to make multiple Stripe accounts for each of your groups, you can do so from one Stripe login, and invite colleagues to manage each Stripe account just like you can invite multiple admins to your groups.
1. Preparing to Onboard your New Stripe Account
Identifying your Business Information Requirements
Identifying the following business information requirements may help you prepare for creating and onboarding your new Stripe account:
- Business identification (address and website ownership) and bank account information. This can include but is not limited to: Bank details, Legal entity name and type, physical business address, EIN and/or tax ID, and beneficial owner personal information.
- Supportability of your business.
- The overall risk level of your business.
- A more detailed look at what information may be required can be found here.
You can learn more about getting started with Stripe's Getting Started Guide here.
Identifying your Necessary Stripe Administrators
At least one administrator of your Action Network group with the contributions permission should be an administrator on your Stripe account.
If multiple people in your group(s) will be responsible for migrating your Action Network fundraiser(s), ensure that those people are added as a member to the Stripe account. For example, if the person setting up Stripe is different from the person setting up your Action Network fundraiser, both people need an individual Stripe user login and access to the organization's Stripe account.
You can learn more about adding team members to Stripe accounts here.
Creating One Stripe Account per Action Network Group
This guide will walk you through the process of creating a new Stripe account for the purposes of this migration, rather than using a previously existing Stripe account.
Each group that is a fundraiser recipient in Action Network requires its own Stripe account if you want to keep the funding streams separate. You can use one Stripe account, but there will be no way for you to separate out the funds raised towards each different Action Network group. Therefore, we recommend creating one Stripe account per Action Network group in order to differ between funding streams.
You can learn more about creating and managing multiple Stripe accounts here.
2. Create a Stripe Login
The first step of your WePay to Stripe migration will require you to register a Stripe login and/or log in to an existing Stripe login. If you are a new user to Stripe, you will first need to register for Stripe so you have a Stripe user login associated with your email address. If you are an existing user to Stripe, you may use an existing Stripe login.
New Stripe User
New users to Stripe will first need to register for Stripe so you have a Stripe user login associated with your email address. Register for Stripe here.
After registering, you will be required to verify your email. Verifying your email will then prompt you to 'Activate Payments' by creating a new Stripe account.
Existing Stripe User
Existing Stripe users should be able to log in to Stripe here.
After verifying your login, you will be ready to create a new Stripe account.
3. Create a new Stripe Account
We recommend creating a new Stripe account for each Action Network fundraiser recipient. This allows each group that is a fundraising recipient in Action Network to keep the funding streams separate. You can use one Stripe account, but there will be no way for you to separate out the funds raised towards each different Action Network group.
Creating a new Stripe Account
From a New Stripe Account:
New users to Stripe should select the 'Activate Payments' button that appears after verifying your Stripe registration to begin account onboarding.
From an Existing Stripe Account:
Existing users to Stripe should log in to their Stripe dashboard here.
In the upper left corner of your Stripe dashboard, select the down arrow next to your account name.
Select New Account.
Users should then select the 'Activate Payments' button that appears after selection to begin account onboarding.
From Activate payments, Stripe will walk you through the account onboarding required to create a new Stripe account for your Action Network group. Be sure to complete each onboarding step, you must activate before you can continue! After your onboarding is complete, Stripe will typically inform you if your account is active, or ask for more details, within an hour.
Additionally, don't forget to add new team members to your new Stripe account if you need. See above for more details.
Once Stripe tells you that your account is active, you are done for now! We'll email you with next steps (such as connecting this new account to Action Network) when they're ready. If you have any questions you can email us at support@actionnetwork.org.
Example New Stripe Account Onboarding with Images
To see an example of details required for a new Stripe account onboarding, you can view the images here.