How do I sign up to accept card payments?

You need a Stripe account

You need a Stripe account to accept any card payments. Your business will need to okay this. Then you can get started:

We’ll redirect you to Stripe.

What Stripe will need

Stripe will need a lot of info, especially if you’re a limited company, so it’s good to prepare. You can take a break in your application whenever you need.

Information about you

Stripe will ask for:

You’ll use them to log in, in future.

You'll also need to tell Stripe about your business, how you want to be paid and, if you’re a limited company, about the people who run your business:

Info about your business

Tell us about your business section

Stripe will ask for your business:

Business details section

Stripe will ask for your business:

If you’re a limited company, Stripe will also ask you for your business’:

Info about how you want to be paid

Account for payouts section:

Stripe will ask for your business:

Stripe will pay the amounts your customers have paid by card to this account, minus any fees, refunds or disputed amounts you owe.

What happens next

Stripe will show you all your answers at the end and you can fill in any gaps or fix any mistakes.

Once that's all good, tap 'Done'. We'll bring you back to us. And we’ll let you know when your account is good to go.

But there’s still a bit more to do for limited companies.

Limited companies will need to fill out extra sections about their people

If you're a limited company, you'll have to add some extra info about your people:

Business representatives section

Stripe will also ask for the details of someone who is responsible for your business like an executive or senior manager and their:

Business owners section

Stripe will ask for details about anyone who owns 25% or more of your business.

Business directors section

Stripe will ask for details of your business directors (they should be the same people who are listed as your business directors in Companies House).

Business executives section

Stripe will ask for details of everyone who has management responsibility for your business.

Fulfilment details section

Stripe will ask you to choose how to provide your products or services.

If you’re set up on Stripe and want to add your friends

You can add the others from your Stripe dashboard.

Set up card payments if your business already has a Stripe account

Why do I need to set up a direct debit with Stripe?

Stripe needs you to connect a bank account and authorise a direct debit for it.

Stripe will debit money from that account if you owe money and your Stripe account balance is negative. For instance if the money you're paying back to your customers in refunds is more than your customers have paid.

It’s good news too. Stripe also pays out money to your connected bank account when your customers pay by card (minus any fees, refunds or disputed amounts).

Read about how Stripe handles negative balances and why they need a direct debit authorisation.

Stripe usually reviews applications in minutes

Stripe reviews your application as soon as you submit it. It should take a few minutes. But it might take longer if they need more info (they'll email you if that’s the case).

As soon as Stripe activates your account you can accept card payments.