How To Create A Stripe Account 2024: The Complete Setup Guide For Small Business

Stripe needs your SSN to verify your business identity if you are running a sole proprietorship or partnership. Other business structures may be asked to provide an EIN or other form of tax ID instead.

Stripe does not check credit scores as part of its application process, so merchants with poor credit can still get an account, provided their business complies with Stripe’s policies. In fact, Stripe does not even check credit for its lending service, Stripe Capital.

You can create a Stripe account within a few minutes if you have all of the necessary information handy. Be aware, however, that Stripe will hold your funds for around seven days after your first transaction, during which time Stripe will complete the verification of your account.

The first thing you’ll do is sign up for an account through Stripe’s website. If you’ve ever made an account online using your email address, you know what to expect. Choose a secure password. You’ll get a verification email from Stripe shortly after.

That will bring you to a page that looks something like this.

At this stage, you’ll have your test account.

Before entering any of your business data, Stripe allows users to create test versions of:

• Payments, including payment links and subscriptions
• Invoices
• Customers
• Product listings

While this is strictly optional, it’s a low-stakes way to get a feel for Stripe’s dashboard interface.

A payment link is, simply, a link to a checkout page, which you can then use to invoice a customer.  Stripe’s dashboard allows some modest customization of the checkout form, including what information you require from the customer to process the transaction. You can also change the text of the confirmation page the customer will see after making a payment or forego the confirmation page entirely.

You can also create a payment by manually entering a customer’s credit card information into Stripe’s virtual terminal. Just be aware that if you use this option for a real payment, it will cost you an additional 0.5%. This is because manually entered cards are considered to be a greater security risk.

If you have the customer’s payment information on file, you can import it into the virtual terminal instead of entering it manually. You’ll still be on the hook for the extra 0.5% though.

You can also create invoices to charge customers. You’ll add a product from your created list, and either charges a payment method you have on file or request payment from the customer. The invoice can then be emailed to your customer or exported as a .pdf.

If you know how to code but aren’t much for design, you can embed Stripe’s pre-generated, responsive checkout page into your website. The checkout pages do allow for some toggle-based customization, so you do have a decent amount of control over what they look like.

You’ll need to install Stripe’s library in the language of your choice (Ruby, Node, PHP, Python, Go, .Net, or Java), setup a server and create a test payment.

For those looking for more precise control over what their payments UI looks like, there’s Stripe Elements. Rather than providing a prebuilt checkout form, Stripe Web Elements gives you a Javascript library of responsive design elements you can use to build your user experience.

Stripe is mainly an eCommerce payment solution, but it’s possible to accept in-person transactions by implementing the Stripe Terminal SDK. You’ll need a compatible mobile reader to capture card information.

As is the case with the Stripe Checkout and Stripe Elements, you’ll need to set up a server using Stripe’s library (available in Ruby, Node, PHP, Python, Go, .Net, or Java). You’ll then need to connect your card reader to your backend using a secret connection-token.

Stripe allows a lot of flexibility with regard to your business structure and country of origin. Select the appropriate fields from the pulldown menus.

The next steps may vary slightly depending on the type of business you selected.

Depending on whether you selected an Individual or business account of some type, Stripe will ask for different things in the subsequent sections. If you’re not the owner of your business, make sure you’re the appropriate representative for the company, and fill out all of the non-optional fields Stripe requests.

See our list of information to have handy above for what to expect here.

Stripe needs to know a bit about your company’s goods or services. Simply check all the fields that apply to your company. You’ll also need to link your Stripe account to a bank account.

Afterward, you’ll be asked to add some public details about your company. These will be visible in payment statements, invoices, and receipts. You’ll also have the option of adding automated tax collection and participating in Stripe’s carbon removal program. If you aren’t sure if you want to participate in these, decline for now. You can always sign up for them later.

Stripe requires that users secure their accounts with two-step authentication. You’ll have three options for this:

• SMS text
• Mobile authenticator app (Google, Authenticator Plus, Duo Mobile, etc.)
• Security key (such as touch ID)

If you’re extremely worried about account security, I would steer away from SMS texts, as these are the easiest for fraudsters to work around.

When you’re done, review your summary. If you like what you see, confirm. You’ve successfully created and activated your Stripe Payments Account.