Stripe Express

What is Stripe?

Stripe is one of the largest and most trusted payment providers in the world, processing over $1 billion in payments. We have previously been using Stripe Connect to process payments in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Since September 2023, Stripe Express is our exclusive payment system. 

What are some advantages of Stripe Express?

• Reliability and security from one of the largest payment providers in the world.
• New payment options such as Google Pay and Apple Pay. 
• Fast confirmation and processing of payments allow your orders to be processed as quickly as possible.
• More convenience: Refunds to your customers can be issued directly from your GotPhoto admin area.
• Ability to access and manage your Stripe settings directly from your GotPhoto admin area.

You will be able to receive payments by:

• Credit/debit card

• Apple Pay

• Google Pay

Offering Apple and Google Pay is optional for you. Those payment methods are activated by default and can be turned off in your Stripe Express settings ("Modify"). However, we highly recommend activating them as they are the most widely used payment apps.

The availability of these two additional payment methods in your shop depends on your customers' browsers (Apple Pay will be shown in Safari, Google Pay in Google Chrome) and account settings. In order to see these options, customers will need to have a valid credit card saved in their Apple Pay / Google Pay account. It's also crucial for customers not to use the incognito mode and to enable the setting in their browser that allows sites to check if they have these payment methods saved.

• New: Klarna - Pay Now Buy Later (US  only)

  Similar to Apple and Google Pay, you can then activate it under Payment Methods > Stripe Express > Modify. It will be in a beta phase first which will allow us to improve it as we gather your feedback. At this point, Klarna is not available in the UK. 

  Payment Options with Klarna: Depending on your region, Klarna offers Pay Now, Pay Later, Pay in X installments, and financing options. Availability is fully determined and controlled by Klarna. There are no additional fees for using these options other than Klarna'a payment fees (see below).
  Availability for your customers: Klarna is available for orders over 50 USD/CAD, including taxes and discounts, offering flexible payment options. During our initial beta rollout, the minimum order amount cannot be changed, but we welcome your feedback and will adjust as needed. Please let us know if this limitation doesn't work for you.

  Payment Fees:  The payment fees for Klarna differ from other payment options. Each order incurs a flat fee of $0.30, along with a volume-based fee of 5.99% per transaction.

  Receive the full payment immediately: Payment is subject to standard processing delays and restrictions. Most importantly, you don’t have to wait for the customer to pay off the loan—you’ll receive the payment immediately. Klarna takes on the financial risk of the transaction, which is reflected in the higher payment fees associated with this option

  Loan Eligibility: Klarna controls loan eligibility and may decline installment payments based on various factors. GotPhoto cannot assist or access this decision process.

  Additional information: For up-to-date information, please refer to Klarna’s website, especially their "How it Works" and "Help" sections for any questions regarding Klarna’s operations.
  PayPal will no longer be supported after August 31st, 2023. In a carefully conducted experiment involving over 30,000 orders, we found that the availability of PayPal as a payment option had no impact on the conversion rate into purchases. Regardless of whether PayPal was available or not, 95% of customers in both groups made a purchase, leading us to conclude that the existing payment mix adequately satisfies customer demand without affecting the order rate or average order value.

• NEW: Stripe Link (US Only)

  Similar to Apple and Google Pay, Stripe Link is a digital wallet that allows your customers to make payments via a securely saved credit/debit card or bank account. This payment option is turned on by default. Customers can choose to pay using either a credit card or an instant bank transfer.

  The first time a customer enters their credit card or bank details during checkout, Stripe will ask them if they'd like to securely save their payment information for future use. If they agree, they will receive an email asking them to verify their email. On their next purchase with you or any other online shop offering Stripe Link, Stripe will automatically retrieve their saved details, streamlining the checkout process for them.

  For instant bank payments, Stripe provides customer incentives, such as a $5 rebate on qualifying orders, funded directly by Stripe with no impact on you. No action is required from your platform or business. Offers may change as Stripe runs experiments. Customers see the rebate on their bank statements. Promo details are visible at checkout, with terms at link.com. Additional information is available here. 

How will I receive my payments?
After the customer pays for their order and the bank releases their money, they will instantly become available on your Stripe account. We will withdraw service and payment fees, which are both paid to GotPhoto directly at the time of payment.  

You can request the payout from the GotPhoto dashboard (Click your user name > navigate to Wallets on the left-hand menu, then click Request Payout.) 

The Payout Request page gives you three main options: 

1. Under See Details, you can find more details about available funds, when clicking Update, you will find the option to update your payout mode based on your preference.  Learn more below. 
2. Below your Walletdetails you find a list of your previous payouts.
3. Press the Pay out button for initiating a payout. In the next step, you will be able to adjust the amount in case you do not wish a full payout.  If you don't see the Pay out button, it means that you're still on the default settings, the automatic weekly payout schedule. Click "See Details" then "Update" to change the settings. 

Updating your Payout settings

Please know that until the payout is completed and the payment is marked as settled, it will be shown as pending on your Stripe dashboard. Pending does not mean that your customer has not yet paid; it means the amount is not yet available for a payout. If you click the payments that are currently processed in your account, it will show you the total of payments that have not yet been paid out and payments that have been sent to your payout account.
 

Instant Payouts

Instant Payout is a feature on the Stripe platform that allows you to transfer funds from your Stripe account to their bank account almost immediately, bypassing the typical 3-5 business day wait. This feature is only available for US accounts. Eligible users can request an Instant Payout anytime, including weekends and holidays, with funds generally settling in the associated bank account within 30 minutes. This feature offers increased flexibility and quicker access to funds, making it a valuable tool for businesses needing fast cash flow management.

Availability: Instant Payouts are available to US accounts meeting the following criteria: 

• The account must be older than 30 days
• The account must have already made at least one Stripe payout
• The account must have an Instant-eligible payment method associated with it. Currently, only debit cards and certain banks qualify for Instant Payouts. The list of eligible banks can be accessed here. Instant-eligible payment methods are marked as such when viewed in Stripe Dashboard or Payouts page in the GotPhoto admin area. 

Limitations: In addition to the eligibility requirements, Stripe limits the availability and maximum amount for Instant Payouts. These limits can vary depending on several factors, such as account history, transaction volume, and risk assessments performed by Stripe. As a result, the total amount available for an Instant Payout may differ from one account to another and may change over time based on the account's activity and standing with Stripe.

Request an Instant Payout: Instant Payouts can be requested from GotPhoto admin areas, via the Payouts page. By clicking the"Pay Out" button, you will be able to choose the Instant Payout option if available.

How will my fees be deducted? 

⚠ Important: Please note that your monthly subscription fee and (if applicable) editing service fees will be charged separately via your credit card. More information on your GotPhoto fees can be found here. 

In North America, your lab will bill you directly for production and shipping fees.
In the UK, GotPhoto will bill your production and shipping fees instead of the lab.

When my monthly fees are due (covering subscription and editing charges), will the amount be deducted from my Stripe balance, or will it be charged to the credit card I have provided on file?
If you have set up the automatic payout schedule, the charge will be processed on the credit card you have on file. We will charge your Stripe balance if you select the manual payout option. However, we will charge your credit card for the full sum if your Stripe balance has insufficient funds.

How will refunds work?
You can refund the order completely or partially using the dashboard. Simply visit the order details page and click the “Refund” button. Please note that you are still liable for any payment or service fees. They will be deducted from your customer's payments even if you later refund the full order amount to the customer.

It can take a few minutes until the order page shows the refund on the order page.

If a partial refund has been applied, the order status will now show as 'Partially refunded.' 

After the refund has been issued, your customer will receive a confirmation email that notifies them about the refund. On your customer's bank statement, the refund amount will show the statement descriptor that you have set up under Payment methods > Stripe Express> Modify.

Please note that the order won't be automatically canceled in GotPhoto if you issue a refund. For an order cancelation, please contact our Customer Care team. 

What about customer payment disputes?  
If a customer disputes a payment, we will hold the payment and charge a non-refundable dispute charge of $15. Once the dispute is resolved and proven incorrect, the order payment will be credited back to your account.  

My customer received an error note when attempting to pay with their credit card. 
Your customer will see the reason why the card payment failed. Here, you can find an overview of all possible errors that can occur. 

Does Stripe Express support Stripe Capital loans? 
Yes, Stripe Capital loans are offered to eligible customers in the US. You can find more detailed information here.

Clicking this button will open a window that shows all attempts at payment by your customer. If a Details button appears, clicking on it will provide more information about the attempt.

In addition to all the reports and statistics available in your GotPhoto account, you will have access to your Stripe Dashboard.

There, you can view your earnings statistics, track payouts, and adjust settings related to your verification documents and bank accounts. If you already used Stripe in the past, this will all look familiar to you. 

Stripe Dashboard also includes a link to Stripe's helpdesk, where you find detailed help articles.

You can find your notifications under one quick view:

Under the user icon, you have the option to review your account, payout, and platform settings:

On my GotPhoto dashboard, I can see my current balance. What do Stripe Express and GotPhoto balance mean here? And why do the amounts change so frequently? 

• Current Stripe Express balance: These funds in your Stripe Express account are available for a payout.
• Current Balance GotPhoto: You earned this amount recently, but it’s not yet deposited in your GotPhoto account. It's important to understand that this is a rolling balance. The rolling balance in this context refers to the continuously changing balance in your account. It can be both positive and negative depending on various factors. Here's an explanation:

Positive Balance: A positive balance can result from several scenarios, including:

• Overpayments of fees: If you paid more in fees than you owe, the excess amount is reflected as a positive balance.
• Refunds for issues: If refunds are processed for any reason, they can contribute to a positive balance. 
• Manual pay-ins: When users manually add funds to their accounts, it increases their balance.
   

Negative Balance: On the other hand, a negative balance can occur for reasons like:

• Pending Billables: Fees or charges may accumulate in the account balance before they are invoiced or billed (e.g., editing service fees). This can temporarily lead to a negative balance.
• Ongoing Transactions: The balance can change frequently due to ongoing transactions, payouts, payments, and fees.

It's important to note that the GotPhoto balance shown in your dashboard is not the same as the Stripe balance. Billing and invoicing are handled via the GotPhoto balance, which can fluctuate as transactions occur. You may see these changes more frequently in your GotPhoto balance if you were used to our previous dashboard view, where these ongoing transactions were not shown in GotPhoto if you used your previous Stripe account, which was not integrated on that same level with GotPhoto. 

In summary, the rolling balance can be positive or negative based on various financial activities and transactions within the platform, and it is part of the system's features to provide users with a real-time view of their account's financial status.

What kind of reports are available to me?

In addition to the various reporting options already available in the dashboard, we are adding new reports that pull data from your Stripe account. These reports can be found in Gotphoto under the Financial Reports section of the Your Account section of the dashboard.

Please note: Reports are available with a 2-business day buffer. This means you can only access a report for an order if more than two business days have passed since the order was placed. 

They can be used to reconcile your payments with orders and gain insights into your cash flow, among other things. If you want to learn more about the available exports, please refer to his article Stripe Express Reports.

Right-click the image below and select "Open in a new tab" for some additional guidance on choosing the appropriate export option.

Can I change the statement descriptor shown on my customers' bank and credit card statements? 

Yes, you can change it in GotPhoto, under your payment methods (Quick Link: North American Customers / UK Customers). In your Stripe area, click the blue Modify button, and you'll find the option to customize the name.

Is there a way to grant more people access to my Stripe Express dashboard? 

Yes, on your Stripe dashboard, navigate to the user icon on the top right, then to your platform settings. There you will find the option to add additional users. Learn more here.

Do I have the option to send an invoice or request payments via my Stripe Express dashboard? 

No, currently those two options are not available on your Stripe Express Account. Alternatively, you can use your other regular Stripe account if available for this purpose. 

Will this affect API access to Stripe?

Unfortunately, access to your Stripe account via API will no longer be possible. However, there is a possibility of reconsideration in the future, depending on the support provided by Stripe. Please know that this doesn't impact API access to your GotPhoto account, only Stripe.

Webinar Recordings

Here you can view the recordings of our two Stripe webinars focused on Stripe Express, during which we addressed your questions. 

Stripe Q&A #1 07/21/2023

Stripe Q&A #2 08/22/2023