How do I connect Stripe or PayPal to receive payments?
You connect Stripe or PayPal (or both) from Settings › Fundraising process, in your dashboard: this is what allows your association to collect donations by bank card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or with a PayPal account. Stripe connects by answering a short form and then completing the verification with Stripe; PayPal connects by logging in to your association's PayPal Business account.
Only one of the two is needed to receive donations, but you can activate both together: your donors then choose their payment method, and you decide which one is featured on your pages.
The principle: the money goes directly to your account
Donoor never holds your funds. Each donation is collected into your association's account with Stripe or PayPal, which then transfers it to your bank. No Donoor fee applies to your donations: only the fees of Stripe or PayPal apply, and your donors can choose to cover them. Voluntary support for Donoor, for its part, remains optional and is never visible on the association's side.
If your association has not yet entered its RNA or SIRET number, Donoor may ask you for it along the way: this step is detailed in register my association.
Connecting Stripe
Prepare the identity of the association's legal representative and the IBAN of its bank account: Stripe asks for them from the very start.
- On the dashboard home page, click Connect Stripe, or go directly to Settings › Fundraising process then click Connect Stripe.
- Enter who represents the association (first name, surname, position, email), then their date of birth, personal address and mobile phone number. This information is sent directly to Stripe.
- Enter the IBAN of the association's bank account, opened in its name.
- Complete Stripe's secure form that opens on the page: generally a code received by SMS and acceptance of Stripe's terms.
- Wait for verification: the badge shows Verification, then, once the file has been validated by Stripe, Payments and payouts active. Your pages then accept bank cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The Connect Stripe training follows these screens in video, step by step.
Tip: if Stripe asks you for additional information along the way, the Resume setup button takes you directly to what remains to be completed.
Connecting PayPal
PayPal adds its own payment button. You connect your association's PayPal Business account, never a personal account.
- In Settings › Fundraising process, click Connect PayPal.
- A PayPal window opens: if your browser blocks it, allow pop-up windows for Donoor and try again.
- Log in to the association's PayPal Business account, or create it, then confirm the authorisation given to Donoor.
- Return to Donoor: the connection is verified automatically. According to PayPal, this takes from a few minutes to two or three working days; the Refresh status button updates the page without waiting.
- Schedule your transfers to your bank with the Set up automatic transfers button: unlike Stripe, PayPal does not transfer the money on its own.
The Connect PayPal training covers these same screens in detail.
Good to know: on a recent PayPal account, PayPal may hold the first payments for up to 21 days. This is normal: the money then arrives in your PayPal balance, from where you transfer it yourself.
Stripe, PayPal or both?
If you activate both, the Featured payment method block lets you choose the one your donors see first. The other remains offered as an alternative: if you feature Stripe, the PayPal button remains displayed on your pages.
| Question | Stripe | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| What the donor can pay with | Bank card, Apple Pay, Google Pay | PayPal account; bank card, Apple Pay and Google Pay if PayPal has approved them for your account |
| Where verification takes place | In a Stripe form opened from Donoor | By logging in to your PayPal Business account |
| Payout to your bank | Automatic, about 7 days after each donation | You schedule or trigger it yourself from PayPal |
| If both are connected | Can be featured; handles cards and wallets until PayPal has activated them | Its button stays displayed even if Stripe is featured |
Until PayPal has activated the built-in card and digital wallets for your account, Stripe handles them if you have connected it: the switch then happens automatically, without you having to do anything again.
If verification gets stuck
- Stripe: a banner reading "Stripe needs information before the…" appears on the dashboard home page. Click Resolve; without a response by the date indicated, Stripe generally disables transfers, but your donations continue to arrive and remain in your Stripe balance.
- PayPal: if a document is missing from your verification (identity, bank details, proof), the PayPal card in Fundraising process shows the held funds with the Finish on PayPal button.
For detailed tracking of your payouts once connected, read when do I receive donations.
Changing or disconnecting a provider
From Settings › Fundraising process, the Disconnect button cuts off Stripe or PayPal at any time. This is irreversible: you will no longer be able to receive payments with that provider until you have reconnected an account by going through the whole verification again from the beginning.
Important: without a confirmed payment account, your association also cannot invite new team members or send emails on its behalf. Connect Stripe or PayPal before you invite your team.
Key takeaways
- You connect Stripe or PayPal (or both) from Settings › Fundraising process.
- The money goes directly to your association's account with Stripe or PayPal: Donoor never holds it.
- Stripe handles bank cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay; PayPal adds its button, and can also handle them once its account is approved.
- With both connected, choose which one is featured: the other remains offered to your donors.
- A confirmed payment account is essential before inviting your team.