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Driver payouts with Stripe Connect

Written by Irina Rastorgueva
Updated over 3 weeks ago

Stripe Connect feature is ideal for instant payouts to drivers’ bank accounts.

It is a part of regular Stripe account package available to all Stripe customers. A client who has an account with Stripe has access to the feature by default.

Major Stripe Connect procedures are:

  1. Stripe Connect activation for Company

  2. Stripe Connect driver onboarding

  3. Stripe Connect money flow

1. Stripe Connect activation for Company

1. Open a Stripe account and make sure to fill in all the fields in Stripe connect Settings of your Stripe Dashboard:

- business-related: fields "business name", "logo", "icon", "brand color" etc. should be filled in

- technical part: “leave “OAuth for Standard Accounts" toggle in disabled state.

3. Enable Stripe Connect in your payment gateway settings:

4. Write to support@onde.app and request to activate Stripe Connect for your account.

For any assistance with Stripe Connect account activation, please, contact Stripe support support@stripe.com or your account manager in Stripe.

2. Stripe Connect driver onboarding

There are 2 ways to activate Stripe Connect payouts for a driver:

1.link the existing Stripe connect ID

2.let the driver Onboard with Stripe Connect directly from the app.

Follow the link to see the video about Stripe Connect driver onboarding: How to onboard with Stripe Connect via Driver app. Video guide.

1. Link the existing Stripe connect ID

If a driver has an existing Stripe Connect record with the company, he needs to inform the Manager to check his Stripe Connect ID record in their Stripe merchant account (by driver credentials). After that the manager has to manually add driver’s Stripe Connect ID to the driver’s profile in My Hub.

Once that is done, Stripe Connect payouts for the driver are activated, he can access his Stripe Connect account from the app to review payout details and manage the funds.

2.Let the driver Onboard with Stripe Connect directly from the app

A driver should:

-access tab "Wallet" (for Wallet to appear in Driver app a driver should be on a subscription plan)

-proceed to "Payouts via Stripe"

-select “Create a Stripe account”

-process all the registration as per the requested flow: fill out all the fields on every screen with valid data

IMPORTANT

1.data validation will not allow to complete registration unless valid address, etc are added).

2.any relevant data can be added to the website link field, for example: account with a taxi company, etc.

Once the application is for Stripe Connect account is processed on Stripe side and the driver is registered, his Stripe connect ID is auto added to his profile in My Hub and he is activated for Stripe Connect payouts.

Now the driver can access his app and log in into his Stripe Connect account.

A driver can also log in to his “Stripe express dashboard/account” from a Stripe web interface outside the app.

It is recommended for a driver to log out of his Stripe Connect account before he logs out of his app profile. This is to secure that the Stripe Connect account data is safe (in case a different numbers accesses the app on the same device previous Stripe connect session remains open).

Stripe Connect ID is only displayed in a driver’s record in My Hub profile, it is not available in driver app.

Stripe Connect payout cycle is controlled by Stripe account merchant owner.

One can enable Stripe Connect ID column in Driver Management in My Hub and export drivers’ Stripe Connect ID data to CSV file.

3. Stripe Connect money flow

1. For an order without a discount coupon paid by card/Apple pay the payout to a driver’s Stripe connect express account is made instantly from the card payment itself.

2. For an order with a discount coupon paid by card/Apple pay or an order paid by Wallet/third-party the payout to a driver’s Stripe connect express account is made instantly from a company's Stripe merchant account. (The company’s Stripe merchant account balance has to be positive for the payout to be performed.)

IMPORTANT

A company’s Stripe merchant account has to have a positive balance. The more drivers are registered with the company, the more funds should be available on the merchant account.

This precondition is mandatory as there is a time gap between a charge on a customer’s card and credit to the company's Stripe merchant account. As the transfer to a driver’s Stripe Connect account has to be instant, the funds on Company’s Stripe merchant account have to be sufficient.

Once a customer’s card/Customer Wallet is charged or an order on any payment method is processed with a coupon the following mechanism is triggered:

  1. the funds land on the driver's balance (for card payments the real funds are as well credited to a company's Stripe merchant account)

  2. order/transaction fees (if set) are charged from the driver's balance

  3. coupon value, if the discount is applied, is added to the driver's balance

  4. the sum without the fees and with added coupon value is transferred directly to the driver’s Stripe Connect account.

For example:

A customer's wallet is charged $114.60 for the trip. Order fee is 1%, wallet transaction fee is 7%: $114.60 is credited to a driver's balance, $1.15 debited as order fee, $8.02 is debited as transaction fee, $105.43 is paid out to a driver’s Stripe Connect account.

Please, take into account that Stripe fees are to be charged accordingly:

The funds are transferred to the connected driver Express account immediately after the payment. After that drivers are paid out as per default daily payout schedule.

Stripe account owners can change the Payout Schedule for Express accounts in Stripe Express Dashboard

Proceed to “Settings” > “Connect” > “Features”.

Find the section “Balances" > click on “Manage payouts” dropdown menu > select "Manage payout schedule".

There are 2 Payout schedule options:

  • Manual payouts

  • Automatic payouts

A company has access to all driver Stripe connect accounts and, if “Manual payouts” are activated, can manage debits and credits on them manually.

Automatic payouts allow an account owner to process payouts on a recurring basis: weekly or monthly. One can select 1 or more payout days during those time periods.

Use the posts How do I manage my payouts? and Understanding daily, automatic, and manual payout schedules for details of managing payout schedule to your best advantage.

A Driver can review his Stripe Connect account balance from his Stripe Connect account cabinet or iOS app.

Stripe fees are deducted only once (during charge), no fees apply within payouts.

Please, address Stripe support on support@stripe.com on any transaction fee corner cases specific for a location.

In case Stripe does not work in your area you are welcome to use Onde solution for driver payouts. Please, consult the post Automated driver payouts for more details.

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