Setting up Stripe as your payment provider

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Learn more about Stripe, including checking the service status, understanding what features are supported, setting up Stripe in Checkfront, enabling additional payment methods, managing Stripe Terminal, requiring billing information for fraud prevention and address verification, using Stripe in sandbox mode, using test card numbers, and going live with Stripe. 

 

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Which plans include this feature?

Legacy:  Soho, Pro, Plus, Enterprise, Flex
New:  Available with the Growth (Subscription), Growth (Per Booking)* and Managed plans only. Not available with Starter plans.
*Stripe (and Checkfront Payments) are the supported payment providers for the Growth (Per Booking) plan.
→ Learn more about our new plans or how to change your plan.

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payments

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions are required to manage Payment Providers.
• Connect an existing Stripe account or create one during the activation process.

 

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Stripe is a very popular payment processor, highly recommended by Checkfront for use with your business. It allows your Customers to make partial or full payments at the time of booking and fully integrates into the Checkfront backend app.

Stripe can store and re-bill a Customer's credit card as needed. For instance, if you currently charge a deposit in Checkfront, you can collect that at the time of booking and then charge the final balance later without needing to obtain the credit card details again.

Checkfront currently integrates into Stripe by way of their direct payment method. This provides a seamless checkout for your Customers and fully integrates into the Checkfront backend.

 

Learn more about the benefits of the Checkfront and Stripe integration here: Take Booking Payments With Stripe

 

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Check the status of Stripe services at any time here: https://status.stripe.com/

 

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The following is a list of standard Payment Provider features. Those available with the Stripe and Checkfront integration are marked as supported (✓).

Feature	Supported	More Info
Live Payments	✓	The ability to process payments in real-time.
Rebilling	✓	The ability to re-charge using previously provided payment information (tokens).
Refunds	✓	The ability to return a paid amount directly to the original payment method.
Integrated Checkout	✓	Customers remain on the Checkfront domain to input details. These details are sent to the provider to process the transaction without redirecting the Customer.
Redirect Checkout	X	Customers are redirected to the Payment Provider’s domain to input details and process the transaction.
Staff-side Payments	✓	Staff can take payment through the Booking Details page using new payment information.
Terminals	✓	Stripe Terminal allows you to use Checkfront to accept in-person payments with supported hardware. Available in the US and Canada to select Customers. Reach out to support to learn more. Stripe Terminal cannot connect to triple-track magstripe readers. Learn more about Stripe Terminal here!
Test Mode	✓	The ability to process test payments using your Checkfront account and Stripe before going live. Referred to as Sandbox Mode in Checkfront.
Multiple Currencies	X	The ability to offer payments in more than one currency. Checkfront does not support accounts with more than one currency. While Stripe can handle multiple currencies, we can only send invoices to them in one currency.
PSD2 Compliant / 3DSecure	✓	Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant, including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). Our integration is PSD2 compliant and utilizes 3DSecure security. Learn more about PSD2 here!
Can be a secondary Provider	X	The ability to configure a primary provider for online payments and a secondary provider for Staff-side payments through the Booking Details page. Stripe can only be a primary provider but can be activated with Square as the secondary provider to process Staff-side payments.
Supported Payment Methods	✓	Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club International.
Additional payment methods	✓	The following additional payment methods are only supported through Checkfront Payments and Stripe. Alipay iDEAL Apple Pay, Google Pay, and browser-saved cards (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge)
Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Uplift	X	Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Uplift is an additional payment method exclusively supported by Checkfront Payments.
Capture and Send Zip / Postal Code and Address for Address Verification (AVS)	✓	Capture Zip / Postal Code and Address to send to Stripe for Address Verification (AVS) to help prevent disputes and fraud.
Google reCAPTCHA	✓	Google reCAPTCHA is an add-on which helps protect your business against fraudulent activity. See the Google reCAPTCHA article for the full list of supported payment providers.
Supported Countries	✓	Stripe is available to business locations worldwide. The list of supported countries can be found here: Stripe Global Note that Checkfront does not support Stripe in the following countries at this time: Liechtenstein Croatia Gibraltar Thailand Indonesia
Supported Currencies	✓	Stripe supports 135+ currencies. See what currencies you can use for making charges and paying out to your bank account here. Ensure that your Base Currency and Locale (Manage > Setup > Base Currency/Locale) match those supported by the payment method and Checkfront Payments.
Minimum Transaction Payment Amount	✓	Stripe's minimum charge amount varies depending on the currency being processed. For CAD and USD amounts, this is $0.50. The full list is available here: Minimum and maximum charge amounts

 

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To enable the Stripe extension, log into your Checkfront account, and navigate to your Payment Provider settings (Manage > E-Commerce > Payment). Your list of available payment provider options is displayed.

You should see Stripe listed, so go ahead and click on the Setup button. This launches the Setup modal.

 

Do you have a Stripe account already? Select the I have an existing Stripe Account option. You can skip that step if you don't have a Stripe account yet.

Alternatively, you can start with Stripe in test mode. See the Sandbox (Test) Mode section below for more information.

Next, click the Connect with Stripe button to get started with Stripe. 

 

2. Connecting your account

Back to top

 

Once you click the Connect to Stripe button, you are presented with the Get started with Stripe page. Enter your Email address here and click Continue to proceed to the next step.

Upon completion of the connection process, you are then returned to your Checkfront account with the Stripe integration activated.

 

Once successfully connected, the modal refreshes and the following settings are presented.

 

If the payment method meets your business needs and account requirements, choose to offer AliPay, iDEAL, and/or Apple Pay and Google Pay.

 

Learn more about enabling additional payment methods here: Offering additional payments methods

 

Ensure that your Base Currency and Locale (Manage > Setup > Base Currency/Locale) match those supported by the payment method and Stripe.

 

This setting is visible to those with Stripe Terminal enabled within their account.

 

Stripe Terminal is available with Checkfront for Staff-side, in-person payments for US and Canadian accounts. For detailed information and instructions on setting up Stripe Terminal to work with Checkfront, please see the following article... Payment Providers: Stripe Terminal

 

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Operators can require certain fields in Stripe (and Checkfront) to help prevent fraud.

 

Learn more about the best practices to prevent fraud here... Preventing disputes and fraud

 

Billing address and postal / zip code are captured and sent to Stripe where Address Verification (AVS) checks can be applied to help protect against disputes and fraud.

This is true for Customer-facing (Payment page) and Staff-side (add payment form) payments.

 

Ensure that your Booking Form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form tab) includes the Address and Postal / Zip code fields and that the fields are marked as required. The Billing Address and Postal / Zip code fields on the Payment page are prefilled with the values entered in the corresponding Booking fields. The Staff-side Add Payment form includes these fields by default - no additional configuration is required.

 

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It's highly recommended that you do an end-to-end test of your checkout process before launching your site live.

Start by opening the Stripe Add-on Setup modal from the payment provider list (Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment > Stripe).

1. Toggle on the option I want to use Stripe in Sandbox Mode.
2. Click the Connect with Stripe button to connect the test Stripe account to Checkfront.
3. Stripe recognizes that you are in test mode. From the Get Started with Stripe page, choose to Skip this form. You are then returned to the Setup modal within Checkfront with Stripe enabled in Sandbox (test) Mode with additional options displayed.
4. You can then create a booking and payment transaction as a Customer. If you don't have a website to test on, use the hosted booking page (e.g. https://yourcompany.checkfront.com/reserve/) to test.
5. Check that the transaction appears in your Checkfront account as paid or as a deposit. 

 

Testing the Payment Request Button Testing Google Pay or browser saved card (Microsoft Pay, Chrome)? You can use Stripe sandbox mode, so you are not charged for the payment. Apple Pay requires an actual working credit card and a live Stripe account (your credit card is charged for any payment you make).

 

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To test the system, you must use test credit card credentials when processing a payment in Checkfront. Use one of the test credit card numbers provided with any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC number to process test payments.

You can find a list of credentials available in Stripe's online documentation. To get there directly, click here.

 

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After testing, you need to switch from Sandbox mode and choose to go live with your account (Setup >Sandbox Mode > Click here to go live).

Once you have completed the steps to connect your live Stripe account, click Update to save your changes. You are now live!

 

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Listed here are common errors or situations you may come across when using Stripe:

This account cannot currently make live charges. If you are a customer trying to make a purchase, please contact the owner. This error typically occurs if your Stripe account is under review and Stripe needs further information. We suggest reaching out to Stripe support to see what the problem may be with your account so that it can be resolved and payments can be accepted.