Payment Providers: Stripe

---

Plan Availability: ✓ Soho | ✓ Pro | ✓ Plus | ✓ Enterprise | ✓ Flex |
Locate: Manage > Ecommerce Setup> Payments
Prerequisites: 

• Admin permissions to manage Payment Providers
• A Stripe account

---

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

Stripe has the ability to 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 at a later date 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.

 

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

 

Google reCAPTCHA is now supported by Checkfront with Stripe. Learn more here... Google reCAPTCHA

 

PSD2 and SCA compliant  This integration is Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).  Checkfront is prepared to handle any transactions that the Payment Provider deems applicable.  These measures help reduce fraud and make online payments more secure!  Learn more about PSD2 and SCA here... What is PSD2 and How Will It Impact Your Business?

 

---

Stripe is the required and exclusive provider for the following Checkfront integrations...

• • Checkfront's Flex Plan
  • Google reCAPTCHA

 

---

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	✓	The ability for staff to take payment through the Booking Details page using new payment information.
Staff-side CVC	✓	Require Care Verification Codes (CVC) for Staff-side payments. The name, acronym and location of these security codes on the card varies depending on the credit card type (Visa, MasterCard...) This feature is optional. Stripe does not require CVC for Staff-Side Payments The Card Not Present option (Booking Invoice > Add Payment) must be selected when making payment to skip the CVC.
Virtual Terminal	✓	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. Virtual Terminal cannot connect to triple-track magstripe readers. Learn more about Stripe Terminal here!
Magstripe Reader	X	A magstripe reader is a hardware device that reads the information encoded in the magnetic stripe located on the back of a card. Magstripe readers cannot be used with this provider.
Hold Payments	✓	The provider holds the payment for a certain amount of time without charging the card. Stripe can hold payments for 7 days. Payments made with Stripe Terminal can only be held for 24 hours.
Test Mode	✓	The ability to process test payments using your Checkfront account and Stripe prior to 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 on their end, we can only send invoices to them in one currency.
3DSecure / PSD2 Compliant	✓	Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). Our integration is PSD2 compliant and has 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.
Additional payment methods	✓	The following additional payment methods are supported through Stripe. Alipay iDEAL Apple Pay, Google Pay, and browser saved cards (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge)
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.

 

---

 

The list of countries Stripe supports for businesses and can accept online payments from, can be found here: Stripe Global

 

---

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 featured as a recommended choice, so go ahead and click on the Setup button. This launches the Setup modal.

 

Click the Connect with Stripe button to connect to your live Stripe account to Checkfront.

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

 

Once you click the Connect to Stripe button, you are presented with the Get started with Stripe page. Enter your Email address here and then click Next to continue.

Already have a Stripe account? Enter the email address for your Stripe account. Stripe then retrieves the associated account and asks you to sign in.

Need a new account? Follow the steps to doing so with Stripe, start by entering your email address.

You are then returned to your Checkfront account once the connection of an existing or new account is authorized and completed!

 

Once successfully connected, the following settings are available to configure...

 

Choose whether you would like to Authorize & Capture Customer transactions or Authorize Only.

With the Authorize Only method, Stripe holds the deposit amount for 7 days. An authorization left uncaptured for 7 days, is automatically reversed. You'll need to accept (capture) the payment in your Stripe account directly. 

Stripe doesn't charge any fees for un-captured charges. Fees after you capture, are the same as any other Stripe charge.

Checkfront treats the authorizations as actual payments, so the booking would be confirmed in the Deposit or Paid status, based on your E-commerce settings (E-commerce > Settings > Online Payments). Any additional booking status modifications (Cancellations, fully Paid bookings) would need to be done manually on the invoice in Checkfront.

With Authorize & Capture the payment is accepted (captured) immediately after authorization. No further action is required on your part. Authorize & Capture is required with Stripe Terminal.

 

Choose to offer AliPay, iDEAL or Browser Wallets from the Additional Payment Methods drop-down menu, if the payment method meets your business needs and your Stripe and Checkfront accounts meet the payment provider requirements in terms of locale and currency.

 

AliPay "Alipay is a digital wallet in China...users can pay on the web or on a mobile device using login credentials or their Alipay app." ~ Stripe Accounts within supported countries can accept payments from Chinese consumers, overseas Chinese, and Chinese travellers. Learn more from Stripe... Wallets and Alipay	iDEAL "iDEAL is a Netherlands-based payment method that allows customers to complete transactions online using their bank credentials." ~ Stripe Accounts within supported countries can accept payments from Customers in the Netherlands with local currency settlement. Learn more from Stripe... iDEAL
Apple Pay & Google Pay (and other browser saved cards) Checkfront's integration with Stripe supports payment through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and browser-saved cards via Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. These payment methods are initiated by a Payment Request Button on the Payment page.

 

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

 

Additional Payment Methods are only available for those doing Authorize & Capture, not Authorize only.

 

 

Once activated, the relevant payment method is available on the Checkfront Payment page, for example, via a Pay now, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Which payment method button is visible to the Booker, depends on which payment methods the Booker has configured.

Clicking on the payment button takes the Booker through the selected payment option and then returns them to the Payment page with a success or failure message depending on the status of the payment.

 

Prerequisites for Guests Using Apple Pay, Google Pay or and Browser Saved Cards The payment buttons only appear to Guests who already have Apple Pay, Google Pay or browser saved cards. You may wish to advise your Guests to set up their browser wallets or saved cards in advance of booking if they would like to take advantage of this payment method.   Google Pay Guests must have... An Android phone or laptop that is able to run a Chrome browser. A saved card for Google Pay, which requires the Google Pay app, is available here: Google Pay - Apps on Google Play. A Chrome browser for mobile or desktop installed.   Apple Pay Guests must have... A credit card that is set up with Apple Pay. Learn more here: Set up Apple Pay.   Browser Saved Cards Guests must... Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as their browser. Make sure they have a payment option saved with their browser. Google Chrome: Fill out forms automatically Microsoft Edge: Add a payment method to your Microsoft account

 

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

Stripe Terminal is available for use 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

 

---

Operators have the ability to 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 both Customer-facing (Payment page) and Staff-side (add payment form) payments.

 

Make sure 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.

 

---

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 Stripe authorization page, choose to Skip this form. You are then taken back to the Add-on 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 yet, use the hosted booking page (e.g. https://yourcompany.checkfront.com/reserve/) to test.
5. Check that the transaction shows up in your Checkfront account as paid or deposit. Make sure the payment is recorded within Stripe.

 

When in sandbox (test) mode, a message displays on the E-Commerce screen indicating that you have a payment provider in Sandbox (test) mode. This is a helpful reminder to make sure you don't process actual bookings in test mode!

 

Testing the Payment Request Button Testing Google Pay or browser saved card (Microsoft Pay, Chrome)? You can use Stripe sandbox mode so that 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).

 

Minimum and Maximum Charge Amounts 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

 

---

In order 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 for use in Stripes' online documentation. To get there directly, click here.

 

---

After testing is complete, 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!

 

---

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 further information is needed by Stripe. 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.