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Setting Up Stripe for Your Club or Organisation
This guide explains how a sports club, community group, charity, or volunteer-run organisation can correctly set up a Stripe account to accept online payments.
You will learn:
- What Stripe is
- What you need before starting
- How to choose the correct organisation type
- How to complete onboarding and verification
- How to avoid the most common setup mistakes
- Troubleshooting steps if verification fails
1️⃣ What Is Stripe?
Stripe is a secure online payment platform used globally for processing card payments.
It provides:
- Safe payment processing
- Fraud and compliance checks
- Direct payouts to your bank account
- A dashboard to review payments and transactions
Stripe is commonly used by:
- Sports clubs
- Charities
- Community groups
- Volunteer-run organisations
2️⃣ What You Need Before You Start
Before opening a Stripe account, gather the following information.
This prevents delays or verification failures.
✔ Organisation Details
- Official club/organisation name
- Organisation address
- Contact email and phone number
✔ Bank Account Details
Stripe will deposit funds into your organisation’s bank account.
You will need:
- Account holder name
- Sort code / routing number
- Account number or IBAN
Tip: The bank account should belong to the organisation, not to an individual.
✔ Responsible Person (Verification)
Stripe must verify one individual associated with the organisation (e.g., treasurer, chairperson).
You will need:
- Full name
- Home address
- Date of birth
- Photo ID (passport or driving licence)
Why Stripe asks for personal ID
Financial regulations require Stripe to verify one real person connected to the organisation
(KYC — Know Your Customer).
3️⃣ Choosing the Correct Organisation Type (Important)
This is the step organisations get wrong most often.
✔ Most clubs should select:
- Non-profit / Charity
OR - Unincorporated Association (if available in your country)
These apply to:
- GAA clubs
- Football/Rugby clubs
- Youth sports clubs
- Community sports groups
- Volunteer-run organisations
- Recreational groups
❌ Do NOT select:
- Individual / Sole Trader
→ Treats the account as belonging to one person - Company / Corporation
→ Stripe will ask for company registration documents you may not have
If your organisation is not a registered company,
do not choose “Company.”
4️⃣ Step-by-Step Stripe Setup
Step 1 — Start Stripe Onboarding
Go to Stripe’s registration page and enter your email address.
You will create a login.
Step 2 — Enter Organisation Details
Stripe will request:
- Organisation name
- Organisation address
- Industry / category
- A short description of what your organisation does
Example description:
“A volunteer-run community sports club providing youth and adult training programmes.”
Step 3 — Add the Responsible Person
Provide the committee member’s:
- Full name
- Home address
- Date of birth
- Photo ID
Stripe may ask for proof of address if required.
Step 4 — Add Your Bank Account
Enter your organisation’s bank account information.
Stripe uses this for payouts.
Step 5 — Submit the Information
Stripe will review the information.
Most accounts are verified within minutes.
5️⃣ Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Selecting the wrong organisation type
Most common error — leads to verification failure and requests for documents you don’t have.
❌ Using a personal bank account
Even if the treasurer manages finances, Stripe expects an organisation-owned account.
❌ Uploading unclear or incomplete ID
Blurry photos or cut-off IDs will fail verification.
❌ Using mismatched names
The name on the ID must match the name entered exactly.
