# Connect Stripe

> Link your own Stripe account so card payments for sessions land straight in your bank - not ours.

Who can do this: admins only.

Session uses [Stripe](https://stripe.com) for card payments. Every paid booking, membership, bundle and [gift voucher](/docs/gift-vouchers) is charged through your own Stripe account, so the money is yours from the moment it's captured and never passes through a Session account. Until Stripe is connected, customers can't pay online. See [accepted payment methods](/docs/payment-methods) for what customers can pay with.

<Screenshot
  shot="admin-stripe-connect"
  alt="The Stripe connection section on the Settings, Company page, showing a Connect with Stripe button"
  caption="Settings → Company → Stripe"
  mat="peach"
/>

## Where Stripe is available

You can only connect a business registered in a country Stripe covers. Stripe doesn't open accounts in **South Africa**, Nigeria, Kenya or Ghana (it partners with Paystack there), and is in preview in India and Indonesia. In the Gulf it covers the **United Arab Emirates** but not Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman.

If your venue's country under [Settings → Company](/go/admin/settings/company) isn't covered, a note appears, but **it's a heads-up, not a block**: if your business is registered in a covered country, connect and choose that country in Stripe's setup.

<Callout variant="note">
If you can't connect at all, everything except online payment still works. Take the money by card machine, cash or bank transfer and [record it against the booking](/docs/add-a-booking#record-an-offline-payment-or-apply-a-voucher).
</Callout>

## Before you start

Have your business details, bank account and ID ready. Connecting creates a **dedicated Stripe Standard account for your venue**, owned by you, paying out on Stripe's normal schedule. You manage payouts and disputes at [dashboard.stripe.com](https://dashboard.stripe.com).

## Connect your account

<Steps>
<Step>Open [Settings → Company](/go/admin/settings/company) and find the Stripe section, or select **Connect** on the Stripe step of your [Setup checklist](/go/admin/setup).</Step>
<Step>Select **Connect with Stripe**, sign in to Stripe (or create a login) and follow Stripe's onboarding. When it finishes, you're returned to Session.</Step>
</Steps>

If you leave partway through, select **Complete setup** in the Stripe section to pick up where you left off.

<Callout variant="warning">
Stripe asks you to confirm the account's **country** - where your business is registered - prefilled from your Session country where it can. Check it: it can't be changed once the account is activated, and it sets your payout currency and available payment methods.
</Callout>

## Why you see a second Stripe account

If you already have a Stripe account, the new one sits **alongside it** under the same login and may look like a "sub-account". That's expected: complete setup on the new one. Stripe doesn't let one account be shared across two platforms, so Session can't reuse an account connected elsewhere.

<Callout variant="tip">
Enter the **same business details and bank account** as your existing Stripe account, and your payouts land in the same bank.
</Callout>

### If you run more than one business from one Stripe login

Stripe prefills the new account from the business you last viewed, so **sign out of Stripe first** (or use a private window) and overwrite anything that carries over. Afterwards the Stripe section shows the **Account ID** (`acct_...`) Session is using, and **Open Stripe dashboard** goes straight to it.

## Check you're ready to take payments

You're set up when the Stripe section reads **Connected**. Until Stripe enables charges and payouts you'll see **Charges not enabled** (customers can't pay) or **Payouts not enabled** - select **Complete setup** to see what Stripe needs. You can build [price options](/docs/price-options), [memberships](/docs/membership) and [bundles](/docs/bundles) in the meantime.

## What it costs

There is no subscription and no card needed to start. Two fees apply to paid bookings:

- **Session's platform fee** - 0.5% per paid booking, capped at £100 per calendar month, or a set round figure in your own currency (for example $150, €90 or A$150). Free bookings have no platform fee.
- **Stripe's card processing fee** - around 1.5% + 20p on UK cards. Rates vary by country and card type; yours are in your [Stripe dashboard](https://dashboard.stripe.com).

Community and non-profit saunas can get a partnership deal through the Community Sauna Network - get in touch if that's you.

## Common questions

1. **Where's the 0.5% Session fee in my Stripe dashboard?** It's a Stripe **application fee**, shown in each payment's fee breakdown next to Stripe's processing fee and itemised in your Balance and payout reports. It's never added to your customer's price.

2. **How do I issue a refund?** Refunds and part-refunds are made inside Session, not from the Stripe dashboard - see [refunds](/docs/refunds).

3. **My Stripe account was set up in the wrong country - can I change it?** Not on that account; the country is fixed once it's activated. Contact us and we'll help you switch to a fresh account.