Setting Up Stripe

Storefront uses Stripe to process credit card payments from your customers. When a customer buys a domain through your store, Stripe collects the payment on your behalf and deposits it directly to your connected bank account. You keep the full sale amount, OpenSRS deducts the domain cost and a $0.75 per-order processing fee from your OpenSRS account balance separately.

You need to connect a Stripe account before you can activate your Storefront and accept orders. If you don't already have a Stripe account, you'll create one during setup, it's free to sign up.

How payments work

Understanding the money flow makes the setup requirements make sense:

1. Customer pays — your customer enters their credit card at checkout. Stripe processes the payment and the full amount lands in your connected Stripe account, minus Stripe's own processing fees (charged by Stripe directly, separate from OpenSRS).
2. Domain cost is covered — OpenSRS deducts the wholesale cost of the domain registration from your OpenSRS account balance to register the domain with the registry.
3. Processing fee is deducted — a $0.75 per-order fee is deducted from your OpenSRS account balance for each completed order.
4. You keep the rest — your Stripe account retains everything the customer paid, minus Stripe's fees. Your earnings are paid out to your bank account on Stripe's standard payout schedule.

This is why your OpenSRS account balance needs to stay funded — it covers domain costs and the processing fee on every order. If your balance hits zero, new orders will fail even if your customers are paying successfully.

Before you begin

• You'll need a Stripe account. If you don't have one, you'll be able to create one during the setup flow at stripe.com. Stripe accounts are free to create.
• Your OpenSRS account balance must be above $10 before you can activate your Storefront. Add funds at any time in the Reseller Control Panel (RCP).

Connecting your Stripe account

1. Log in to Storefront Manager.
2. From the Getting Started page, click Connect your account with Stripe — or navigate to Settings → Payments and click Connect Stripe.
3. A new window will open, taking you to the Storefront app on Stripe. Sign in to your existing Stripe account, or create a new one if you don't have one yet.
4. Review and accept the permissions Storefront requests, then complete the Stripe onboarding flow.
5. Once complete, you'll be redirected back to your Storefront Payments page.

Your Stripe account is now connected. The Getting Started page will reflect the connection status.

Stripe account verification statuses

After connecting, Stripe reviews your account. This can take from a few minutes to a few days. Here's what each status means and what to do:

Your Storefront cannot be activated until your Stripe status is Complete.

Keeping your OpenSRS account funded

Your OpenSRS account balance is drawn down with every order — once for the wholesale domain cost, and once for the $0.75 processing fee. If your balance runs out, orders will start failing for your customers even though Stripe is collecting their payments fine.

To add funds:

1. Log in to the Reseller Control Panel (RCP).
2. Navigate to Billing → Add Funds and top up your balance.

Storefront will show a low balance warning on your dashboard when your account balance drops below $25. If you see this warning, add funds before your balance reaches zero to avoid order failures.

Switching to a different Stripe account

If you need to connect a different Stripe account — for example, if you connected the wrong one during setup — you can switch accounts without any downtime for your store.

1. Log in to Storefront Manager.
2. Navigate to Settings → Payments.
3. Click Switch Stripe Account.
4. Confirm the switch in the popup — you'll be taken to the Stripe OAuth flow in a new tab.
5. Complete the Stripe connection for your new account.
6. Once complete, your Storefront will immediately start processing orders through the new account.

Orders in progress are not affected by switching accounts.

Troubleshooting

I connected Stripe but my Storefront still won't activate. 

Check that your Stripe status shows Complete in Settings → Payments — Pending or Restricted accounts cannot activate. Also confirm your OpenSRS account balance is above $10.

My customers are getting payment errors at checkout. 

This is most often caused by a low or zero OpenSRS account balance. Check your balance in the RCP and add funds if needed. Also check your Stripe account status in Settings → Payments — a Restricted account will block new payments.

I don't see the Connect Stripe button. 

If you've already connected a Stripe account, you'll see your account status instead of the connect button. To switch accounts, use the Switch Stripe Account option described above.

I set up Stripe but didn't finish — where do I continue? 

A: If you dismissed the Stripe setup prompt during initial login, a banner will appear on your Storefront dashboard. Click it to return to the payments setup, or go to Settings → Payments → Connect Stripe directly.

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.

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