Introducing direct payments by credit and debit card on Folksy
Once you have a Stripe account, link it to your Folksy shop. To do this follow the instructions on your shop dashboard.
Why are we introducing a new payment system?
It will make checking out much simpler, easier and quicker for customers. There are fewer steps involved and it's a much better experience on mobile.
Your customers will be able to pay with all major credit and debit cards. They won’t need to navigate away to another website and they won’t need to set up an account with any other services.
We believe that offering direct payments will increase conversion and you’ll get more sales as a result. Other sites who have introduced card payments through Stripe have reported that the majority of customers are choosing to pay directly by card.
Stripe's processing fees are really low.
Feedback we have received has shown some buyers prefer not to use PayPal, or are unable to pay with their card through PayPal. By introducing card payments through Stripe, we are offering these customers an alternative way to pay.
What is Stripe?
Stripe is a quick and secure way for Folksy sellers to accept credit and debit card payments from customers all across the world. Stripe handles billions of transactions every year and is used by Kickstarter, Asos, Spotify and Facebook, among others.
Buyers only need their normal debit or credit card and do not need to create a Stripe account.
Stripe will be integrated with Folksy so all payments can be processed on our site rather than taking customers off to another site to pay. It will not ask a customer to sign in or open an account in order to pay. This should make the checkout process smoother for customers, and therefore reduce drop-out rate and basket abandonment.
How does it work?
Stripe processes all major credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
When a customer pays by card, that payment will go into your Stripe account. These payments can then be transferred to your bank account and you can set the timescale for transfers in your Stripe account.
You can view all payments and transfers on your Stripe dashboard. Your Stripe Dashboard is also where you can organise refunds, view all transactions, see your customers and manage your account.
There is an introductory video showing how to use your Stripe dashboard here. Don't worry, you don't need to know everything covered and some of the information won't be relevant for you, but it's a useful way to get to know your Stripe dashboard and available features.
Folksy commission (+VAT) will be charged automatically at the point of sale, rather than billed monthly, on all orders paid through Stripe. This should make the process easier and more managable for sellers. Monthly bills will still be issued for listing fees and any Paypal sales. You will be able to see a monthly breakdown of all your sales, fees and bills in your Folksy shop.
Fees
Like Paypal, Stripe will charge Folksy sellers a fixed fee and a percentage of the transaction. The price is the same for all debit and credit cards. You don’t pay anything for failed charges.
Stripe transaction fee:1.4% + 20p for transactions on European cards
2.9% + 20p for non-European cards
Paypal transaction fee:
3.4% + 20p of the amount you receive.
Security & fraud protection
Stripe has been audited by an independent PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and is certified as a PCI Level 1 Service Provider. This is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. Read more here https://stripe.com/docs/security/stripe
Stripe has inbuilt fraud protection technology. Read more about that here https://stripe.com/docs/disputes/prevention.
Connect your Folksy shop to Stripe
To connect your Folksy shop to Stripe:
1. Log into your Folksy account
2. Go to the Card Payments section of your Dashboard: https://folksy.com/dashboard/shopfront/card-payments
3. If you do not already have an account with Stripe, or if you want to set up a new Stripe account, fill in the form and then click the Authorisation button at the bottom of the page.
4. If you already have a Stripe account, please use the button in the top right hand corner of the form to sign in and link your existing Stripe account to your Folksy account.
I already have a Stripe account, how do I connect that to my Folksy shop? You can connect your Folksy shop to your existing Stripe account directly from your Folksy dashboard - https://folksy.com/dashboard/shopfront/card-payments. There is a button in the top right-hand corner of the sign-up page you can click if you already have a Stripe account.
What should my Stripe dashboard look like and how do I change my details? This article has more information about what your Stripe dashboard will look like as a Folksy seller and how you can edit your public information and details - https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/1817395-editing-your-stripe-direct-payment-settings
I don't want customers to see my phone number. Is there another option?
Stripe asks for a phone number to help customers if they have any problems with their order. You can see if this is visible to customers in the 'Public Information' section of your Stripe dashboard. If you can't use your own phone number, we've set up a Folksy number you can use instead – this is a voicemail service that directs customers to contact our Support Team. This is 0114 3030519. Enter it here as: 1143030519 (with the +44 prefix selected).
This article shows you how that section of the dashboard looks and where to edit your phone number and other details https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/1817395-editing-your-stripe-direct-payment-settings
I have connected my Folksy shop to Stripe. When will my customers be able to pay directly by card? Direct payments are now live on Folksy. If all items in a customer's basket are from sellers who have enabled Stripe, customers will be able to pay directly by card or to pay by Paypal (see below).
I have Stripe enabled. Why wasn’t the buyer offered it when ordering an item from me? Shoppers will only be offered the option to pay by card if all the sellers in their basket (ie all the sellers they are buying from) have signed up to a Stripe account. If one of the sellers has not enabled card payments for their Folksy shop, the customer will only see the option to pay by Paypal.
What will the customer see at checkout?The customer will see one of two options:
- If all the shops in the customer's basket have enabled Stripe payments, then customer will be given the option to either ‘pay by card’ or ‘pay by PayPal’.
- If one of the sellers in a customer’s basket hasn’t connected their shop to Stripe, then the buyer will only see the option to checkout with PayPal.
Why does Stripe need permission to debit my bank account?
When you issue a refund or receive a chargeback through Stripe the money will be taken from your Stripe balance. If there isn't enough money in your Stripe account to cover the refund (i.e. if the funds have been withdrawn to your bank account), the balance will be paid from your linked bank account. This is the same way that refunds and chargebacks are processed on PayPal.
More info:
https://support.stripe.com/questions/what-happens-when-i-have-a-negative-balance
Will I be able to see all the transactions through both Stripe and Paypal on Folksy?
Yes, there will be a monthly breakdown of all your orders and fees on your Folksy dashboard, including fees for sales through Stripe and Paypal.
How long will it take before I can get my money from Stripe once an order has been paid?
Your first payout from Stripe will be made 7-10 days after your first successful order through Stripe. After that, payouts will be made daily and will contain payments processed seven days prior. For example, payments received on a Tuesday are paid out by the following Tuesday. You can read about this here: https://stripe.com/docs/payouts
How will refunds work?
You can issue full and partial refunds in the Payments section of your Stripe dashboard - find out how to refund a customer on your dashboard here https://stripe.com/docs/refunds.
The process for cancelling a paid order in your Folksy shop will be the same - see this article https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/58083-how-do-i-cancel-or-refund-a-customer-s-order.
Shoppers can already pay by card using the guest checkout option on Paypal. Why do they need an alternative payment option?
Although Paypal should allow customers to pay by card without setting up a Paypal account, we have had reports that not all customers are being offered this option. The number of times a customer can checkout as a guest before having to register with PayPal is also limited. This applies web-wide not just to Folksy. The new payment system we are implementing with Stripe ensures that customers who wish to pay by card are given that option.
Is signing up to Stripe compulsory?
No. Folksy sellers do not currently need to have a Stripe account to sell on Folksy, but we do want to make it as easy as we can for customers to buy your work, so we would encourage you to enable direct payments in your shop.
If you have any specific questions about Stripe or your Stripe account not covered here, contact the Stripe Support team.