Connecting Stripe for payouts

LinkStacked uses Stripe Connect — the same payment infrastructure used by Shopify, DoorDash, Lyft, Substack, and most modern internet businesses. We don't store your bank details, we don't process cards ourselves, and we don't take custody of your money. Stripe handles all of that.

What this means for you: your earnings are paid to you directly by Stripe, not by us. If LinkStacked ever has billing issues, your customer payouts are unaffected. The financial relationship is between you and Stripe; LinkStacked just orchestrates the buyer experience.

Go to Settings → Payments in your LinkStacked dashboard and click "Connect with Stripe". You'll be redirected to Stripe's secure onboarding page on stripe.com — that's normal. The URL will say stripe.com, not linkstacked.com, and that's the right behaviour.

• You can create a brand-new Stripe account right on this screen if you don't already have one.
• If you already use Stripe for another platform (Shopify, Substack, etc.), you can connect that same account — the multi-platform model is supported.
• Select 'Individual' if you're operating as a solo creator without a registered company. Choose 'Business' if you have a registered LLC, corporation, or sole-proprietor entity.
• Pick the right country for your tax residency — this determines tax forms and currency. Once set, the country can't be changed without contacting Stripe support.

Stripe requires identity verification to comply with financial regulations (KYC — "Know Your Customer"). This is a one-time process. Once verified, you generally don't need to re-verify unless you change countries or significantly change your business structure.

1. 1Enter your legal first and last name (must match your government ID exactly)
2. 2Enter your date of birth
3. 3Provide your home address (a residential address — PO boxes are usually rejected)
4. 4Add your bank account number and routing number (US), sort code (UK), or IBAN (EU)
5. 5Upload a photo of a government-issued ID if prompted (passport, driver's licence, or national ID)
6. 6Optionally upload a recent utility bill or bank statement if Stripe asks for proof of address (less common, more often required for higher-volume accounts)

What if Stripe asks for more documents later

Stripe runs ongoing risk monitoring on every account. Sometimes they request additional verification 2–7 days after the initial setup, especially for new businesses. You'll get an email with a direct link to upload whatever they need. Respond promptly — unverified accounts can have payouts paused until resolved.

After completing Stripe onboarding, return to Settings → Payments in LinkStacked. You'll see a green 'Connected' badge. From here you can configure when your earnings are paid out to your bank.

• Weekly (default) — paid every Friday for the previous week's earnings
• Daily — paid each business day with a 2-day rolling delay (so you receive Monday's earnings on Wednesday)
• Monthly — paid on the 1st of each month
• Manual — you trigger payouts yourself from the Stripe dashboard. Useful for treasury/cash-flow control if you have unusual needs.

The minimum payout threshold is $1. Balances below $1 roll over to the next payout cycle. If you've earned $0.50 in a week, that won't trigger a payout — it'll combine with next week's earnings.

The fee math on a creator-led product sale is simpler than most people expect. There are exactly two fees: Stripe's processing fee (per transaction) and any international/conversion fee on payouts.

Stripe processing fees by region

• US: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card transaction
• EU/EEA: 1.5% + €0.25 (within EU/EEA), 2.5% + €0.25 (outside)
• UK: 1.5% + 20p (UK cards), 2.5% + 20p (international)
• Canada: 2.9% + C$0.30
• Australia: 1.75% + A$0.30 (Australian cards)
• Premium card surcharges: ~1% for AmEx in some regions

Tax compliance

Stripe Tax automates VAT, GST, and US sales-tax calculation, collection, and remittance. Enable it in Settings → Payments → Tax. Once enabled, buyers in tax-relevant regions are charged the right tax automatically, the tax is held separately from your earnings, and Stripe remits it to the relevant authority on your behalf.

For US sellers above the federal $600 threshold, Stripe automatically generates 1099-K forms at year-end and emails them to you. Those forms are also filed with the IRS — you don't need to manage that part.