Use Settings > Payment Methods to connect checkout providers and save the offline or external methods your organization accepts. Administrators can configure methods. When an account owner has saved at least one method, the page also provides Manage & Order controls.
Available Methods
The page groups methods by how supporters pay:
- Traditional: Cash is always available for in-person records. Add Check when your organization accepts checks and wants to show instructions.
- Integrated: Stripe and Square create provider-hosted checkout sessions. Zeffy opens the selected fundraising campaign and synchronizes its donation activity back to PawPlacer.
- Digital wallets: PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle open the provider or show the details needed to pay.
- Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum show the saved public wallet address and an estimated converted amount when pricing is available.
Never enter a private key, recovery phrase, or banking password in an external-method field.
Stripe
Choose Configure Stripe to complete Stripe Connect onboarding. Once Stripe reports that charges and payouts are available, the card shows Connected. If onboarding is incomplete, open the configuration flow again to supply the remaining information.
Stripe supports:
- Public adoption checkout, including an optional donation
- One-time and recurring general donations where public donation actions are available
- Public wishlist funding
Stripe Checkout collects card details; PawPlacer does not store them. A successful Stripe webhook updates the related PawPlacer payment or donation automatically.
Square
Choose Configure Square, authorize PawPlacer, and select the Square location used for checkout. Square currently supports public adoption checkout, including an optional donation. The adoption is completed after Square reports a successful hosted checkout.
Use Square's dashboard for provider transaction and refund management.
Zeffy
Connect Zeffy with an API key generated under Zeffy Settings > Integrations > API. PawPlacer encrypts the key, never displays it again, and uses Zeffy's read-only API to import fundraising data.
After connecting:
- Choose the Zeffy campaign that the public PawPlacer Support action should open.
- Use Sync now to import current campaign, donor, payment, and refund activity.
- For immediate imports, copy PawPlacer's private webhook URL into Zeffy Settings > Integrations > Webhook. Without a webhook, PawPlacer still reconciles the account automatically once an hour.
The donor chooses the amount and one-time or recurring frequency on Zeffy's hosted campaign. Zeffy's read-only API does not let PawPlacer create a separate checkout with a prefilled amount. Completed donations and refunds synchronize into PawPlacer; Zeffy remains the payment source of truth.
Use Rotate to replace the webhook URL if it is exposed, then update Zeffy with the new URL. Use Disconnect to stop future synchronization. Zeffy connection and sync actions are paused in sample workspaces until the sample data is kept or cleared.
Zeffy charges the nonprofit no platform or transaction fee. Zeffy may invite donors to make an optional contribution to Zeffy itself.
External and Offline Methods
For PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, checks, and cryptocurrency:
- Select the method.
- Enter the requested handle, provider payment link, email, public wallet address, or instructions.
- Save it and verify the displayed value.
PayPal accepts either a PayPal.Me username or a PayPal-hosted donation/payment link. Organizations
without a PayPal.Me username can create a link in their PayPal account and paste the full
https://www.paypal.com/... URL. Hosted links open with the options configured in PayPal, so the
supporter may need to enter the PawPlacer reference manually.
When a public donation begins through a saved external method, PawPlacer creates a pending donation and provides a reference. Staff confirm the transaction with the provider, then reconcile it in PawPlacer. These methods do not verify receipt automatically.
Manage & Order
Account owners can use Manage & Order after at least one method is saved:
- Drag methods into the order supporters should see
- Mark one saved method as preferred
- Add instructions that appear with the method
Administrators can add, edit, connect, disconnect, or remove methods. The owner-only ordering controls appear separately.
Status and Troubleshooting
Integrated provider cards distinguish Not connected, incomplete onboarding, Connected, and restricted/error states. If checkout or synchronization is unavailable:
- Open the provider card and finish any requested onboarding.
- Confirm charges are enabled for Stripe or the Square connection is active.
- Check that the intended external method is saved with a valid value.
- For Zeffy, confirm the API key is active, an unarchived public campaign is selected, and the latest sync has no unresolved error.
- Run a small test before publishing payment instructions broadly.