Payment Methods

The Payment Methods settings page is where you configure online and external ways your shelter can receive money: Stripe card checkout, digital wallets, and supported crypto wallets. Cash is always available for in-person adoption recording, but it is not configured or saved on this page.

Accessing Payment Methods

1. Open Settings
2. Make sure the settings sidebar is showing Organization Settings
3. Click Payment Methods

Available Payment Options

PawPlacer groups payment methods into three categories:

Traditional: Cash (always available for in-person adoption recording) and Stripe (credit/debit cards, plus eligible wallet options such as Apple Pay when Stripe offers them). Cash is not a saved payment method on this page. Stripe is the only method that processes payments through PawPlacer-managed checkout. Every other option directs the adopter or supporter to an external app or wallet.

Digital Wallets: PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle.

Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin and Ethereum. During checkout, PawPlacer displays a live conversion rate when available so the adopter can estimate the equivalent crypto amount to send.

Saved payment methods can also appear on your public shelter profile support card and full-profile embed when public payments and public donations are enabled. Stripe opens a PawPlacer-managed checkout flow. PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, Bitcoin, and Ethereum create a pending PawPlacer donation first, then open the best available provider link or instructions with a reference your team can reconcile.

Setting Up Stripe (Stripe Connect)

Stripe is the recommended payment method because it is the only option that allows adopters to pay with a credit or debit card during adoption checkout without scanning a QR code. The payment itself happens on a secure Stripe Checkout page.

PawPlacer uses Stripe Connect to link your shelter's own Stripe account. This means payments go directly to your connected Stripe account; PawPlacer never holds or touches your funds.

Where Stripe Helps You Raise Money

Once Stripe Connect is active, it can collect card payments in the places where PawPlacer has a managed checkout flow:

• Public adoption checkout for adoption fees and optional donations
• Public shelter profile support-card donations
• Full-profile embed donations
• Public wishlist item funding

External methods can still help you collect money, but they are tracked as pending donations until your team confirms the provider transaction from the Donations page. Stripe is the only payment method that can mark these payments received automatically through a webhook.

Connecting Your Stripe Account

1. Go to Settings > Payment Methods.
2. In the Stripe card at the top, click Configure Stripe.
3. You'll be redirected to Stripe's onboarding flow. If you don't have a Stripe account yet, you can create one during this step.
4. Follow Stripe's prompts to provide your organization's details: business information, bank account for payouts, and identity verification.
5. When you're finished, Stripe redirects you back to PawPlacer.

Stripe Account Statuses

After you begin the setup process, your Stripe account will be in one of three states:

Pending: You started the onboarding process but Stripe still needs more information (or is still reviewing what you submitted). Click Configure Stripe again to pick up where you left off. You cannot accept payments in this state.

Active: Stripe has verified your account, charges are enabled, and payouts are enabled. You're ready to accept Stripe payments. You'll see a confirmation message with a link to your Stripe Dashboard where you can manage payouts, view transaction history, and update your banking details.

Rejected: PawPlacer can show this state for a stale setup that needs to be restarted. Click Configure Stripe to create a fresh setup link, or contact PawPlacer support if Stripe has blocked the account.

How Stripe Payments Work

When an adopter pays via Stripe during a public adoption checkout, the checkout works like this:

1. The adopter selects Stripe as their payment method and clicks Pay with Stripe.
2. They're redirected to a secure Stripe Checkout page showing the adoption fee, optional donation, and Stripe's processing fee as separate line items.
3. After entering their card details and completing payment, they're redirected back to a success confirmation page.
4. PawPlacer automatically marks the adoption as complete. No manual confirmation needed.

If the adopter closes the Stripe Checkout page without paying, the session eventually expires and they can retry.

Stripe Processing Fees

PawPlacer currently calculates Stripe's standard processing fee as 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. This fee is passed through as a separate "Stripe processing fee" line item during checkout so that your shelter receives the full adoption fee or donation amount before Stripe's processing cost.

PawPlacer does not add any additional fees on top of Stripe's charges. The processing fee disclosure is shown to the adopter before they confirm payment.

Setting Up Digital Wallets

For PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle:

1. Find the card for the service you want to add.
2. Enter your username or email in the field provided. PayPal and Venmo expect a username (without the @ symbol), Cash App expects a username (without the $ symbol), and Zelle currently accepts an email address.
3. Click Add to save.

During the adoption checkout, adopters using these methods will see a QR code and/or a direct link to open the payment app. On mobile devices, a button appears to open the app directly. PawPlacer includes the adoption total and a reference note where the provider supports it. Zelle is handled as best-effort instructions because banks do not expose one universal payment link.

For public profile and full-profile embed donations, these methods create a pending donation record with an external reference before sending the supporter to the provider. Staff should mark the gift Received from the Donations page after confirming the payment. You can add custom instructions from the Manage & Order tab after a method has been saved.

Setting Up Cryptocurrency

1. Find the card for the cryptocurrency you want to accept.
2. Enter your public wallet address. Make sure you use the correct address format for the network (e.g., a Bitcoin address starts with bc1, 1, or 3).
3. Click Add to save.

During checkout, PawPlacer fetches live exchange rates when available and displays both the USD amount and the estimated equivalent crypto amount. The adopter sees a wallet QR code and wallet address, then confirms the exact amount in their wallet app. PawPlacer does not monitor the blockchain or automatically verify crypto transfers.

Managing and Ordering Payment Methods

If you're an account owner with Admin access and at least one saved payment method, a second tab appears: Manage & Order. From here you can:

• Reorder methods to control the display order adopters see during checkout.
• Set a preferred method: the preferred method appears first and gets a star icon.
• Add custom instructions: write extra guidance that appears with that payment method during checkout.

Editing and Removing Payment Methods

For any configured method, you can:

• View the QR code by clicking the QR code icon
• Edit the address or username, then click Update
• Delete the method to remove it from your checkout options

Permissions

Only users with Admin privileges can access Payment Methods settings and add, edit, reorder, or remove saved payment methods.

Tips

• Offering multiple payment options increases the likelihood that adopters complete payment on the spot. At a minimum, configure Stripe if you want card checkout, then add the external wallet methods your supporters already use.
• After adding a new payment method, run a small test transaction to confirm the address or username is correct.
• Never enter a private key or seed phrase; only public wallet addresses belong in the cryptocurrency fields.
• You can reference your payment methods in your adoption contracts (see Settings > Contracts) so adopters know what to expect.

Related

• Public Donations: Accept general and wishlist donations from your public profile or full-profile embed
• Recording Donations: Reconcile external wallet and offline gifts