How to Connect Your Stripe Account to Receive Tips

Stripe supports card processing and employee payout onboarding in Aplauso. The guest payment, its canonical employee, outlet, or department destination, beneficiary allocations, and later payouts remain separate records. Employee and venue setup requirements can therefore differ.

---

Why Stripe Connect?

Aplauso uses Stripe Connect for payment processing and eligible employee payouts. By using Stripe Connect:

• Stripe handles supported payment processing, identity checks, and payout-account details
• The guest payment remains attached to its exact employee, outlet, or department destination
• Aplauso calculates and records beneficiary allocations without replacing that destination with a proxy employee
• Eligible employee earnings move through Aplauso's wallet and payout lifecycle
• Employees and managers can see the Stripe details available to their account and role

---

For Employees - Connecting to Receive Tips

When you accept an invite to join Aplauso and create your account, the onboarding flow prompts you to connect Stripe.

In the Mobile App

1. During initial setup, tap Connect Payout Account.
2. You'll be redirected to the Stripe Connect onboarding flow.
3. Enter your personal details:
   • Legal full name
   • Date of birth
   • Last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (or equivalent government ID for non-US)
   • Home address
4. Add your bank account:
   • Routing number and account number (US)
   • Or select your bank and log in via Plaid (if available)
5. Review and accept Stripe's terms of service.
6. Return to Aplauso - your account shows Payouts: Active.

In the Dashboard

1. Log in to my.aplauso.io.
2. Go to Settings → Payment Methods → Connect Stripe.
3. Follow the same Stripe onboarding flow as above.

Important: Your Stripe account is your own - Aplauso does not have access to your bank account details. Stripe holds this information securely and processes your payouts directly.

---

For Managers / Venue Owners - Payment Processing

The business may need Stripe configuration for platform-level payment processing. This configuration does not change the guest's canonical destination or immediately route the charge to one employee. After payment, Aplauso records the destination's distribution results and eligible employee dividends for the later wallet and payout lifecycle.

Setup

1. Log in to my.aplauso.io/business.
2. Go to Settings → Payments → Connect Stripe.
3. Click Connect with Stripe.
4. You'll be taken to Stripe's business onboarding:
   • Business type (LLC, corporation, sole proprietor, etc.)
   • Business name, address, and EIN (or SSN for sole proprietors)
   • Bank account for platform-level fees (if applicable)
   • Representative information and identity verification
5. Complete Stripe's verification (instant for most businesses).
6. Return to Aplauso - Stripe status shows Connected.

Note: Venue payment processing and employee payout onboarding are separate concerns. An outlet or department tip never requires Aplauso to substitute an arbitrary employee as its canonical destination.

---

Checking Your Stripe Status

Employee

Go to Settings → Payment Methods - you'll see either:

• Active - connected and verified; tips will route to your bank
• Pending - Stripe is reviewing your information (usually resolves in minutes)
• Restricted - Stripe requires additional verification; click to complete

Manager/Venue

Go to Settings → Payments - status shows Connected, Pending, or Restricted.

---

Stripe Verification Requirements

Stripe may request additional identity verification at any time (especially for accounts that have processed high tip volumes). Common requests:

When Stripe requests verification, you'll receive an email from Stripe and see an alert in your Aplauso settings.

---

Stripe in Test Mode vs. Live Mode

During testing (Sandbox environment), Aplauso uses Stripe test mode. You don't need to complete full Stripe verification for test mode - Stripe automatically provides test credentials.

When switching to Live mode, your Stripe account must be fully verified and in live mode.

See Understanding Environments for details.

---

Troubleshooting Stripe Connection Issues

---

Next Steps

• How payouts work
• Setting up your bank account for payouts
• Payout timing