Payment routing and onboarding
PayMeNow keeps accepting payments while Stripe Connect is being set up. Routing depends on Stripe's account capabilities, not only whether onboarding was completed. Your embed and API integration do not change.
Phase 1 — Pre-onboarding
Until the connected account has the card_payments capability active, card payments are created on PayMeNow's platform Stripe account and tracked against your client record. This also applies if Stripe rejects a direct charge because card payments are unavailable.
- You can start accepting payments as soon as you sign in and accept the Terms of Service.
- Each payment is recorded with
held_on_platform = true. - Your fee is calculated and reported in the dashboard; successful payments are held until you manually confirm a transfer to your connected account.
- Your dashboard shows two numbers: held balance (what PayMeNow owes you) and total earned.
This phase is designed as a frictionless onramp. You can test with real cards and real customers without ever touching Stripe.
Phase 2 — Post-onboarding
When Stripe enables card_payments, PayMeNow attempts direct charges for new payments. If that direct-charge request is rejected because the capability is unavailable, PayMeNow falls back to a platform charge so checkout can continue.
Separately, when Stripe is ready to receive transfers, open Payments → Held funds and select Review transfer. Check the net amount held, any merchant-paid FX costs, and the amount reaching Stripe before confirming. Transfers use actual Stripe settlement balances and each payment is marked transferred only after Stripe confirms it. Onboarding, status refreshes, and webhooks never transfer funds automatically.
What stays the same
| Platform charge | Direct charge | |
|---|---|---|
| When used | card_payments is not active, or Stripe rejects a direct charge |
card_payments is active and Stripe accepts the direct charge |
| Where charge is created | PayMeNow platform | Your connected account |
| Manual transfer needed | Yes, once Stripe is ready and the platform has available funds | No |
When normalized outbound webhooks are enabled, the payload includes held_on_platform so your integration can distinguish platform-held from direct charges. Outbound webhook delivery is not currently dispatched automatically; use the dashboard/API for payment status.
Post-onboarding, your Stripe account is the merchant of record. Chargebacks and refunds are handled from your Stripe dashboard. Pre-onboarding payments remain under PayMeNow — contact support for refunds on those.
When to onboard
Start Connect setup from Settings. Stripe may request identity or business information and may activate card_payments and transfers at different times. Settings shows capability and verification status. See Payouts for manual transfers, verification, and available-balance details.