--- title: "Stripe (Free)" source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/stripe-free/" description: "The free GiveWP plugin supports collecting credit card donations, SEPA direct debit donations, and BECS direct debit donations via the Stripe payment gateway. T…" vertical: "Software" area: "Give" date: "2019-07-11" last_modified: "2026-07-22" --- # Stripe (Free) The free Give plugin supports collecting credit card donations via the Stripe payment gateway. This article explains how to configure your Give installation to work with Stripe. > The Stripe payment gateway charges an additional 2% for processing one-time donations. **Stripe may charge** **additional transaction fees to Stripe Subscriptions** (used by Recurring Donations), which Give cannot remove. ## Activating the Stripe Gateway Navigate to **Give > Settings > Payment Gateways > Stripe**. From there, use the **Connect** button to connect to your Stripe account. After that, you can follow the prompts to connect your existing Stripe account, or sign up for a new account. ![Screenshot showing multiple accounts gonnected to Stripe, ready to accept donations.](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/4-3.png)With Give, you’re not limited to just one Stripe account!> The **Manage Accounts** tab allows for connecting to multiple Stripe accounts from a single Give-powered website. Once you’ve added all the accounts you need, you can configure individual forms to use a specific Stripe account in the **Payment Gateways** block settings. ## Connecting Stripe and Your Webhook (required) For donations to be marked as complete on your Give site, you must configure the webhook at Stripe. On the settings page at **Give > Settings > Payment Gateways > Stripe**, the webhook URL is pre-populated on the page. Copy that to your clipboard for later use. Click the link in the paragraph just above the webhook URL or navigate to: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/webhooks On that page, click the “Add endpoint” button and paste in your webhook URL. ![](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/stripe-webhook-endpoints.png)![](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/stripe-events-endpoints.png)The webhook is a one-way message from Stripe to your Give site to alert the site of events on the Stripe side. Select the following Events: - **charge.refunded** - **checkout.session.completed** - **customer.subscription.created** - **customer.subscription.deleted** - **invoice.payment\_failed** - **invoice.payment\_succeeded** - **payment\_intent.payment\_failed** - **payment\_intent.succeeded** The most common problem that indicates a webhook issue is donations having a status of **Pending** or **Processing** instead of **Completed** on the Give side, even though they are complete at Stripe. In addition, donor receipt emails will not be sent unless a donation has a Completed status. ## General Settings ### Stripe Webhooks **Settings Type**: Text Input **Options**: Your Site URL followed by /?give-listener=stripe The webhook should be copied and pasted to your Stripe account dashboard. Learn how to set it up in the above section. ### Statement Descriptor **Settings Type:** Text input **Options:** any 22 alphanumeric characters. **Default:** Site Title This is the text that appears on your donor’s bank statements. Statement descriptors are limited to **22 characters**, cannot use the special characters `<`, `>`, `'`, or `"`, and **must not** consist solely of numbers. This is typically the name of your website or organization. ![](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Statement-Descriptor-1024x500-1.png)The Give “Statement Descriptor” setting affects how your donors see their donations to you in their bank statements.This allows you to customize the info that displays on bank statements. ### Collect Billing Details **Settings Type:** checkbox **Options:** checked | unchecked **Default:** unchecked This setting allows you to collect Address data along with donations, so that donation records include addresses at Give. The address is not necessary to process the donation at Stripe, but you may have a need to collect it. Note that address data, if collected, is store both on the individual donation, and on the donor record. ### Stripe Receipt Emails **Settings Type:** checkbox **Options:** checked | unchecked **Default:** unchecked In addition or instead of sending Give’s generated receipt emails each time someone donates through your website, you have the option to send emails to your donors directly from Stripe instead. You can enable this and disable Give generated receipt emails in the Emails > Donor Emails tab. This setting does not change whether Give emails are sent, only the one from Stripe. To avoid duplicates, configure Give email settings separately. ### Apple Pay and Google Pay Settings The Apple Pay and Google Pay settings are now configured directly in your Stripe dashboard via the Stripe Payment Element payment gateway. This means you can use the free Give core plugin and still offer Apple Pay and Google Pay options. You can see more details on how to configure these settings in the [Stripe Element Gateway document here](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/stripe-payment-element/). ## Stripe Settings for Option-Based Forms The remaining settings on the main Stripe page apply to the older Legacy and Option-Based Forms. ### Credit Card – Credit Card Fields Format **Settings Type:** radio buttons **Options:** Single Field | Multi Field **Default:** Multi Field This setting allows you to choose how the credit card fields are displayed on the form. The default is Multi Field which displays separate inputs for Card Number, CVC, Cardholder Name, and Expiration date. The other option is Single Field which houses all of those various pieces of data in a much smaller single input. ![](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Single-vs-Multi-Line-CC-Fields-1-1024x570-1.png)Your Stripe donation page can be formatted with multiple fields to input credit card information or you can use a single input field to create a shorter form.### Stripe Checkout #### Checkout Type **Settings Type**: Radio buttons **Options**: Modal (Stripe Elements) | Redirect (Checkout 2.0) **Default**: Modal (Stripe Elements) The Modal option essentially is a Stripe-styled modal popup that offers a different interface to pay than the default Give credit card fields. The modal uses Stripe Elements for each of the payment data fields in order to keep those fields secure within an iframe. ![display of modal stripe elements](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/modal-stripe-elements.png)Modal (Stripe Elements)As an alternative, the “Redirect” option allows your donor to use the checkout interface and pay with either a credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. This method is SCA compatible and fully supported by Stripe and Give. When Redirect (Checkout 2.0) is selected, the only other option on this page is to edit the Processing Text. When Modal (Stripe Elements) is selected, all the following options will appear. #### Checkout Heading **Settings Type**: Text Field **Default**: Your Site Title from the General Settings page This is the main heading within the modal checkout. #### Checkout Background Image **Settings Type**: File Upload This background image appears in the header section of the Stripe checkout modal window and provides better brand recognition that leads to increased conversion rates. The recommended minimum size of background image is 400x200px. The supported image types are: .gif, .jpeg, and .png. ## FAQ’s The free version of Stripe is different from the Premium add-on version in important ways. These FAQs help clarify those differences. I’m in a country that does not support partner fees. How do I connect Stripe?If your organization is based in a country where Stripe does not support partner fees, you’ll need to connect using **Stripe Connect** — not API keys. Give automatically disables partner fees in the following countries: – **Brazil** – **India** **– Malaysia** **– Mexico** **– Singapore** **– Thailand** How to Connect Stripe the Right Way – Go to **Donations > Settings > Payment Gateways**. – Click on **Stripe**. – Select **Connect with Stripe** and complete the secure onboarding flow. – Ensure no API keys are entered — they’re not needed in these countries. Pro tip: Stripe Connect is recommended for all Give users and ensures the smoothest donation experience. Why are my donations being marked as pending or processing on Give’s side?If the webhook is not correctly configured according to the instructions above, your site will keep all donations marked as Pending. Follow the instructions above to configure the webhook. Note also that development sites on localhost or behind firewalls will prevent the webhook from reaching the site, and always leave all Stripe donations marked as pending. Does the 2% fee apply to recurring donations?No. The 2% fee is applied only to one-time donations. If I use the Stripe gateway, does the 2% fee get applied to PayPal as well?No, not at all. The 2% fee applies to one-time donations processed via the Stripe gateway when using the Stripe gateway.