Setting Up Stripe for Cash Gifts: A 5-Minute Guide

Cash funds on Gift List — honeymoon funds, group gifts, "help us with the house" — are paid out through Stripe, the same payment company behind Shopify, Lyft and millions of online stores. The money goes from your guest's card directly to your bank account. Gift List never holds your money.

The catch: until your Stripe setup is complete, guests who try to contribute will see a message that payments are not ready yet. If you created a fund and have not finished this step, five minutes now turns your fund on.

What to have ready

Stripe is required by Canadian banking regulations to confirm who is receiving the money. Before you start, have these at hand:

• Your legal name, date of birth and home address — as they appear on your ID.
• Your bank details — institution, transit and account number. They are printed on a cheque, or shown in your banking app under "account details" / "direct deposit info".
• A piece of government photo ID — driver's licence or passport. Stripe does not always ask for this, but have it nearby in case it does.

Step 1 — Connect with Stripe

Log in to Gift List and go to Dashboard → Settings. Under Payments, click Connect with Stripe. You will be sent to Stripe's secure onboarding page — your details are entered on Stripe's site, not ours, and we never see them.

Step 2 — Fill in your details

Stripe will ask for your name, date of birth, address and phone number. If the fund is personal (a honeymoon fund, a baby fund), choose Individual when asked about business type — you do not need a business to receive gifts.

Step 3 — Add your bank account for payouts

This is the step people most often skip, and without it the money has nowhere to go. Enter your institution, transit and account numbers when Stripe asks where to send payouts. Double-check the numbers — a typo here is the number one cause of delayed payouts.

Step 4 — Verify your identity if asked

Stripe may ask you to photograph or upload your driver's licence or passport. Sometimes this happens during setup; sometimes Stripe emails you a few days later asking for it. Do not ignore that email — until verification is complete, Stripe can pause payouts even though guests can still contribute.

Step 5 — Done

When Stripe sends you back to Gift List, you will see a confirmation that cash funds are enabled. If you instead see "Stripe needs a bit more info", click Connect with Stripe again — it resumes exactly where you left off rather than starting over.

When does the money arrive?

Payouts are automatic — you never need to "withdraw". Stripe holds your very first payout a little longer (up to about a week) as a standard fraud check; after that, contributions typically reach your bank within a couple of business days.

You can check your balance and payout history any time: Dashboard → Settings → Open Stripe dashboard.

What it costs

Contributions carry a 5% processing fee, which covers the card fees Stripe charges us (2.9% + 30 cents per transaction) and keeps Gift List free to use. There are no monthly costs, no setup costs, and no fees when nobody contributes. Guests can give any amount from $1 up to $10,000 per contribution.

Quick answers

Guests say they cannot contribute to my fund — why?

Almost always because Stripe setup was never finished. Go to Settings and click Connect with Stripe — if there is anything left to do, Stripe will walk you through only the missing parts.

Is it safe to give Stripe my SIN, ID or bank details?

Your details go to Stripe directly over an encrypted connection — Gift List never sees or stores them. Stripe is a regulated payment institution that handles payments for millions of businesses; identity checks are a legal requirement for anyone receiving money in Canada, not a Gift List policy.

Do I need a business or a business bank account?

No. Choose "Individual" during setup and use your regular personal chequing account.

Stripe emailed me asking for more information. Is that legit?

If the email is from stripe.com and mentions your account or payouts, it usually is — but never click links in an email you are unsure about. Instead, go to Settings, click Open Stripe dashboard, and any outstanding requirements will be shown there.

Can I set the fund up first and connect Stripe later?

Yes — funds can sit on your registry unconnected. Just connect before you share your registry link, so early gift-givers are not turned away.

I connected Stripe but payouts are "paused". What now?

Stripe is waiting on something — usually ID verification or a bank account. Open the Stripe dashboard from your Settings page and it will list exactly what is missing.

Still stuck? Reply to any email from us or reach out through the contact page — we will walk you through it.