New AskFRED has partnered with Stripe via Stripe Connect to process and disburse payments. Unlike Old AskFRED which distributed checks after events were complete, the New AskFRED workflow puts registration funds into your bank account 7 days after the payment is made at the latest. You also have the option to speed up this process to as little as a day for a fee.

When you click on the "Connect to Stripe" button, you'll bet taken to a workflow fully managed by Stripe. You'll be able to either log into an existing Stripe account and link that account, or you will be prompted to create a new account.

Whether you connect an existing account create a new one, your account must be fully set up to accept payments and have the Know Your Customer workflow fully complete before AskFRED will recognize the Stripe account as valid. This means that you might complete the workflow but be presented with a screen that looks like a failure screen. Sometimes this is because Stripe has decided it needs more documentation from you, and other times its just as simple as Stripe taking a few extra minutes to process your digital paperwork. Either way, you can simply click on the link again and it will take you back to where you left off and give you the chance to review the workflow, check for issues to resolve, etc..

The process of creating a new Stripe account will require your personal and business information (i.e., EIN, SSN or similar, if in the US), as well as a valid bank account. Make sure to have these handy before you begin. The exact information you'll need depends on what type of account you try to set up, as well as your country of origin. Sometimes, if Stripe is having issues validating your identity, you'll be asked to provide documents like a Driver's License or similar.

Once you've completed everything and have an active Stripe account, you'll be able to connect to FRED and be granted full privileges to Bout Committee. If you ever put your Stripe account into an invalid state such that you can't accept payments (i.e., remove your bank account), are removed from Stripe due to fraud or similar, and/or disconnect your own Stripe account, your Bout Committee access will be revoked immediately. You could still request a manual review to regain Bout Committee access, however if the loss of access to your account was due to fraud, you'll be banned from AskFRED as well.

Sometimes, after you have already provided Stripe with some of your information, they will require you to add more information. This is because their Risk algorithm has decided they need to know a bit more about you. In this situation, a yellow warning will show up on your BC Dashboard. This warning is to let you know that Stripe will need more data from you eventually. The timeline on that is not known to AskFRED, but it usually occurs after you have passed a payments threshold, around $500-$1000 in payments processed.

Eventually the yellow warning will turn red, and Stripe will send you an email. At this time, you'll be able to log into your Stripe account and provide them with the documents and information they require. This should be the last time you'll need to take this action, but if not, the process will repeat itself again in the same way outlined here.

AskFRED charges a platform fee to Fencers when they register for tournaments and pay via Stripe. This fee runs through your payment and is then moved to the AskFRED platform after the charge is complete. If you have to refund payments, we strongly suggest that you refund them on the AskFRED platform instead of Stripe, as this will refund the platform fee, while refunding payments on Stripe will not.

The platform fee is $2.50 USD. This will be approximately converted into various non-US Dollar currencies for Stripe accounts accepting payments in other currencies - the conversion rate is not exact or up to date, but strives to approximately $2.50 USD.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, the company aims to increase the GDP of the internet.

How much does Stripe cost?

The sticker price for Stripe in the US is 2.9% and $0.30 for a credit card transaction. This rate depends on the payment type, country, and more. You can read more details on Stripe's Pricing page here. This rate does not include any currency conversion if necessary. Additionally, if you do enough business through Stripe, you can negotiate better rates directly with Stripe.

Currently, AskFRED enables online payments only through credit cards. However, over time we are going to enable other payment methods through various means. Changes of this type will automatically apply to your account without any need for configuration.

Can multiple users share the same Stripe account?

Yes, this should be fine, however it can cause issues. If you encounter issues, please reach out to support.

I don't want to use Stripe, but I want to accept payments. Is this possible?

Not at this time. We might provide alternatives later, but for now, accepting payments on AskFRED is directly linked to Stripe.

How quickly will I get my money when someone registers?

We've defaulted the value to 7 days, as this allows some time for someone to change their mind and ask for a refund before the funds are in your account. However, as the full owner of the Stripe account, you can change this number to whatever value you wish. Additionally, Stripe offers an Instant Payout functionality that will immediately transfer money from Stripe into your bank account for a fee (currently 1% of the funds paid out). This is in case you need the money immediately.

Who is responsible for chargebacks?

It is your responsibility as the tournament organizer and/or business owner. AskFRED can't know if services were rendered or what communications occurred off-platform, so AskFRED is not in the best position to respond to chargebacks. We'll do our best to surface them to you if they occur, but you should also make sure to pay attention to Stripe's emails for these notifications as well. Chargebacks that you lose will be debited from your Stripe account, or, if your Stripe balance does not cover the chargeback, directly from your linked bank account.

Can AskFRED manage payments on my platform?

Yes, but only indirectly. We have the ability to see and mange charges that AskFRED has created. If you are using this Stripe account for other purposes, we can not see/access those charges.

Whose responsibility is it to manage refunds, perform customer support about a tournament, etc?

It is your responsibility as the tournament organizer and/or business owner. AskFRED can't know if a fencer actually showed up to an event, nor do we know your refund policy, so we can't take action on your behalf to refund things. As noted earlier, unlike on Old AskFRED, chargebacks are not paid for by the AskFRED platform anymore. This means that chargebacks will need to be responded to by you, and any lost chargebacks will be debited from your attached bank account.

Can I use a non-US Stripe account?

Yes, we currently support several countries.

Most times, this is caused by Stripe's "International Charge" fee. This happens when you take a credit card that originates in a country different from your account's home country. This seems to happen a lot with US and Canadian tournaments - if you're in Canada, linked a Canada-based Stripe account, and someone pays for an event with a US-based credit card, this will trigger the additional International Charge fee. Having said that, this is not the only potential cause. You should reach out to AskFRED support if you have continued issues or confusion here.