Installing the Stripe Extension
Before you can set up Stripe as a Payment Processor, you'll need to install the Stripe extension on your Powerbase. Please email support to ask us to install it.
Or, if you have Powerbase Administrator permissions, you can install it: Go to Administer > System Settings > Extensions. Find the Stripe extension and click on "Install" on that row. Once it's completed, you can continue with the next steps.
Getting Your Keys from Stripe
After you have signed up for a Stripe account, login to the Stripe Dashboard.
You will need:
- a publishable key for the live site
- a secret key for the live site
- a publishable key for the test site and
- a secret key for the test site.
The publishable keys are public and all start with: pk_.
The secret keys should not be revealed to anyone. They all start with: sk_
While logged into the Stripe Dashboard, look in the left side bar for the "Developers" link. Click "Developers" and then click "API". You will then see your live site publishable key:
Next, click the "Reveal live key token" button (and you will need to re-enter your password) and you will see your live secret key.
Not done yet!
Then, click the "View Test Data" toggle and repeat these steps to record your test keys:
Configure Stripe as a payment processor
Now, in your Powerbase, click Administer -> System Settings -> Payment Processors.
Click the button to add a new one.
Top Part
From the Payment Processor Type select box, choose Stripe. If you don't see Stripe as an option, contact support to have the Stripe Extension enabled.
Select a Financial Account (use Payment Processor Account if you are unsure).
For the "Backend Title" enter something recognizable to you. This will only be displayed internall. For exmaple: Stripe Payment Processor.
For the "Front end Title" pick something that will be sensible when viewed by someone making a contribution, like "Credit Card".
Bottom Part
Next, enter your live and test keys. The live keys will start with pk_live (for your publishable key) and sk_live (for the secret key). Similarly, the test keys will start with pk_test and sk_test. Be sure to fill in both!
If your screen makes any references to "URLs" you can leave the default or leave it blank.
Setup Stripe for ApplePay or GooglePay or Link
You can configure your donation pages to display a button to pay via ApplePay, GooglePay or Link!
While GooglePay and Link should work automatically, you have to take these extra steps to configure ApplePay. The "URL" you will need to register will be the following (change "SITE" with your actual Powerbase site): https://SITE.ourpowerbase.net/.well-known/apple-developer-merchantid-domain-association). Please try to access that link in a web browser to ensure you are prompted to download the file. If you get an error message, let us know and we can ensure it is properly configured for your site.
Once you are ready, click Administration -> CiviContribute -> Stripe Settings and enter "US" in the field labeled: "Country where your account is registered"
Be sure to immediately test your donate pages that use Stripe. If you connect from a web browser that has a Google or Apple wallet configured, you should see the appropriate pay options. In addition, please test from a web browser that does not have GooglePay or ApplePay enabled to ensure it all works via a standard credit card.
Handling Credit Card testers
As we document elsewhere, we sometimes get hit with credit card testers who have stolen a lot of credit card numbers and want to use our donation pages to test which ones are working and which ones are not.
Unfortunately, because of Stripe's unique (and in other ways more secure) design, the methods described on our general page don't work with stripe.
If your site is being used by card testers, we recommend enforcing a recaptcha on every contribution page. We are now using version 3 of recaptcha which means users don't need to enter anything to be verified. You can do that by contact support for help or:
- Go to
Administer -> System Settings -> Form Protectin Settings - Where it says "Enable reCAPTCHA on forms" - choose "Contribution Page" or "Contribution Pages" and "Event Registration Pages" and "Event cart payment form" - depending on where you want it to appear.
- Save
- Test your contribution pages