Payments

How the money moves

Short version: it's Stripe end to end — the same processor behind Amazon, Shopify and millions of businesses. GroupSherpa never holds your money.

1
A traveller taps “Pay now” on their invite link
They land on Stripe Checkout — Stripe's own hosted payment page. Their card number goes directly to Stripe and never touches GroupSherpa's servers or database.
2
The charge lands in YOUR Stripe account
When you set up payments, Stripe created an account that belongs to you — verified with your identity and connected to your bank. Every traveller payment is charged directly on that account, not ours.
3
GroupSherpa's 3% fee is taken automatically
On each charge, Stripe routes 3% to GroupSherpa as a platform fee and the rest to you. No invoices, no month-end settlement, nothing to reconcile.
4
Stripe pays out to your bank
Funds settle to your linked bank account on Stripe's standard schedule (typically 2 business days after the charge, faster once you have history). You can see every payout in your Stripe dashboard.
5
The dashboard only believes Stripe
A payment shows as “paid” only when Stripe's signed confirmation arrives — never because someone clicked a button. Declined cards show as “failed” with the reason, and gentle reminder emails nudge unpaid travellers at most once every 72 hours, with an opt-out.

Common questions

Can GroupSherpa touch the money in my account?: No. Charges for your trips settle to your account and your bank. The only amount GroupSherpa receives is the 3% platform fee, taken by Stripe at charge time.
What about refunds?: Refunds go back to the traveller's card from your Stripe balance. When a trip is cancelled, the platform fee is returned too, so the traveller is made whole at no extra cost to you.
Want to see it work before real money is involved?: Create a test trip with yourself as the only traveller, set a $1 deposit, pay it with your own card, watch it flip to paid within seconds — then refund yourself. Total cost: nothing.