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If you connect Stripe, every bill gets a Pay now button and your students pay by card in a minute. Stripe is the company that processes the payments. The money goes to your Stripe account, and card details never pass through SmartCookie. Connecting Stripe is optional. Without Stripe, students pay you by bank transfer to your IBAN or as you explain in Other payment methods, and you pay no fees.

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Before you start

  • Fill in your billing details: Fill in your billing details.
  • You must live and get paid in one of these 32 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

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Connect your account

When you connect Stripe, your country is fixed. If you haven’t created any bills yet, your billing currency changes to your country’s currency in Stripe. After that, you can’t change your country or your currency.
  1. At the top right, click your profile picture (or your initials).
  2. In that menu, click Payments (not the Payments page in the left menu). The Payment setup page opens.
  3. Under Online payments, click Connect Stripe.
Online payments block with the Not connected label and the Connect Stripe button numbered 3

Online payments in Payment setup, before connecting

  1. Read the Get paid online window: it explains how it works and what it costs. If your billing currency is going to change, it tells you too.
  2. Click Continue to Stripe. The Stripe website opens.
Get paid online window with how it works, example fees and the Continue to Stripe button numbered 5

The Get paid online window

  1. In Stripe, fill in the details it asks for, like your personal details and your bank account. When you finish, Stripe sends you back to SmartCookie.
  2. Once Stripe approves your account, you’ll see Ready for card payments next to Online payments. All done!
Stripe decides which details it asks for and how long it takes to check them. SmartCookie doesn’t email you: go back to Payment setup to see the status. You can also start from the Payments page, with the Connect Stripe button in the Online payments box. If you see In progress, Stripe is missing some details or is still checking them. Click Finish setup to pick up where you left off.

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What your students see

  • Every bill shows the Pay now button. Students pay without creating an account.
  • They can pay by card. If your Stripe account is in Spain, also with Bizum.
  • They still see your IBAN and your other payment methods, in case they’d rather pay that way.
  • When they pay with Pay now, the bill is marked Paid on its own.
Every Stripe payment has fees: Stripe fees and when you get your money.

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Disconnect Stripe

  1. On the Payment setup page, under Online payments, click Disconnect Stripe.
  2. In the Disconnect Stripe? window, click Disconnect. You’ll see “Stripe disconnected” and the Stripe paused label.
Your bills stop showing Pay now. Bills you already sent stay open, and students can pay them with your IBAN or other methods. Your Stripe account stays open. You can see your money with View your payouts, under Online payments. To come back, click Reconnect Stripe: you don’t set up again.

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What you can’t do

  • You can’t connect Stripe if you live in another country. You can keep getting paid by bank transfer or with your own payment instructions.
  • You can’t change your country or billing currency after connecting Stripe.
  • Students can’t pay by direct debit with Pay now.
Last modified on September 30, 2026