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Payment Flows

How Money Moves Through Amply

Amply uses Stripe Connect to handle payment processing. This document explains how donations flow from donors to organizations.

Overview​

Why Stripe Connect?​

Stripe Connect enables multi-party payments:

  • Donors pay through Amply
  • Amply orchestrates but doesn't hold funds
  • Organizations receive payouts directly
  • Stripe handles compliance and security

Key Concepts​

Connected Accounts: Each organization has a Stripe Connected Account linked to Amply.

Direct Charges: Donations go directly to organization accounts (not through Amply's account).

Platform Fees: Amply takes no platform fee—only Stripe's processing fees apply.

Donation Flow​

Standard Donation​

┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  Donor   │────▶│  Amply   │────▶│  Stripe  │────▶│   Org    │
│          │     │ (routes) │     │(processes)│     │(receives)│
└──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘
     │                │                │                │
     │ 1. Initiate    │ 2. Create      │ 3. Process    │ 4. Settle
     │    donation    │    payment     │    payment    │    funds
     │                │    intent      │                │

Step by Step​

1. Donation Initiated

POST /api/donations
{
  "amount": 5000,
  "currency": "USD",
  "organization_id": "org_xyz",
  "payment_method": "pm_card_..."
}

2. Payment Intent Created Amply creates a Stripe PaymentIntent on the organization's connected account:

stripe.paymentIntents.create({
  amount: 5000,
  currency: 'usd',
  payment_method: 'pm_card_...',
  on_behalf_of: 'acct_org_xyz',
  transfer_data: {
    destination: 'acct_org_xyz'
  }
});

3. Payment Processed Stripe processes the payment:

  • Card authorized
  • Funds captured
  • Receipt generated

4. Funds Settled Organization receives funds per their payout schedule:

  • Daily, weekly, or monthly
  • Direct to verified bank account
  • Minus Stripe processing fees

Fee Handling​

Processing Fees​

Stripe charges per transaction:

  • Cards: ~2.9% + $0.30 (varies by region)
  • Bank transfers: Lower or no fees
  • Currency conversion: Additional if applicable

Fee Coverage Options​

Donor Covers Fees (Default):

Donation: $50.00
Fees: ~$1.75
Donor pays: $51.75
Org receives: $50.00

Fees Deducted:

Donation: $50.00
Fees: ~$1.75
Donor pays: $50.00
Org receives: ~$48.25

→ Pricing and Fees

Account Types​

Organizations (Connected Accounts)​

Each organization has a Stripe Connected Account:

  • Standard: Organization owns relationship with Stripe
  • Verified: Identity and banking verified
  • Payouts: Direct to org's bank account

Businesses (Collection)​

Businesses collecting donations:

  • Route customer donations to org accounts
  • Never hold donated funds
  • Separate from business payments

Fundraisers​

Personal fundraising:

  • Donations route to organization account
  • Fundraiser never receives funds
  • Attribution tracked for reporting

Multi-Party Scenarios​

Business Checkout Donations​

Customer donates at business checkout:

┌────────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐
│  Customer  │───▶│ Business │───▶│  Amply   │───▶│   Org    │
│            │    │  (POS)   │    │(routing) │    │          │
└────────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘
                       │                              ▲
                       │                              │
                       └──────────────────────────────┘
                              Donation funds flow
                         (separate from business payment)

Key Point: Donation is a separate transaction from the purchase. Business facilitates but doesn't touch the funds.

Corporate Matching​

Company matches employee donations:

Employee Donation: $50 → Org
Company Match:     $50 → Org (separate transaction)
Total to Org:      $100

Both transactions tracked independently on ledger.

Fundraiser Campaigns​

Fundraiser collects from multiple donors:

Donor 1: $25  ─┐
Donor 2: $50  ─┼──▶ Campaign ──▶ Organization
Donor 3: $100 ─┘

Each donation is a separate transaction to the org.

Payment Methods​

Cards​

  • Visa, Mastercard, American Express
  • Global acceptance
  • Standard Stripe fees

Bank Transfers​

US (ACH):

  • Lower fees
  • Longer processing (3-5 days)
  • Higher limits

Europe (SEPA):

  • Low/no fees for EUR
  • 1-2 day settlement
  • EUR only

Digital Wallets​

  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Link (Stripe)

Recurring Payments​

Subscription handling:

  • Card-on-file storage
  • Automatic retry logic
  • Failed payment handling
  • Cancellation processing

Payout Process​

Organization Payouts​

Funds reach organizations:

Schedule Options:

  • Daily: Next business day
  • Weekly: Every Monday
  • Monthly: First of month

Process:

  1. Donation processed
  2. Funds settle in Stripe (2-3 days for cards)
  3. Payout initiated per schedule
  4. Bank transfer (1-2 days)

Payout Visibility​

Organizations see:

  • Pending funds
  • Upcoming payouts
  • Payout history
  • Per-donation detail

All visible on Amply dashboard and ledger.

Error Handling​

Payment Failures​

Card Declined:

  • Donor notified
  • Retry option provided
  • No ledger entry created
  • Organization not affected

Insufficient Funds:

  • For bank transfers
  • Retry after delay
  • Donor communication

Dispute/Chargeback​

Process:

  1. Dispute received
  2. Organization notified
  3. Evidence collected
  4. Stripe handles resolution

Impact:

  • Funds held during dispute
  • Ledger shows pending status
  • Resolution recorded

Refunds​

When Applicable:

  • Donor error
  • Duplicate charge
  • Fraud investigation

Process:

  • Initiated by org or Amply
  • Funds returned to donor
  • Ledger shows refund entry
  • Chain integrity maintained

Compliance​

PCI DSS​

Amply never handles raw card data:

  • Stripe.js for card capture
  • Tokenized payment methods
  • PCI SAQ-A eligible

KYC/AML​

Organizations verified:

  • Identity verification
  • Bank account verification
  • Sanctions screening
  • Ongoing monitoring

Tax Documentation​

  • 1099 reporting (US, where applicable)
  • VAT handling (EU)
  • Cross-border considerations

Webhooks​

Stripe Events​

Amply receives Stripe webhooks:

  • payment_intent.succeeded
  • payout.paid
  • charge.dispute.created
  • account.updated

Event Processing​

Stripe Event ──▶ Amply Webhook Handler ──▶ Ledger Update
                        │
                        ▼
                  Notifications
                  (donor, org)

Reliability​

  • Idempotent processing
  • Retry handling
  • Event logging
  • Reconciliation checks

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