Switch payment service provider to Stripe

This guidance tells you how to switch your payment service provider (PSP) to Stripe.

You must be a GOV.UK Pay admin user to switch PSP. To check if you are an admin user for a service:

Select View team members or Manage team members next to the service on the Overview page.
If your email address is listed under Administrators, you are an admin user.

Prepare to switch to Stripe

Email govuk-pay-support@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk asking to switch your PSP to Stripe. Your email must include:

a list of services you want to switch to Stripe
a clear payment descriptor of maximum 22 characters for each service - the payment descriptor will appear on your users’ bank statements, not the service itself
a clear statement descriptor of maximum 22 characters for each service - the statement descriptor will appear on your bank statements when you receive payouts

You can read Stripe’s payment or ‘statement’ descriptor guidance for more information.

The GOV.UK Pay support team will email you to confirm when you can start switching PSP.

To switch to Stripe, you’ll need:

the name, date of birth, home address, work telephone number, and work email address of someone who has the authority to sign a contract on behalf of your organisation (called your ‘responsible person’)
your organisation’s bank details
your organisation’s VAT number (if applicable)
your company registration number (if applicable)
your organisation’s main website address
the name, date of birth and email address of the director of your service (or someone at director level)
a debit or credit card to make a refundable payment to test your service

You also need a document that verifies your organisation is a government entity. This must be a copy of (one of the following):

your VAT registration
your certificate of incorporation
a document from Companies House
a VAT certificate from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
an account statement from HMRC
a document from the Charity Commission
a document from the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)

Before switching, read the:

GOV.UK Pay contract (if you are a non-Crown organisation)
Memorandum of Understanding (if you are a Crown organisation)
Stripe Connected Account Agreement

To get to the Switch payment service provider page:

Sign in to the GOV.UK Pay admin tool.
Select the service you want to switch from the Overview page - services you can switch are labelled LIVE - SWITCH PSP.
On your service dashboard, select the ‘…how to switch to Stripe‘ link in the banner at the top of the page, or select Settings in the navigation.
In Settings, select Switch PSP from the side navigation.

Switch to Stripe

You need to repeat the following process for each service you want to switch.

Provide your details and test the integration with Stripe

To test the integration between Stripe and GOV.UK Pay, you need to make a live payment. This step makes sure you have integrated your GOV.UK Pay and Stripe accounts correctly.

The live payment is £2.00 and is refundable. Your new Stripe account will be debited a small transaction fee.

Select Provide your bank details.
Enter your sort code and account number.
Select Save and continue to return to the Switch payment service provider (PSP) page.
Select Provide details about your responsible person.
Complete the Name, Home address, Date of birth, Telephone number, and Email address sections.
Select Save and continue.
Select Add information about the director of your organisation.
Enter the details of the director (or someone at director level) for your service.
Select Save and continue.
Select Provide your organisation’s VAT number.
Enter your organisation’s VAT number.
Select Save and continue.
Select Provide your company’s registration number.
If your organisation has a company registration number, select Yes and enter your company registration number.
If your organisation does not have a company registration number, select No.
Select Save and continue.
Select Upload a government entity document.
Select Choose file and upload a document that verifies your organisation is a government entity.
Select Save and continue.
Select Add organisation URL.
Enter your organisation’s URL.
Select Make a live payment to test your Stripe PSP - you will need a debit or credit card for this step.
Select Continue to live payment. If Continue to live payment is not visible, Stripe is still verifying your details. Try this step again later.
Enter your card details.
Select Continue. You’ll be returned to the Switch payment service provider page.

A Success banner confirms the payment and you can also find it in the Transactions list.

If your service uses the GOV.UK Pay API for reporting, you may want to check the test transaction appears correctly in your systems.

Warning Your existing PSP is still processing this service’s payments. You have not switched your PSP yet.

Switch PSP to Stripe

You’re ready to switch once you’ve provided your details in the GOV.UK Pay admin tool, and made a live payment to test the integration.

Users making payments as you switch are unaffected. Your old PSP will process their payments.

To switch, select Switch to Stripe. A Success banner confirms the switch.

You have now switched PSP to Stripe. Stripe will process new payments.

Refund payments after switching to Stripe

After you switch to Stripe, you can still refund old payments through your old PSP.

For now, GOV.UK Pay will maintain an integration with your old PSP to let your service process refunds through your old PSP. However, if your contract with your old PSP expires, or your old PSP stops operating, your service cannot refund payments through GOV.UK Pay.

If you cannot refund a payment through your old PSP, find an alternative like a cheque or bank transfer.

Refund payments by signing into the GOV.UK Pay admin tool, selecting your service, and choosing the Transactions tab. Alternatively, you can use the GOV.UK Pay API.