Stripe Platform on Rallyhood
Rallyhood partners with Stripe to offer a safe, secure, and easy way to collect payments. Rallyhood charges a platform fee of 2.9% to help cover costs for things like development of functionality, maintenance of the technology, and security for users.
Stripe charges a credit card processing fee of 2.9% + $.30 per transaction. Organizers have a live calculation of any associated fees (platform and credit card processing) right on the setup page. As organizers are creating tickets or payment requests, they can see exactly what the fees might be without any guessing.
Rallyhood tries to keep fees as low and fair as possible. For comparison, fees on a $10 ticket in Rallyhood are $.91 vs. $2.24 in Eventbrite, which is almost 2.5 times higher.
Peer to Peer Payment Platforms (P2P)
Peer to Peer (P2P) platforms are platforms intended to process small money transfers between two people who know each other. These are platforms like Venmo, CashApp and Stripe .
Troops can use P2P platforms, including Stripe on Rallyhood, but cannot require that caregivers use a particular platform to pay troop dues and must accept troop dues or other payments via check or cash when requested by a caregiver. Service units can use an electronic payment platform for peer-to-peer transactions provided the Service Unit team agrees and understands the risks associated. Service units cannot require that troops use a particular platform and must accept payment from troops via check when requested.
Note that P2P platforms often have associated fees that are paid by either the purchaser or the organization offering the purchase. Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania does not cover any service fees from any P2P platform, including Stripe through Rallyhood. All fees associated with transactions on P2P platforms must be paid for by family members or the Troop/Service Unit.
Setting up a P2P Account
To avoid receiving a 1099-K reporting personal income, accounts must be set up under the council's federal tax ID number, not a person’s social security number (SSN). If the payment platform requires you to submit your personal SSN, that is a sign your account may not be set up correctly. When entering the council’s federal tax ID number, the platform may require you to use a matching address (for instance, square requires you to enter a matching address). Please enter the council’s Shelly Ridge office address: 330 Manor Road; Lafayette Hill, PA 19444
Risks when using electronic payments
Using an electronic payment platform is complex and comes with inherent risk. Girl scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania regularly encounters issues with electronic payment platforms that cause troops to lose funds. These guidelines are in place to protect Girl Scouts’ funds and prevent problems before they arise. Troops that use an electronic payment platform assume the risks that are associated with using these platforms. In general, payment platforms have their own terms of service that limit how much Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania can support if there is an issue with the payment processor. Please note that while these guidelines are intended to help troops minimize their risk when using a payment platform, it cannot eliminate the risk entirely.