To start accepting credit card payments, you'll need to complete a Merchant Processing Application. This verifies your business and enables credit card transactions in the platform. Approval typically takes 1–3 business days.

Before You Begin

Your application includes the necessary information in addition to what was provided during your original account setup. If any of your business details have changed since then, please contact us before proceeding.

Why We Collect This Information

Payment processors are required to verify businesses before enabling credit card transactions. This is part of the standard Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-fraud compliance requirements set by banks and card networks. The information you provide allows our payment partners to verify your business identity, confirm expected payment activity, and ensure funds can be securely processed and deposited. Providing accurate information gives your application the best chance of a fast approval.

To Start the Application

Go to the Get Paid tab.
Select Merchant Processing Settings.
Click Set Up Now.

What You'll Need to Provide

Business Details

In addition to your account information, you'll be asked a few questions about your business and expected payment activity:

Estimated highest transaction — the largest single credit card charge you expect in a typical month
Average monthly sales volume — your estimated total credit card revenue per month
Seasonal operation — whether your business operates only during certain times of year. If yes, you'll select the specific months your business is active from a dropdown
Months of operation — the months during the year your business conducts operations

Personal Guarantee (Optional)

A personal guarantee is a commitment from the business owner to cover any outstanding obligations if the business cannot. This is not required, but opting out may result in a request for additional documentation.

Credit Card Surcharge (Optional)

You can add a credit card surcharge to help offset your processing costs. A few things to know:

Surcharges apply to credit card transactions only
Surcharging must comply with applicable state laws and card network rules
If enabled, the surcharge is automatically applied to qualifying payments

Identity Verification

After completing your business information, you'll be prompted to verify your identity via phone number. Depending on your account, you'll be asked to complete one of the following:

A one-time passcode sent to your phone number
A series of security questions

The verification method will be determined automatically.

Review Rates & Fees

You'll then review all fees associated with credit card payments through the platform. Read through this carefully before moving forward.

Select a Fee Withdrawal Account

Next, select the bank account from which processing fees will be withdrawn. You'll see a dropdown of the bank accounts currently linked to your account.

Accept Merchant Processing Terms and Conditions

Before submitting, you'll need to review and accept the Merchant Processing Terms and Conditions, which cover:

Acknowledgments
Term and termination
Individual gratuity
Automatic renewal
Next-day funding

You can download a PDF copy of your completed application for your records before submitting.

Submit Your Application

Once everything looks good, click Accept and Submit. Your application will be sent for review and you'll receive a decision within 1–3 business days.

After Submission

While your application is under review, you can configure how credit card payments are offered to your customers.

Accept Card Payments by Default — when enabled, all customers will automatically have the option to pay invoices by credit card. When disabled, you can enable credit card payments on a per-customer basis when sending an invoice.

For more detail on managing credit card payments after approval, see the Credit Card Payments help article.

Need Help?

Still Need Help? Contact our support team at support@stellainvoice.zendesk.com

Apply for Credit Card Processing