Connecting Vendor Stripe Accounts
Learn how to connect vendor Stripe accounts using the built-in onboarding flow or default Stripe Connect onboarding for receiving transfers.
Overview#
Before the Split Pay Plugin can transfer funds to a vendor, that vendor must have a Stripe account connected to your platform. There are two ways to connect vendor accounts:
- Split Pay Plugin Onboarding PRO — A built-in registration and onboarding flow directly on your WordPress site.
- Default Stripe Onboarding — Manually create connected accounts through your Stripe Dashboard and share an onboarding link.
Method 1: Split Pay Plugin Onboarding PRO#
The Pro version includes a self-service onboarding flow that lets vendors register and connect their Stripe accounts without you needing to touch the Stripe Dashboard.
Enable Vendor Onboarding
Navigate to WooCommerce → Split Pay Plugin → Settings.
Check the Enable Vendor Onboarding checkbox.
Save your settings.
When enabled, the plugin creates a Vendor WordPress user role and adds a Register as a Vendor checkbox to your site's existing WordPress registration page. No new page is created.
Vendor Registration Flow
Once onboarding is enabled, vendors can self-register:
The vendor visits your site's standard WordPress registration page (e.g. /wp-login.php?action=register). The plugin adds a Register as a Vendor checkbox to this existing page — no new page is created in your Pages list.
They create a WordPress account with the Vendor role.
After logging in, they're guided through the Stripe Connect onboarding process — creating or connecting their Stripe account to your platform.
Once onboarding is complete, their Stripe account ID is automatically saved to their WordPress user profile.
Hands-off setup: With the Pro onboarding flow, vendors handle their own Stripe account creation and verification. You don't need to manage account links or share onboarding URLs manually.
Additional Vendor Roles
As of v3.6.0, you are no longer limited to a single “Vendor” role. In the Vendor Onboarding settings tab, the Additional Vendor Roles multi-select lets you grant any WordPress role access to the Stripe Connect onboarding page. This is useful when your site already has custom roles (e.g., “Seller,” “Artist,” “Partner”) and you want those users to connect their Stripe accounts without changing their existing role.
Managing Vendors
Connected vendors appear in your WordPress Users list with the Vendor role. Each vendor's user profile includes their connected Stripe account ID, which you can reference when configuring product-level transfers.
Method 2: Default Stripe Onboarding (Free)#
With the free version (or if you prefer manual control), you can create connected accounts directly through the Stripe Dashboard.
Log in to your Stripe Dashboard.
Navigate to Connect → Accounts (or More → Connect depending on your dashboard layout).
Click Create to add a new connected account.
Choose the account type based on your needs:
- Standard — The vendor manages their own Stripe dashboard. Easiest to set up.
- Express — A streamlined onboarding experience. Stripe handles most verification.
- Custom — Full control over the user experience. Requires more development work.
Stripe generates an onboarding link. Send this link to your vendor so they can complete their account setup.
Once the vendor completes onboarding, copy their Stripe Account ID (starts with acct_) from the Stripe Dashboard.
Paste the account ID into the Split Pay Plugin settings — either in the global settings or on individual products.
For testing, use Stripe's test mode connected accounts. Toggle between test and live mode in your Stripe Dashboard to manage test accounts separately.
Account Requirements#
Regardless of which method you use, connected accounts must meet these requirements before they can receive transfers:
- The account must have completed Stripe onboarding (identity verification, banking details, etc.).
- The account must be enabled for transfers — Stripe may require additional verification for some account types or countries.
- The account must be connected to your platform's Stripe account (not a different platform).
- The account must be in the same country/region as your platform, or within the supported cross-border corridor (US, Canada, UK, EEA, and Switzerland). Accounts outside this corridor cannot receive transfers. See International Transfers for details.
Test vs. Live: Connected accounts created in test mode cannot receive live transfers, and vice versa. Make sure you're using the correct mode when setting up vendor accounts.
Finding the Stripe Account ID#
Every connected Stripe account has a unique identifier that starts with acct_. You can find it in:
- Stripe Dashboard: Go to Connect → Accounts, click on the account, and the ID appears at the top of the page.
- Vendor user profile: If using the Pro onboarding flow, the account ID is saved to the vendor's WordPress user profile automatically.