Stripe Import vs. Stripe Funding Account

BetterUnite offers two very different Stripe-related features that serve separate purposes:

• Stripe Import – for importing historical or external Stripe transactions into BetterUnite

• Stripe Payment Processor – for actively processing live payments through BetterUnite

Although both connect to Stripe, they are designed for different use cases and are not substitutes for one another.

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Stripe Import: Bringing external Stripe transactions into BetterUnite

Stripe Import is a data import tool, not a payment processor.

It is used when your organization already collects payments outside of BetterUnite (for example, through a custom website, Stripe Checkout, or another platform) and you want those transactions reflected in BetterUnite for reporting, donor history, and accounting.

What Stripe Import does

• Connects to your Stripe account using API keys

• Retrieves existing Stripe charges within a selected date range

• Imports those charges into BetterUnite as:

  • Donations

  • Contacts (created or matched automatically)

• Prevents duplicate imports by tracking Stripe charge IDs

What Stripe Import does not do

• ❌ Does not process payments

• ❌ Does not charge cards

• ❌ Does not store payment methods

• ❌ Does not handle recurring billing

• ❌ Does not replace a payment processor

Common use cases for Stripe Import

• Migrating historical data into BetterUnite

• Syncing donations collected on an external Stripe-powered site

• Reconciling Stripe activity with BetterUnite reporting

• Importing one-time or batch transactions created outside BetterUnite

Important: Stripe Import is one-way. It pulls data into BetterUnite but does not send payments to Stripe.

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Stripe as a payment processor: Processing live payments in BetterUnite

Setting up Stripe as a payment processor allows BetterUnite to actively process payments on your behalf.

This is what you use for:

• Online donations

• Membership subscriptions

• Recurring giving

• Event registrations

• Saved cards and automated billing

What a Stripe payment processor does

• Securely processes live credit card and ACH payments

• Stores payment methods for recurring subscriptions

• Automatically charges recurring donations and memberships

• Handles failed payments and retries

• Powers supporter portal features like card updates

• Applies BetterUnite’s platform workflows and receipts

Common use cases for Stripe as a processor

• Accepting online donations

• Managing recurring memberships

• Automating subscription billing

• Allowing supporters to manage payments in the portal

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Key differences at a glance

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Can I use both?

Yes — many organizations do.

A common setup is:

• Stripe Payment Processor → for all new and ongoing BetterUnite payments

• Stripe Import → to bring in historical or externally collected Stripe transactions

They complement each other but solve different problems.

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Important clarification

Stripe Import is not an alternative to setting up a Stripe payment processor.

If you want BetterUnite to accept payments, you must configure a payment processor. Stripe Import alone will not allow donors or members to make payments.

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