What is Stax?

Stax is a payment processing platform that Shelterluv is partnering with to power Shelterpay, Shelterluv's fully integrated payment system that includes mobile checkout and other key features.

Why is Shelterluv moving away from Stripe?

At Shelterluv, we put a lot of thought into the things that we have to build ourselves and the things that are better left to partners. YouTube is the current expert on hosting videos you take of your animals. Twilio allowed us to provide Text-to-Donate without building it from scratch. We watch those partners carefully though, and if they no longer seem like the right partner, we have to swap them out.

When it came to payments, Stripe helped us get Shelterpay going quickly and helped you streamline adoptions and capture more donations. They have now let us down in two critical ways:

1. The reporting just isn't flexible enough to satisfy the needs of accountants and other finance managers across your organization.
2. They tied up funds for a customer of ours in Nevada and would not respond to repeated requests to release them until we finally could get introduced directly to their CEO.

After a several-month evaluation, we have decided to discontinue our relationship with Stripe and power Shelterpay with Stax. The reporting will be simpler and more comprehensive. We also have a dedicated contact to resolve any issues that happen to arise.  

Why should I transition to Stax?

Once you transition to Stax, you will have access to new reporting inside your Shelterluv account that will include all of the information that you need about your transactions and bank deposits. You will no longer need to combine two or more reports from different software systems like you did while using Stripe. Learn more about this new reporting in this Help Center article.

Also, if you have any questions or any issues arise, those will be handled directly by the Shelterluv customer solutions team for better service and response time.

A few other key details to know:

• If you have been using Shelterpay and had connected a Stripe account, you will receive the same processing fee rate with Stax that you had with Stripe.
• Once you complete Stax's enrollment process, the transition to Stax will be seamless and automatic. The change will happen in the background, and you will be able to process transactions like normal without disruption. 
• When you've transitioned over to Stax, your team will not experience any difference in the way they process transactions through Shelterpay. Everything will function exactly the same. 

Who do I contact if I have questions or issues?

Once you transition to Stax, support for all questions or issues related to your Shelterpay credit card transactions will be handled directly by the Shelterluv customer solutions team for better service and response time. Please reach out to us at help@shelterluv.com if you have any questions or need assistance at any time.

How long will the enrollment process take?

With all of your information on hand, the application takes 5-10 minutes. This checklist includes all the information that you will need to complete the enrollment form.  Applications are typically approved within 24-48 business hours, and you can begin processing payments immediately.

Why do I have to provide my social security number and date of birth in the enrollment process?

All financial institutions must collect and verify information from all significant owners of legal entities and their accounts. They must collect all of this information when the new account is opened per the FinCEN Patriot Act legislation.

What is Stax's security compliance like?

You can read more about Stax's security and PCI compliance here.

How do the payout deposits work?

Transactions taken by 8 PM EST each day will be paid out to your business' checking account within 48 business hours. Any transactions processed after the cutoff time of 8 PM EST will go into the following day's batch. There is no action you need to take to settle your transactions each day. 

Transactions settled by 8:00 PM EST on:

• Monday will fund on Wednesday.
• Tuesday will fund on Thursday.
• Wednesday will fund on Friday.
• Thursday will fund on Monday.
• Friday will fund on Tuesday.
• Saturday and Sunday will fund on Tuesday.

Do I need to unlink my existing Stripe account once I link my Stax account?

No, you do not have to unlink your Stripe account from Shelterluv. Once your Stax enrollment form has been approved, Shelterluv will automatically begin to process transactions through Stax instead of Stripe.

An easy way to differentiate which transactions were processed through Stripe and which were processed through Stax is by referring to the CC Processor column within the Detailed Transaction Report run from the General Summary by Transaction Date Report. The values for this column will be Stax, Stripe, Other (if it was processed with an outside credit card processor) or the cell should be blank if not processed via credit/debit.

What about my recurring donations?

All active recurring donations that were started while on Stripe will continue to be processed via Stripe. Recurring donations that are started after the transition to Stax will be processed by Stax. 

When will payments processed through Shelterpay appear in our account?

Payouts are typically deposited by Stax two business days after the transactions are processed. Refunds will be deducted the next business day after they are processed.

Why can't I process a partial refund on the same day as the original transaction?

Partial refunds (or refunds of only some of the items on a transaction and not all items on a transaction) aren't possible until after the original transaction has been settled with the processor. All transactions are settled at 11 PM EST on the day that they were processed. This Help Center article explains more about these partial refunds. 

What should I do if I need to change the Stax account administrator?

Please email help@shelterluv.com and we can assist you with any Stax account admin changes.