This guide walks you through how to configure and verify your organization's banking and business information on Zeffy. Completing these steps is required in order to receive payouts and stay compliant with Stripe's verification requirements.
Step 1: Open your bank setup page
Log in to your Zeffy account and navigate to the bank setup section from your dashboard.
Go to the Finances tab in the left menu
Click the verification button — either a yellow warning banner or a Complete verification button
You'll see a setup flow with sections such as:
Organization details
Identity verification
Banking information
Click Get started to begin.
Provide your organization's official information. You'll be asked for:
Organization name
Website
Brief description of your mission and fundraising activities
Registered charity number (if applicable)
CRN — Companies House Registration Number (if applicable)
HMRC number (if applicable)
Enter your information carefully. If the information you enter matches public records perfectly, you will not need to provide documentation. If there is a mismatch between what you enter and public records, Stripe will ask you to upload documents to verify your organization.
Important: PO Boxes are not accepted as a legal address in Stripe. You must provide a physical address.
Step 3: Add the legal representative
Stripe will ask for information about the person completing the verification on behalf of the organization. The legal representative will first be asked to verify their personal details.
The details entered here should be those of the person who will complete ID verification — the date of birth and name must match their government-issued ID exactly.
After entering personal details, you'll be asked three role-related questions for this person:
1. "I own 25% or more of the company" (Owners)
For nonprofits, this often does not apply since nonprofits typically do not have shareholders or ownership structures. You can leave this unchecked unless your organization specifically includes ownership interests.
2. "I'm a director of the company or member of the governing board" (Directors)
Directors are people responsible for governance and oversight — they oversee the organization at a governance level. In nonprofits, this includes board members, trustees, and governing committee members.
3. "I have significant management control over the company" (Executives)
Executives are people responsible for day-to-day management and operational control — they run or manage the organization operationally. In nonprofits, this includes Executive Directors, CEOs, Presidents, Treasurers, and Operations Leads.
Can someone be both? Yes. A person can be both a director and an executive, only a director, or only an executive. For many small nonprofits, the same few people will appear in multiple sections, and that's completely normal.
Stripe separates directors and executives because regulators treat governance and operational control differently. This comes from anti-money laundering (AML) and financial compliance rules.
Examples:
Volunteer board member who attends quarterly board meetings: Director ✅, Executive ❌
Executive Director managing staff and finances daily: Executive ✅, possibly Director too if they sit on the board
Treasurer actively managing finances and banking: Usually Executive ✅, sometimes Director too if they are a board member
Stripe needs to identify both who governs the organization and who actually controls or operates it financially and operationally.
If you are not the only person in one of these categories, you'll have a chance to add additional people in later steps.
Step 4: Verify the representative's identity
After completing the representative section, the legal representative will be asked to complete identity verification.
Accepted IDs:
This typically includes:
The name and date of birth on the ID must match exactly what you entered for the representative.
Step 5: Complete ownership, director, and executive sections
After identity verification, Stripe will guide you through three additional sections.
Owners
If the legal representative was marked as someone who "owns 25% or more of the company," they will automatically appear in the Owners section.
To add additional owners, click Add owner and enter their name and email. Additional owners will be asked to provide the following later on:
Date of birth
Residential address
Directors
If the legal representative had "I'm a director of the company or member of the governing board" selected, they will automatically appear in this section.
To add additional directors, click Add director and enter their name and email. Additional directors will be asked to provide the following later on:
For organizations registered with Companies House, Stripe will attempt to verify directors against the public register automatically. If the list matches, you can simply confirm. If not, you'll need to verify directors another way (see Step 8).
Executives
If the legal representative had "I have significant management control over the company" selected, they will automatically appear in this section.
To add additional executives, click Add executive and enter their name and email. Additional executives will be asked to provide the following later on:
Date of birth
Residential address
Step 6: Review and confirm
Before submitting, Stripe will show you a review page summarizing all entered information.
Carefully review all sections. If any fields are marked in red or shown as incomplete:
Click Edit next to the section
Provide the missing information
Return to the review page
Once everything is complete, click Confirm to submit the verification.
Step 7: Add your organization's bank account
After submitting to Stripe, you'll be asked to enter your organization's banking information. Personal bank accounts are not accepted.
You'll need:
Important: The bank account must belong to the organization. Personal bank accounts are not accepted. The account holder name should closely match the legal organization name.
Step 8: Document verification (if requested)
Stripe may request documentation if the information you provided cannot be matched against public records. This does not mean something was done incorrectly — Stripe simply needs extra verification in some cases.
Business entity verification
If Stripe cannot verify your organization against public records, you may be asked to upload a document. Accepted documents include:
VAT Registration
Certificate of Incorporation
Companies House Document
HM Revenue and Customs: VAT Certificate
HM Revenue and Customs: Account Statement
Charity Commission Document
OSCR Scottish Charity Regulator
Ofsted School Inspection Report
Other — if you don't have any of the documents above, you can upload a document that includes additional information about your organization and operations
Document requirements:
Upload original PDFs whenever possible
Ensure documents are complete and readable
Make sure the organization name matches exactly
Avoid cropped screenshots or edited files
Director verification
If Stripe is unable to verify your directors against public records, you will be asked to upload a document to verify them.
Recommended by Zeffy: The easiest way to verify directors is to sign electronically. Under the directors section, click Continue, then sign electronically. This attests that the directors listed on the account are correct.
Step 9: Monitor verification status
After submission:
You may receive additional requests for information afterward. This is normal and part of Stripe's compliance review process.
You can return to the bank setup section at any time to:
Check verification status
Upload additional documents
Resolve pending requirements
If the warning banner or button disappears, your verification is complete.
Common verification issues
This usually means:
the document type is unsupported
the information does not match the account
the file is incomplete or unclear
Stripe needs a different document type
Verify that your legal entity name and address match exactly what's shown on your document. For Companies House documents, download the PDF directly from the Companies House register rather than scanning a printed copy.
Stripe sometimes performs additional checks after the onboarding flow is submitted. New requirements can appear afterward even if the original setup seemed complete. This is normal and part of Stripe's compliance review process.
This commonly happens when:
the account is personal instead of organizational
the account name does not match the organization
routing/account numbers contain typos
For help editing your bank information, see How can I edit my bank account information?
Even small differences cause rejection. Ensure names on your document match exactly what you entered in Zeffy:
No abbreviations or nicknames
Include all middle names as shown
Do not include titles (Mr, Dr, Rev) or positions next to names
See Business Registration & Directorship Verification for more help.
Why is this required?
Stripe is required to collect, verify, and maintain identity information from UK organizations under UK anti-money laundering regulations and FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) requirements. These requirements apply to all platforms integrated with Stripe in the UK, not just Zeffy.
This verification promotes transparency and helps prevent financial crimes such as money laundering and fraud.
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