Skip to content

Payment processors

myblueboard takes online and in-person payments through two processors: PayPal and Stripe. Both send the money to your organization's own account — myblueboard never holds your funds. You can connect one or both, and pick which one handles each type of payment.

Everything on this page lives under Settings → Financials. You need Financials Access or Admin Access to see it.

Which processor handles which payment

There are three kinds of payment, and each has its own setting under Which processor handles each type of payment:

Payment type What it covers Choices
Fees (online) Families paying fees from their statement PayPal, Stripe, or None
myShop (online) Purchases in your public myShop store PayPal, Stripe, or None
myShop POS (in person) Card sales at a table, through Tap to Pay on iPhone or a Stripe card reader Stripe, or None

A processor can only be chosen once it's connected and verified; until then it shows as "— not connected". Pick what you want for each row and click Save processors.

None (off) turns online payment off for that type. Families can still see their statement and you can still record cash and check payments — see Taking payments.

When a processor finishes connecting it automatically takes over every payment type that was still set to None, so a first-time setup usually needs no changes here. Anything you had already assigned to the other processor is left alone.

How they differ

PayPal Stripe
What families pay with Credit or debit card without a PayPal account, or their PayPal balance / Venmo after signing in to PayPal Credit or debit card on a form inside your store — no account, no redirect. Apple Pay and Google Pay where Stripe offers them
In-person sales (POS) Not available Tap to Pay on iPhone and Stripe card readers
Passing processing fees to families Yes — the percentage and fixed fee under PayPal fees (one pair for fees, one for myShop) The same settings apply: the myShop pair is added to Stripe orders too, despite the section's name
Refunds From your PayPal account From the myShop order in myblueboard, or from your Stripe dashboard — see Refunds
Where the money goes Your PayPal Business account Your Stripe account, paid out to your bank on Stripe's schedule

myblueboard's commission is taken automatically as part of each transaction on either processor. There's no separate invoice.

If you only want to take cards at events and fundraisers, Stripe is the one you need — the POS never uses PayPal. Many organizations run both: PayPal for online fees because families already know it, Stripe for in-person sales.

Switch deliberately, not mid-sale

Changing a type from one processor to the other takes effect immediately. Money already taken stays in the old processor's account, so a switch means reconciling two dashboards for the overlap period.

Setting up PayPal

You need a PayPal Business account — a personal account won't work. You can create one during the connection. You will not need a PayPal Developer account, API keys, a Client ID or a Secret; your PayPal credentials are never entered into myblueboard.

  1. Go to Settings → Financials. Under Payment processors, the PayPal box shows Not connected.
  2. Click Connect PayPal.
  3. Read the short summary of what connecting does, then click Connect PayPal Account to go to PayPal.
  4. Sign in to PayPal, or create a Business account.
  5. Grant permission to connect the account to myblueboard.
  6. Complete any verification PayPal asks for. What it asks varies by organization and is set by PayPal, not myblueboard.
  7. PayPal sends you back to myblueboard automatically.

The PayPal box then shows one of:

  • Connected — done. You'll also get a confirmation email.
  • Connected — verification needed — the account is linked, but PayPal still wants something from you, most often a confirmed email address. Finish it on PayPal's side, then click Check verification status to refresh.

Optionally, under PayPal fees, enter the percentage and fixed fee you want families to cover for processing charges. Leave them blank to absorb it. Despite the heading, the myShop pair is added to myShop orders whichever processor takes them. The Statement descriptor is what appears beside the charge on a family's bank statement.

Full detail, including what purchasers see and common questions: Accept PayPal payments in myShop.

Setting up Stripe

You need a Stripe account for your organization. Stripe asks for organization and banking details during onboarding; what it asks is set by Stripe.

  1. Go to Settings → Financials. Under Payment processors, the Stripe box shows Not connected.
  2. Click Connect Stripe.
  3. Sign in to Stripe (or create the account), approve the connection, and you're returned to myblueboard. You never enter Stripe keys into myblueboard.

You land on one of two outcomes:

  • Ready to accept payments — Stripe confirmed the account can take charges. The Stripe box now shows Connected, with Activity and Card readers (POS) buttons.
  • Almost there — connected, but Stripe still wants more information. Finish verification in your Stripe dashboard, then come back and click Reconnect Stripe. Verification finishing on Stripe's side doesn't update myblueboard on its own.

Once connected, set up how you'll take cards in person: Tap to Pay on iPhone needs no hardware; Stripe card readers covers the reader you can borrow from myblueboard.

Full detail, including refunds and the Activity page: Accept card payments with Stripe.

Disconnecting

Each box has a Disconnect button. Disconnecting stops every payment type that used that processor until one is connected again — and the affected rows under Which processor handles each type of payment drop to None — so don't do it mid-sale.