> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Online payments

> Connect Stripe or Paystack so patients can pay the hospital online, and see which features stay locked until the connection completes.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['clinic']} plans="Enterprise" roles="Owner, manager or accountant" note="Only the owner can connect an account" />

This is where the hospital connects the account that **receives money from patients** — card payments on invoices, deposits taken at booking, memberships and Auto Pay. It is not how the hospital pays ClinikEHR; that is the subscription, under [Change your plan](/platform/plans/change-plan).

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Settings', 'Billing', 'Online Payments']} />

<TaskHeader before="A bank account in the hospital's name, and the details of the legal entity behind it" time="10 minutes, plus verification by the provider" after="Patients can pay invoices, deposits and memberships online" />

## What this tab controls

**Which provider you see is decided by your currency**, set on [Billing and plans](/hospital/settings/billing). Naira shows **Paystack Connect**; every other currency shows **Stripe Connect**. You never choose between them here.

| Control                                       | What it does                                                                                                                             | Notes                                                                          |
| --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Connect Stripe Account**                    | Sends you to Stripe to create or link the account that receives payments                                                                 | Owner only. "Only clinic owners can connect a Stripe account."                 |
| **Account ID** · **Onboarding** · **Charges** | Three status tiles once connected — the account reference, whether Stripe's checks are **Complete**, and whether charging is **Enabled** | Read-only                                                                      |
| **Continue setup**                            | Returns you to Stripe when onboarding is unfinished                                                                                      | Appears with "Onboarding incomplete — your clinic cannot charge patients yet." |
| **Open Stripe Dashboard**                     | Opens the connected account at Stripe                                                                                                    | Owner only                                                                     |
| **Connect Bank Account** (Paystack)           | Opens the Nigerian onboarding form                                                                                                       | Owner only                                                                     |
| **Business Name (optional)**                  | "Used to identify your account on Paystack. Defaults to your account name."                                                              | Optional                                                                       |
| **Bank**                                      | Searchable picker of Nigerian banks                                                                                                      | Required                                                                       |
| **Account Number**                            | "Enter 10-digit NUBAN". The account holder's name is looked up and shown back as **Account verified**                                    | Required                                                                       |

Both cards state the platform fee in their description: ClinikEHR collects a **1.9%** platform fee on each transaction. The Paystack card adds that "Payments are settled directly to your bank account. The clinic bears Paystack transaction fees."

## Set it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm your currency first">
    Open [Billing and plans](/hospital/settings/billing) and check **Currency**. It picks the provider, and switching it later does not carry a connection across.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start the connection">
    Select **Connect Stripe Account** — or, on Naira, **Connect Bank Account**. Stripe takes you off to its own onboarding; Paystack shows a short form here.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give the provider what it asks for">
    Business details, an identity document and the bank account that should receive payouts. This is the provider's process, not ClinikEHR's, and it is where most of the time goes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Nigeria: confirm the account holder">
    Choose your **Bank**, enter the 10-digit account number, and wait for "Verifying account…" to resolve. You must see the account name come back with **Account verified** before **Connect Bank Account** will submit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the status tiles">
    Come back to this tab. You want **Onboarding: Complete** and **Charges: Enabled**, with an **● Active** badge on the card. Anything else means the connection is not finished.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What changes once you save

Nothing about a connection is partial in effect — it is the pair **onboarding complete + charges enabled** that unlocks the rest of the product. Until both are true:

* **Payment links on invoices** cannot be issued, so patients have no online way to settle a bill.
* **Booking-time payment** stays unavailable — **Require Upfront Payment** in the [Booking page designer](/hospital/settings/booking-page-designer) shows "Stripe not connected" (or "Paystack not connected") with a link back here instead of a provider picker.
* **[Auto Pay](/hospital/settings/auto-pay)** shows "Connect Stripe to use Auto Pay" and cannot be turned on.
* **[Membership](/hospital/settings/memberships)** sales cannot be taken, because there is nowhere for the money to land.

Once both are true, all four become available without any further switch. The **● Active** badge appears on the card, the Auto Pay tab renders its controls, and a payment link can be attached to an invoice.

The two providers are not interchangeable per transaction. A Stripe payment link is refused on a workspace collecting through Paystack, with: "This clinic collects payments via Paystack — Stripe payment links are not available." Use the payment channels on [Payment details](/hospital/settings/payment-details) for anything the provider cannot take.

Card details are held by the provider, never by ClinikEHR — the Stripe card says so: "Card data is stored securely by Stripe and never touches ClinikEHR servers."

## Check it worked

The card shows **● Active** (Stripe) or **● Connected** (Paystack), with **Onboarding: Complete** and **Charges: Enabled**. Then raise a small test invoice and issue a payment link — it should generate rather than refuse. Finally open **Auto Pay**: its controls should now render instead of the "Connect Stripe" notice.

## Common issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="An Unlock Stripe Connect panel covers the card">
    Card processing starts on the paid plans: "Processing card-on-file payments is a premium feature available on our Starter, Essential and Team plans." See [Change your plan](/platform/plans/change-plan).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I see the card but the Connect button is missing">
    "Only clinic owners can connect a Stripe account." Managers and accountants can read the status but not start the connection.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Onboarding says Incomplete and we cannot charge">
    The provider still wants something — usually an identity document or a bank detail. Select **Continue setup** to return to Stripe and finish it. Charges stay disabled until it clears.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Session expired while connecting">
    "Your Stripe onboarding session expired. Please start again." Onboarding links are short-lived — select **Connect Stripe Account** again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The Nigerian account will not verify">
    The number must be a 10-digit NUBAN and must match the bank you selected. If the lookup returns "Could not verify account", re-check the bank in the picker before the digits.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="We are on Paystack but a colleague asked for a Stripe link">
    Not possible on one workspace: "This clinic collects payments via Paystack — Stripe payment links are not available." Send the Paystack link, or a bank transfer from [Payment details](/hospital/settings/payment-details).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck />