Stripe accounts for minors (13-17 years of age) - update 03/2024

Update 03/2024:  Stripe has provided additional guidance on a parent or legal guardian being the owner of a minor's Stripe account.  See the FAQ below if you previously attempted to create a Stripe account for a minor and had issues with verification of documents, SSN, or other items.

You only need a Stripe account if the payor for a particular competition is using Ref Insight Pay.  Otherwise, you do not need to create a Stripe account.

Payment methods for referee assignments vary by club, league, competition, and tournament.  Some pay cash at the field, others pay by check, Venmo, or various electronic payment systems.  Others use Ref Insight Pay to pay referees electronically.

Ref Insight has partnered with Stripe to pay referees electronically for those clubs, leagues, competitions, and tournaments that have chosen to use this payment solution.  Again, not all clubs, leagues, competitions, or tournaments pay referees electronically or use Ref Insight Pay to pay referees.

When Ref Insight Pay is used, the payments you receive for matches you work will be deposited into a Stripe account registered under your email address.  This Stripe account will allow you to check your balance and transfer the funds to your bank account when you wish.

Minors (13-17 years of age) can be paid with Stripe.  Because a minor is not able to consent to the Stripe Terms of Service and Connected Account agreement, a parent or legal guardian must be the owner of the minor’s Stripe account.

During Stripe’s onboarding process, the information of the parent or legal guardian listed below must be entered, not the minor’s information.  The email address and “business name” associated with the account will be that of the minor, which Ref Insight provides to Stripe.  

Please ensure the parent or legal guardian has the following information on hand when creating a Stripe account:

Parent’s information

• First and Last Name
• Physical Address – No P.O. Boxes allowed
• Phone Number
• SSN
• Identity Verification Document (e.g. driver’s license, passport)
• Bank information
  • Can be either the minor’s or the parent’s bank account

How do I create a Stripe account?

To create a Stripe account as a referee, log into the RefInsight portal, click on the Stripe tab from the main menu, then click Create Stripe Account. Setting up a Stripe account is estimated to take approximately 10-15 minutes if all the required information is readily available.

Do I need a Stripe account to get paid?

Not necessarily.  Payment methods for referee assignments vary by club, league, competition, and tournament.  Some pay cash at the field, others pay by check, Venmo, or various electronic payment systems.  Others use Ref Insight Pay to pay referees electronically.

You only need a Stripe account if the payor for a particular competition is using Ref Insight Pay.  Otherwise, you do not need to create a Stripe account.

When Ref Insight Pay is used, the payments you receive for matches you work will be deposited into a Stripe account registered under your email address.  This Stripe account will allow you to check your balance and transfer the funds to your bank account when you wish.

Refinsight Pay is working on a method within Stripe where creating an account will not be needed to get paid.  We anticipate this method will be available within the platform in the coming months, at which time it will be announced to all RefInsight users.

FAQ  Why is Stripe asking for Business Information if I am creating an account as an Individual?

Because you are receiving payments for services rendered (refereeing), the account is considered business-related.  Items such as  “DBA”, support email address, and business profile link are pre-populated by RefInsight and should not be changed if you are creating an account as an Individual.

FAQ  I’m a parent who referees AND I have one or more children who are referees.

For the parent who is a referee:

• Create the Stripe account for yourself from your RefInsight account
• Your email address will pre-populate when the platform connects to Stripe
• In Stripe, enter your information and your bank account information

For each minor who is a referee:

• Create the Stripe account from the minor’s RefInsight account
• The minor’s email address will pre-populate when the platform connects to Stripe
  1. The minor’s Stripe account is separate from the account you created for yourself in the previous step because the minor’s email address is being used for this new Stripe account

• Within Stripe, enter your (the parent’s) personal information – this step makes the parent the owner of the account
• You can choose to enter the minor’s bank account information or the parent’s bank account information, according to your preference

The result is that there will be a separate Stripe account for each person with their own email address, but the parent information will be entered in all of these accounts.  The parent is the owner of all the accounts.

FAQ  I’m a parent who does not referee, and I have one or more children who referee.

Follow the steps above to create a Stripe account for each minor, without creating a Stripe account for yourself (the parent).  The parent will be the owner of all the minors’ Stripe account(s).

FAQ  We started the process of creating a Stripe account for my child using their information, but it did not work (e.g. could not verify documents, SSN, etc.) and the account is incomplete.  How do I fix it?

Log into the Ref Insight account for the minor and click on Stripe in the menu.  Click Continue Onboarding.  You will be brought back to Stripe.

If prompted by Stripe to add any additional details, follow the prompts until you reach the summary page where the minor’s information is displayed.  Do not change any “business profile” information (DBA, support email, business profile link).  Edit the minor’s information and replace it with the parent’s information and continue to follow the prompts.  It may take several minutes for Stripe to verify the account.

FAQ  Will I, as the parent, receive a 1099-NEC for my child (or children) if the Stripe account is in my name?

NO.  The payors who are responsible for sending 1099-NECs will send a 1099-NEC to each child if they meet the threshold for receiving a 1099-NEC.  Ref Insight is never the payor to any referee (adult or minor).  The Ref Insight platform only facilitates the processing of the payment transaction.

FAQ  Will Stripe charge me fees for standard ACH payouts to me or my child?

NO.  Payments to each referee accumulate in that referee’s Stripe account.  Funds are paid out via standard ACH to the referee’s bank account from Stripe using what they call a “payout”.  There is no charge or fees associated with a standard ACH payout.

FAQ When does a payout happen from Stripe to the bank account?

When the Stripe account is first created, the account is set to make payouts manually, which means you decide when payouts occur.  Log into your Stripe account to adjust your payout settings.  Stripe offers daily, weekly, and monthly payout scheduling options.

Click the link below to view your balance, initiate a payout, or change your payout frequency:   https://dashboard.stripe.com/balance/overview

You can also view your Stripe balance from your RefInsight account.

FAQ  How do I get assistance with my Stripe account?

When it comes to the Stripe verification process, Ref Insight does not have access to that part of their system.  You will need to reach out to Stripe Support directly using the link below.  
https://support.stripe.com/

Click the contact support link at the bottom right of the page.

They offer 24/7 support by phone, live chat, and email and they should be able to help get the account set up or edit the profile information.