The frequently asked questions below are grouped into the following sections to help you quickly find what you need:
Setup and Migration
Q: Do we need to use Quote Wizard to use Stripe, or can we still use Stripe with legacy quoting?
A: Stripe works with both legacy quoting and Quote Wizard in BriteCore, so you can begin processing payments through Stripe regardless of which quoting experience you use. You do not need to be on Quote Wizard to use Stripe.
Q: What is the process for setting up Stripe with BriteCore?
A: Here’s a step-by-step overview of the Stripe onboarding process with BriteCore:
- Sign the Payment Processing Agreement to initiate setup.
- Receive a Stripe setup link from BriteCore.
- Complete the Stripe onboarding form, including full Social Security Number (SSN) for identity verification.
- BriteCore configures your Stripe account and connects it to your production site.
- BriteCore sets up convenience fee settings according to your preferences.
- Optional: BriteCore removes any saved payment methods not currently used for auto-pay.
Optional: If needed, Stripe and BriteCore can also support a payment token migration process to preserve auto-pay setups.
This streamlined approach ensures a smooth transition to Stripe while maintaining compliance and payment continuity.
Q: Can I use Stripe and my legacy payment provider at the same time?
Yes. When Stripe is activated in BriteCore, all new payments and newly added payment methods will be processed through Stripe—allowing you to begin charging convenience fees on those methods immediately.
Existing payment methods and auto-pay setups will continue to use your legacy provider until the payment tokens are migrated. This ensures a smooth, disruption-free transition.
During this period, both providers operate in parallel without conflict, giving you flexibility to complete the migration at your own pace. Convenience fee disclosures apply only to Stripe-based payments, providing clear and consistent messaging to insureds, agents, and admins about when a fee will be charged.
Q: Do I need to wait for payment tokens to be transferred to Stripe before going live?
A: No—there’s no need to wait. In fact, we recommend beginning to process payments through Stripe before the token migration is complete.
Here’s how it works:
- All new payments and new payment methods will process through Stripe immediately.
- Existing saved payment methods will continue to process through your legacy provider until the token migration is complete.
- As an optional best practice, we recommend deleting saved payment methods not used for auto-pay (BriteCore can do this for you). This ensures that when customers make payments (e.g., by phone), they must provide new payment information—which will be saved to Stripe.
- Once the token migration is complete, all remaining auto-pay and sweep payment methods will transfer to Stripe seamlessly.
Starting early also gives you time to notify customers currently using a card for auto-pay that a convenience fee will apply going forward. This gives them the opportunity to switch to a different payment method—such as ACH—if they prefer to avoid the fee.
Customers will not experience any disruption during the transition.
Q: Do I need to re-enter saved payment information?
A: No. Stripe supports payment token (vault) migration, ensuring a seamless transition without requiring customers to re-enter their saved payment methods.
However, any payment methods that were deleted during setup—such as those not used for auto-pay and tied to the legacy provider—will need to be re-entered if customers want to use them again.
If customers use the Policyholder Portal, they can update their payment methods directly. If not, agents or admins can re-enter them as needed. All other active payment methods, including those used for auto-pay or sweep payments, will be automatically migrated during the token transfer.
Q: My new Stripe account shows “Action Required” and asks for the account owner’s Social Security Number. Why is this happening, and how do I resolve it?
A: Stripe requires the full Social Security Number (SSN) for account verification before reaching $750,000 in total payouts, even if the last four digits were provided during setup. To complete this step:
- Log in to the Stripe Dashboard.
- Select the Settings icon (gear in the top right).
- Go to Business > Business Details.
- Scroll down to Management and Ownership.
- Select Edit next to the account owner’s name.
- Enter the full SSN or TIN in the field provided.
Once submitted, the Action Required alert will clear.
Q: Can I set different convenience fee amounts and disclosure messages with Stripe on BriteCore?
A: Yes. BriteCore allows you to configure separate convenience fee settings for card and ACH payments. You can define:
- Flat fees or percentage-based fees.
- Minimum and maximum fee amounts.
- Custom disclosure messages for each payment type.
These settings give you the flexibility to tailor the payment experience to your business needs while maintaining transparency for your customers.
Q: Can we charge a convenience fee that is greater than our payment processing cost?
A: Technically, yes—there is no system-imposed limit on what a carrier can charge as a convenience fee. However, from a legal and regulatory standpoint, most states prohibit charging more than your actual cost to process the payment or cap the amount of the convenience fee.
To stay compliant, we recommend using a convenience fee of 3.0928%, which effectively offsets a 3% application fee charged on the full payment amount. Here’s an example of how it works:
- Premium payment: $1,000.00
- Convenience fee (3.0928%): $30.93
- Total payment collected: $1,030.93
- Application fee (3% of total payment): $1,030.93 × 3% = $30.93
As shown in this example, this approach ensures the convenience fee collected matches the fee incurred, keeping you aligned with regulatory expectations.
Making Payments
Q: The new payment screen requires an email address. Can this be disabled? Some payers may not have an email address.
A: The email address is a required field for all online payments. For payers who do not have an email address, a placeholder can be used in the format:
[phone-number]@no.email (e.g., 555-123-4567@no.email).
This format ensures the entry is unique and clearly indicates that the payer does not have a valid email address. Payments cannot be submitted without something in the email field, so this approach helps maintain compliance while accommodating payers without email access.
Q: How should payments be handled when the cardholder or bank account holder’s address differs from what is on file in BriteCore? For example, when a parent pays on behalf of a child. The current payment screen doesn’t allow changing the address.
A: An exact match to the insured or property address is not required to process a payment. The only address-related field that applies is the ZIP Code, and only for card payments.
In those cases, the ZIP Code from the cardholder’s billing address must be entered. This is used solely as a security measure (AVS – Address Verification System) to confirm that the person making the payment has access to billing details tied to the card. It is not the insured’s or property ZIP Code unless the cardholder lives at that address.
For agents processing third-party payments (e.g., a parent paying for a child’s policy), it’s important to ensure the correct ZIP Code for the payer’s billing address is entered. No other address fields are required, and the mismatch with the policyholder’s address will not interfere with processing.
Q: Can I take a paper check from an insured and process it electronically through BriteCore and Stripe?
A: No. Paper checks cannot be electronically processed through Stripe via BriteCore. Stripe requires the payer’s explicit authorization—either through a direct ACH agreement or bank account verification initiated by the payer.
From a legal and regulatory standpoint, converting a paper check into an electronic transaction without the payer’s digital consent does not meet NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) rules and may violate federal and state banking regulations.
To process payments electronically, the insured must provide their bank account and routing number directly through a verified method, such as the Policyholder Portal or over the phone with proper authorization.
Q: Card payments now require the Card Security Code (CSC). This isn’t an issue for manual payments, but how will this affect existing auto-pay setups, since the CSC wasn’t collected before?
A: There is no impact to existing auto-pay accounts. All card payment methods captured through Stripe include the required CSC at the time they are saved. As a result, auto-pay transactions will continue to process normally, even though CSC entry is now required for new payments.
The CSC is a three- or four-digit number printed on a payment card (typically on the back for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and on the front for American Express). It’s used as a fraud-prevention measure to confirm that the person making the payment physically possesses the card. This code is sometimes also referred to as the CVC (Card Verification Code) or CVV (Card Verification Value).
Reporting
Q: Month-end reconciliation is challenging. How can I see which transactions have cleared but haven’t yet been paid out?
A: The Stripe Payout Reconciliation Report is the best tool for this task. To access it:
- Go to the Stripe Dashboard.
- Select Reports > Track Money Movement > Payout Reconciliation.
- Select the desired timeframe.
- Scroll down to the Ending Balance Reconciliation section.
- Download the report to view a detailed breakdown of:
- Transactions that have cleared but not yet been paid out.
- Their expected payout dates.
- The corresponding amounts.
This report provides a clear snapshot to support accurate and efficient month-end reconciliation.
Miscellaneous
Q: Can I charge fees back to payers?
A: Yes. Stripe-on-BriteCore supports flexible convenience fee configurations by payment method. You can define different fees for cards and ACH, using flat amounts, percentages, or combinations with minimums and maximums.
You can also configure custom disclosure messages for each payment method, ensuring clear communication to payers about any fees applied.
Q: We previously didn’t accept Discover or American Express cards due to higher processing costs. Now that the convenience fee is passed to the customer, can we allow these cards? If so, how do we enable them?
A: Yes, these cards can now be accepted—and there’s no longer a financial downside to doing so. With Stripe-on-BriteCore, two things have changed:
- All card types—including American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard (debit or credit)—now incur the same flat processing fee to the carrier. Stripe charges a uniform rate for all card transactions, so there is no longer a higher processing cost for Amex.
- Under the convenience fee model, this processing fee is passed directly to the payer, not absorbed by the carrier.
Because of these changes, accepting cards like Amex and Discover no longer results in higher costs for the carrier. All supported card types are automatically enabled, and no action is required—insureds will be able to use any major card, and the same convenience fee will apply.
Q: How does Stripe handle agency sweep payments, especially during the transition from another payment provider?
A: Stripe fully supports agency sweep payments. During the transition period, existing agency sweep payment methods will continue to process through your legacy provider. This ensures continuity while you migrate to Stripe.
Once Stripe is live in BriteCore, sweep payments will begin processing through Stripe only after agencies re-enter their payment methods or the payment tokens are successfully migrated. This phased approach helps avoid disruptions while giving agencies time to update their payment information.
Q: When a credit card payment is refunded, does the refund include the convenience fee?
A: The answer depends on the perspective:
- For the payer (insured): The entire amount paid, including the convenience fee, is refunded. This ensures the insured is fully reimbursed.
- For the carrier: The application (processing) fee is not refunded. Even if the full amount is returned to the payer, the carrier will still incur the original transaction cost.
In short, while the payer receives a full refund, the carrier does not recover credit card processing fees.
Q: Where can I check the status of Stripe services if I think something might be wrong?
A: Stripe provides real-time visibility into the status of its services. To check for any outages or performance issues, visit: https://www.stripestatus.com.
This site displays current operational status as well as historical incident reports across all major Stripe services.
Q: Our insureds and agencies are receiving emails with the subject line “Confirmation of Direct Debit Authorization.” Are these receipts?
A: No, these emails are not payment receipts. The “Confirmation of Direct Debit Authorization” email is a pre-authorization notice sent when a payer adds a new bank account for ACH payments through Stripe. It confirms that the payer has authorized future withdrawals from that account.
This email is required for compliance with NACHA (the governing body for ACH transactions) and helps ensure transparency around bank account authorizations.
Receipt generation has not changed. Receipts are produced by BriteCore separately after a successful payment is processed.