# Payout Account Setup

During Violet Connect onboarding, merchants will have the option to create a payout account. If they decide not to set it up right away, they can always go to the Merchant Dashboard later to configure their payout account—provided that an initial connection to your application has already been established.

{% hint style="info" %}
Prior to merchants being able to set up payouts, your existing Stripe platform account must be onboarded to Violet for payment and payout orchestration. Learn more about this process [here](/prism/payments/payment-integrations/supported-providers/stripe/connecting-a-platform-stripe-account.md).
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Recommended Restriction: Stripe Express Accounts Only**

We strongly recommend limiting merchants to Stripe Express accounts only. Violet can enforce this restriction upon confirmation from your team.

**Why Express Accounts are Preferred:**
{% endhint %}

| Aspect                         | Express Account                     | Standard Account                    |
| ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| **Payout Schedule Control**    | Platform controls payout timing     | Merchant controls their own payouts |
| **Negative Balance Liability** | Platform can recover via auto-debit | Merchant responsible, no auto-debit |
| **Dashboard Access**           | Express Dashboard (limited)         | Full Stripe Dashboard               |
| **Onboarding**                 | Stripe-hosted, streamlined KYC      | Full business verification          |

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Key Risk with Standard Accounts**: Merchants with Standard accounts have full control over payout schedules and typically enable auto-payouts, which prevents balance accumulation. When a transfer reversal is needed (e.g., for refunds after payout), Stripe cannot auto-debit Standard accounts. If the connected account's balance is insufficient, the reversal fails and your channel becomes responsible for these funds.

**Express Account Advantage**: According to [Stripe's documentation](https://docs.stripe.com/connect/account-balances), platforms are liable for Express account negative balances, but Stripe enables auto-debiting from the connected account's external bank account to recover funds (with `debit_negative_balances` setting). This provides a recovery mechanism not available with Standard accounts.
{% endhint %}

### Creating a new Stripe Express account

If merchants do not have a Stripe account—or prefer not to connect an existing one—they can create a new Stripe Express account. To do this:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
**Choose “I don’t have a Stripe account.”**

This indicates that they want to create a brand-new account instead of linking an existing one.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Select a Country**

Enter the country associated with their bank account (which may differ from the country where their merchant store is located).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Complete KYC Requirements**

They’ll be redirected to Stripe to submit the necessary identity verification details. Afterward, they’ll automatically return to Violet Connect.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Check Account Status**

Violet displays indicators to show whether the new Express account has been successfully enabled. Merchants can use these indicators to confirm that payouts are ready.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
If a merchant cannot find their bank’s country in the list of supported countries or if they encounter cross-border restrictions on your Stripe Platform account, Violet will not be able to support payouts for them. In these scenarios, consider using an `EXTERNAL` or `CUSTOM` Transfers flow instead.
{% endhint %}

### Connect a Stripe Standard account

Merchants that select the option to connect their current Stripe account will be redirected to Stripe to select which account they would like to connect with your platform.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
**Log in to Stripe**

Merchants should confirm they’re using the correct Stripe credentials for the account they want to connect.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Select the Desired Account**

Stripe may list multiple accounts if the merchant has more than one. They should choose the one intended for your platform.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Optional: Create a New Stripe Standard Account**

If they want a dedicated Standard account solely for your sales channel, they can create one at this step instead.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Return to Violet**

After finalizing the connection in Stripe, merchants will be returned to Violet Connect with a confirmation showing that the account has been successfully linked.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

That’s it! Once the payout account is configured—whether Express or Standard—merchants are ready to receive payouts through Violet.


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