Transfer accounts

A Transfer Account is one Stripe Connected account on your platform — a vendor, instructor, partner, or anyone who receives a share of a sale. Refinery Payouts handles the full onboarding flow: you send an email invitation, Stripe collects the recipient’s details, and the account is ready to receive transfers.

Creating a transfer account

1. In WP Admin, go to Refinery Payouts → Transfer Accounts → Add New.
2. Enter a friendly name (e.g. “Acme Studio”) that you’ll recognize when assigning it to commission rules.
3. Enter the recipient’s email address.
4. Click Save Draft, then Send Invitation.

The plugin creates a Stripe Connected account, generates a one-time onboarding link, and emails the recipient. The post is saved as a draft until onboarding completes.

What happens when the recipient clicks the link

1. The recipient is redirected to Stripe’s hosted onboarding flow.
2. They enter business details, banking information, and identity verification.
3. Stripe redirects them back to your site.
4. The Transfer Account post moves from Draft to Published.
5. Once Stripe confirms charges_enabled = true, the account can receive transfers.

Stripe sometimes takes a few minutes to flip charges_enabled after onboarding. The Transfer Account list shows a Setup pending badge until that flag clears.

Resending invitations

If the recipient loses the email or the onboarding link expires (Stripe links expire in 5 minutes after first use), open the Transfer Account and click Send Invitation again. The plugin generates a fresh link rather than reusing the expired one.

Test mode vs live mode

Connected accounts created in test mode and live mode are separate Stripe accounts. When you switch modes in Settings → Stripe, you’ll need to onboard each Transfer Account again in the new mode.

Removing a transfer account

Move a Transfer Account to the trash to stop using it in commission rules. The Stripe Connected account itself is not deleted (Stripe doesn’t allow deleting Connected accounts). To fully disconnect, the recipient must do so from their own Stripe dashboard.

Troubleshooting

• Invitation email never arrives. Confirm WooCommerce email sending works by placing a test order. The invitation uses the same WooCommerce mailer.
• “Account not eligible for transfers” error in logs. The Connected account has charges_enabled = false. Open the Transfer Account, copy the Stripe account ID, and check its status in the Stripe Dashboard under Connect → Accounts.
• Onboarding link expired. Stripe Account Links are single-use. Click Send Invitation to mint a fresh link.