Legacy payment processor to Stripe

Learn how to migrate recurring plans from your legacy payment processor to Stripe.

For migrations from another payment processor to Stripe, the approximate workflow and timeline for this type of migration can be illustrated as follows:

If you are migrating from a legacy payment processor, please follow the steps below to begin this process.

Step 1. Initiate the process with Stripe

Submit a data migration request with Stripe, using the image below as a guide. Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation email from Stripe, usually within one business day. 

As you are coming from a different payment processor, you must submit this request to Stripe in order to inform Stripe that you are approving the incoming payment tokens.

Step 2. Initiate the process with the legacy processor

The second step is to send a request to your legacy processor asking them to transfer all payment tokens to Stripe. Here is a template email you can use:

TO: [Legacy Processor Support Email]
CC: support-migrations@stripe.com; migrations@fundraiseup.com

We are making some changes to our financial systems and how we process recurring transactions. Could you please transfer the payment tokens associated with our recurring transactions (or all of them, if this isn't possible) along with the name, email address, and any unique identifiers, such as user ID, to our Stripe account as customers? I have CC'd Stripe Support to assist with this as needed. My Stripe migration request ID is [insert your migreq_ from step 1 here].
There is no need to cancel our account, or stop any recurring transactions at this time — we simply need to have the customer details in Stripe. If it is necessary to have them only in one system, then it would need to be Stripe.

Step 3: Export recurring plan details

After the payment tokens have been transferred to your Stripe account, export the details of the recurring plans you want to migrate. This information can be exported from the platform managing your recurring plans. This can be your CRM, your payment processor or a third-party merchant processor. The data should include name, email, the last donation date and time, and any unique identifiers.

Step 4: Format the data

Next, format the data to match Fundraise Up's required import format. In order for us to use the data, it needs to be formatted for our migration correctly development team. Use our instructions and sample template to get the right formats. Please use this formatting and make sure that:

  • you thoroughly reviewed the crucial information at the start of the sheet, as well as the specific annotations accompanying each column.
  • Stripe IDs/Billing Agreement IDs match their related plans.
  • the last donation date is aligned with the donation frequency, ensuring that it falls within a reasonable time frame (e.g., for a monthly donation frequency, the last donation date should not be more than one month earlier than the current date). Kindly refrain from auto-filling missing dates and times of the last donation.
  • zeros before last four credit card digits, ZIP codes and other fields are preserved, as predefined Excel/Google Sheets format may remove them.
  • the Fundraise Up account ID is correct, and the chosen campaigns and designations exist within that specified account. For campaigns and designations, it is necessary to specify their respective IDs.
  • there are no duplicate emails or other unique identifiers (such as Stripe IDs/Billing Agreement IDs) in the sheet.

You can make a copy of this sheet and share it with migrations@fundraiseup.com (please ensure we have access to the document as an editor). Please send us a link to the completed spreadsheet.

Step 5: Review and validate data

We examine the submitted data, ensuring all required fields are accurately completed and formatted. We also confirm that plans correspond to their respective Stripe customers and conduct additional checks as necessary. During this stage, we may reach out to you for further dataset details.

Step 6: Schedule migration dates

Once everything is validated and approved, please contact your legacy processor to schedule a stop processing date, time, and timezone for migrating recurring plans. After confirming the date, share it with us, and we will arrange the migration accordingly. We'll also re-adjust the dataset to guarantee that the last donation is up-to-date and supporters won't be double-charged. Lastly, we deliver the data to our billing team.

Step 7: Migration complete

Once the migration is complete, you'll receive a confirmation with the number of migrated plans and the number of plans charged upon creation. To view the full results, navigate to the Recurring tab in your Fundraise Up dashboard and select Recurring migration in the Source filter.

 

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