What this actually is
Tavvi moves money through Stripe, the payment company behind millions of businesses. Before Stripe will send you a payout, US banking rules require them to confirm you're a real person, the same identity check every payment platform runs. You do it once, it takes about ten minutes, and then it's out of your way.
Until this is done, you can build your catalog and set up your whole store, but you can't take real payments. So do it early.
Start the setup
On the business side of the app, open your store's home screen and tap Payments & Banking.
That opens the Money. You'll see a banner asking you to finish payment setup, tap it.
The form has four parts: Business Information, Personal Information, Bank Account, and Review Your Information. Work through them in order.
What they ask, and why
- Business info. Most solo operators are a "sole proprietor", that's you, running a business under your own name, no LLC needed. If you do have an LLC, pick that and use its details.
- Personal info. Legal name, date of birth (Must be 18+), and your home address.
- Your SSN. This one makes people nervous, so straight talk: it goes to Stripe for the legally required identity check. It's the same thing Square, Etsy, and every other platform does. Tavvi never sees or stores it.
- Bank account. The routing and account number where you want your money. Double-check these two numbers, a typo here is the number one reason payouts fail.
Review and submit
Read the Review Your Information screen slowly. Bank digits especially.
Submit. Most people are approved in a minute or two.
If you see Account In Review instead, don't panic, Stripe sometimes double-checks details and it usually clears within a day. If they need anything else, it shows up under Pending Items on the same screen.
When the money actually lands
- Each sale settles into your balance after the card networks process it, typically a couple of business days.
- Your very first payout takes longer, usually around a week, while Stripe finishes vetting a brand-new account. That's one time only.
- After that, transfers run on a schedule. You can see it, and every payout, in the Money under Recent Transfers.
If something's off
- Submitted, still "in review" after a couple of days. Open Pending Items, nine times out of ten Stripe wants a clearer photo of an ID or a corrected address. Fix the item and it moves.
- Payout failed. Almost always the bank numbers. Go to Bank Accounts, check them against your banking app, and fix. The money isn't gone, it retries.
- You typed something wrong and already submitted. Go back into the Money, pending requirements reopen the exact field that needs fixing.