What Stripe asks you for
You don't need a registered company. What Stripe requires from an individual, a company, and a non-profit.
What Stripe asks you for
The most common question we get: do we need to be incorporated?
No. An individual can connect a Stripe account and receive money. No incorporation, no business number, no registered charity status.
The three account types
When you go through Stripe's onboarding in Canada, you'll choose one:
Type | Who it's for | Needs a registered entity? |
|---|---|---|
Individual | A person. A club treasurer, an unincorporated group's organizer. | No |
Company | Corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship | Yes — a business number |
Non-profit | A registered non-profit organization | Yes, but no tax ID required |
Most grassroots groups — hobby clubs, neighbourhood associations, unincorporated collectives — should pick Individual.
What an individual provides
Nineteen pieces of information, and none of them is a business registration:
- About you — legal name, date of birth, home address, email, phone, job title
- Where money goes — a Canadian bank account in your own name
- About your activity — what kind of organization it is, a short description, a support phone number, and a website
- Consent — accepting Stripe's terms
Notably not required up front: your SIN, a business number, or incorporation documents. Stripe may ask for your SIN or ID later if it can't verify your identity automatically, but that's an exception, not the normal path.
What a company provides
Everything an individual provides, plus the company's legal name, address, phone, business number, and details of the directors and beneficial owners. Roughly twice as many fields.
A sole proprietorship counts as a company type here — so if you have a business number but aren't incorporated, that's your path.
What a non-profit provides
Similar to a company, but no tax ID and no beneficial owners — just the organization's details and its directors.
Two things worth knowing before you choose
An individual account puts the money, and the tax liability, in one person's name. Funds land in that person's personal bank account, and to the CRA that income is presumptively theirs. For a group collecting a few hundred dollars a year, that's usually fine. For a group raising real money, the treasurer is personally carrying it on their return — worth considering incorporating.
Choosing "Non-profit" in Stripe is not the same as being a registered charity. It doesn't let you issue tax receipts.
Gathrings never sees any of this
You complete Stripe's onboarding on Stripe's own site. We never collect or store your SIN, your bank details, or your incorporation documents — Stripe holds that relationship, and Stripe decides what's acceptable.
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