Connect Stripe

Arcalotl uses Stripe Connect (Direct Charges) to process payments. Money goes directly to your Stripe account. Arcalotl never holds your funds.

How it works

1. Run /arcalotl setup in your Discord server
2. Click the authorization link the bot sends
3. Sign in to Stripe, or create an account
4. Authorize Arcalotl to create charges on your behalf
5. Return to Discord and continue setup

What Arcalotl accesses

When you connect your Stripe account, Arcalotl receives:

• Your Stripe account ID, so Arcalotl can create Checkout Sessions, products, prices, subscriptions, coupons, refunds, and Billing Portal sessions in the connected account
• Stripe webhook events, so Arcalotl can track subscription, invoice, refund, dispute, and account status changes

Arcalotl does not receive or store bank account details, tax information, personal financial records, or card numbers.

Checkout and Billing Portal

When a member chooses a plan, Arcalotl opens its own checkout page for your community. Card entry, payment authentication, and payment method storage happen inside secure Stripe payment fields embedded in that page, so card data never touches Arcalotl's servers. Arcalotl grants access after the payment is confirmed.

Members manage billing through Stripe Billing Portal, opened from /manage. That is where they update payment methods and billing details, so neither you nor your staff ever handle card data. One-time purchases and donations do not appear in Billing Portal because there is no subscription to manage.

You do not configure Stripe webhooks by hand. Arcalotl listens for Stripe events on its platform webhook endpoint and updates access, retention flows, and dashboard data from those events.

Using an existing Stripe account

If you already have a Stripe account with other products or subscriptions, you can still connect it. Arcalotl creates products and prices in that account for plans created through Arcalotl, and existing objects are left alone.

If you already have Stripe products with monthly or annual prices, you can import plans after connecting Stripe.

Refunds and disputes

When refund or dispute events affect access, Arcalotl resolves the related subscription or purchase and updates access automatically.

For creator-initiated refunds, the dashboard Subscribers view supports Cancel at period end and Refund and cancel. Use Stripe directly for partial refunds or older charges.

Fees

For the full fee breakdown, see Pricing.