zkipster Payments allows you to collect money from your guests directly within zkipster Events, through email campaigns, registration forms, and on-site at your event using Tap to Pay on the zkipster Mobile App. The Payments feature is built on Stripe, so all transactions are secure and handled by one of the world's leading payment platforms.
Please note: Payments via Campaigns is available on Professional and Enterprise plans. Essentials plans can collect payments via the zkipster Mobile App only. All plans require a connected Stripe account.
Every payment in zkipster is always linked to a specific guest, which means you can always trace any transaction back to the individual in your event.
In summary, zkipster Payments enables you to:
Connect your business to Stripe and complete your one-time account setup.
Request payments from guests via email campaigns and registration forms.
Collect payments on-site using Tap to Pay on your phone, with no card reader required.
Track every transaction at the guest level, and issue refunds when needed.
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Use Cases
Users are empowered to collect payments from their Guests for anything they need to facilitate their events: entry and registration fees, tickets, tables, parking, food and beverage, and more.
Nonprofits can collect advance donations and pledges as well as in-person payments for raffle entries and auction prizes.
Insights into Event ROI and guest engagement, with payments linked directly to your events and guests.
Before You Start
Please note: Payments needs to be switched on for your account before you'll see the full setup flow described below. If you go to Account Settings → Payments and see a message that Payments isn't yet active for your account, click Request Access and our team will review and enable it for you. This usually doesn't take long, but it isn't instant, so if you're planning to collect payments for an upcoming event, we'd recommend requesting access as early as possible.
Step 1 - Setting up Payments
Before you can collect any payments, you need to connect your zkipster account to Stripe through a one-time onboarding process. This involves verifying your business details, adding a bank account for payouts, and setting up your customer-facing information, such as the name that appears on your guests' bank statements.
If you already use Stripe with another platform, your existing Stripe activity stays completely separate. zkipster creates a dedicated connected account specifically for your zkipster transactions.
Important: You must select the country where your business is registered during setup. This cannot be changed later without resetting your onboarding, so make sure to choose the correct country before proceeding.
Learn more: How to Set Up Your Stripe Account in zkipster
Step 2 — Enable payments for an event
Once your Stripe account is verified, turn payments on for individual events using the Collect Payments toggle in Event Settings.
Learn more: How to Enable Payments for an Event
Step 3 - Add Payment Links to Email Campaigns and Forms
Once your Stripe account is connected and payments are enabled for your event, you can add a Collect Payment element to any email campaign or form. This generates a personalised payment link for each guest: when they click it, they are taken to a secure Stripe checkout page to complete their payment.
You can configure the payment name, amount, currency, and description. There are three payment modes available:
Fixed amount per party — every guest pays the same amount
Fixed amount per guest — the amount is multiplied by the guest's party size (Total Guests field)
Guest chooses the amount — the guest enters how much they want to pay (forms only)
Step 4 - Collecting Payments On-Site with the zkipster Mobile App
The Tap to Pay feature lets you accept card payments on-site using the zkipster Mobile App on your compatible mobile phone; no external card reader or additional hardware required. Guests simply tap their card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay against your phone to pay.
Tap to Pay is available on supported Android devices and on iPhone XS or later running iOS 18 or higher. iPads are not supported.
Before using Tap to Pay for the first time, you need to complete a short in-app setup on each device: selecting your Stripe Reader Location, choosing your currency, and allowing location access. The business country, reader location, and payment currency must all match for Tap to Pay to work.
All on-site payments start from the guest's profile in the app: search for the guest → tap New Payment → select a description → enter the amount and collect.
Learn more: How to Collect Payments On-Site with Tap to Pay
Step 5 - Viewing and Managing Guest Payments
Every payment made through zkipster, whether via email, form, or Tap to Pay, is recorded on the guest's profile under the Payments tab. From there you can see all transactions for that guest, view the full payment details (including fee breakdown, payment method, and timeline), and issue refunds.
A guest can make multiple payments as there is no limit per guest. Refunds are processed by Stripe and typically appear in the guest's account within 5–10 business days.
Learn more: How to View and Manage Guest Payments
Understanding Receipts
When a guest completes a payment, Stripe automatically sends them a receipt by email. Receipts come from Stripe directly, not from zkipster, and are sent under your business name and branding as configured in your Stripe account. This is by design: Stripe handles the payment rails, and the receipt is part of that.
If you want to customise how receipts look, including your logo and brand colours, you can do so in your Stripe dashboard under Settings → Branding.
Learn more: Understanding Payment Receipts in zkipster
Fees
Two fees apply to each payment: Stripe's own processing fee, and a separate zkipster platform fee. The zkipster platform fee is a percentage of the transaction and varies by plan. Ask your account manager for your specific rate, or see your Stripe dashboard for a full breakdown per transaction.