Setting up payouts

Verhaler pays writers through Stripe Connect. When a reader buys one of your paid expansions, Stripe collects the money on Verhaler's behalf. Your share lands in your Stripe balance, and Stripe sends it to your bank. Before that can happen, Stripe has to confirm who you are and where to pay you. That confirmation is the one-time setup.

You do the setup on Stripe's own screens, not on Verhaler. Verhaler never sees your bank account, government ID, or tax details. Stripe handles all of that and only tells us whether you're cleared to receive payouts.

Stripe Connect itself supports sellers in a long and growing list of countries. Verhaler doesn't reach all of them yet: our payouts run from the Netherlands, and today they work across most of Europe (the EEA) and in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Switzerland. You pick your country from a dropdown when you start setup; the dropdown offers exactly the list below. If yours isn't there yet, you can still publish, but only for free. You can see everywhere Stripe operates on Stripe's global availability page.

Most of the form is already filled in. When you start setup, Verhaler sends Stripe your store details, so you only need to confirm them:

• Your storefront name.
• Your website: verhaler.com, where your storefront lives.
• What you sell: original written fiction.
• A support contact. Verhaler handles questions about sales, so you don't have to publish a personal email address.
• The industry category: digital books & media.

You provide the rest yourself. Stripe uses it to verify your identity and to know where to send your money:

• Your legal name and date of birth.
• Your home address.
• A bank account to receive your payouts.
• Sometimes a photo of your ID.

Depending on your country, Stripe may also ask for your tax details. Those stay between you and Stripe.

Stripe's form is built for every kind of seller, so it uses words like "business", "company", and "industry". Writing and selling your fiction is the activity it's asking about, and the category and description are already set for you. You don't need a company, a VAT number, or a business bank account. Stripe expects a personal account and your own name.

You don't have to finish in one go. If you close the Stripe screens or step away, you can come back to the Payouts page whenever you like and pick up where you left off. The details you already entered are saved, and your store information stays pre-filled. Once Stripe clears you for payouts, the price field on your Publish page unlocks and you can charge for expansions.

For how the money flows after setup (fees, payout schedule, taxes), see Earnings & payouts.