Communal leverages a special type of Stripe account called Stripe Connect. Stripe Connect is a feature provided by the online payment processing platform, Stripe. It enables Communal to easily accept payments and manage payouts for each organization. These connections are made via an API to each Communal instance.

Stripe Connect works differently than a normal Stripe account since it is designed to power the site behind the scenes. Therefore, there isn't a normal Stripe account for your organization to log into. Instead, Communal is designed to integrate all of the Stripe reports and capabilities (such as refunds) into your Communal system.