Everything you need to know, before you apply.

This guide explains how Coco Lame Pay works in practice. It doesn't replace our Merchant Terms or our Acceptable Use Policy, which are the binding documents. If anything here seems to contradict them, the Terms win, and please tell us so we can fix the guide.

Who can apply

Coco Lame Pay is built for one kind of merchant: a business registered in the United States that sells online. To open an account, your company needs:

• To be an LLC or a corporation formed in any US state (Wyoming, Delaware, New Mexico, Florida and so on), and in good standing.
• An EIN (Employer Identification Number) issued by the IRS.
• A bank account in the United States, opened in the company's exact legal name. Payouts can't go to a personal account or to an account in another name.
• A representative: an owner, member or officer who can legally act for the company and whose identity Stripe can verify.
• A live website that meets the checklist further down this page.
• An activity that is allowed under our Acceptable Use Policy and Stripe's own rules.

Documents you'll need

Have these ready before you start. Stripe collects them directly through its own secure forms. Please don't email identity documents to us.

How onboarding works

1. You apply 5 minFill in the application: company, website, what you sell, expected volume.
2. We review your application 1 business dayWe look at your activity and your website, and tell you clearly if anything is missing or if we can't take you on.
3. You complete Stripe's onboarding 10 to 15 minWe send you a secure link to Stripe's hosted forms. You enter the company details, EIN, representative, owners and bank account there.
4. Stripe verifies minutes to a few daysMost accounts are verified the same day. If Stripe needs a document, you'll see the request in your Stripe dashboard and by email.
5. We set up your checkout in parallelYou send us your logo and colors and add one DNS record so the checkout runs on your own domain.
6. Test payment, then liveWe run a test together, check the receipt and the statement descriptor, and switch you on.

Your website checklist

Stripe and the card networks review merchant websites. Before applying, make sure yours shows the following. Accurate beats impressive.

• Your company's legal name, for example in the footer or on a legal page.
• A customer service contact: an email address that works, and a phone number if you have one.
• A clear description and price for every product, in the currency you charge.
• A refund and return policy that says how to return an item, within how many days, and who pays return shipping.
• A shipping or delivery policy with real timelines. US law (the FTC Mail Order Rule) requires you to ship within the time you state, or within 30 days if you state none, unless you get the customer's consent to a delay.
• Terms of sale and a privacy policy.
• A checkout that shows the total amount, the currency and what is being bought before the customer pays.
• Photos, descriptions and brand names you have the right to use. No counterfeit or look-alike branded goods.
• The same products you declared during onboarding. If your catalog changes significantly, tell us first.

Your statement descriptor

The statement descriptor is the text your customer sees on their card statement. It should be your brand or website name, between 5 and 22 characters, and instantly recognizable. A descriptor customers don't recognize is one of the main causes of "unrecognized transaction" chargebacks. We set it with you before going live.

Getting paid

• Payouts are made by Stripe, in US dollars, to your company's US bank account.
• Your first payout usually arrives 7 to 14 days after your first successful payment, while Stripe completes its checks.
• After that, Stripe's standard schedule for US accounts is a rolling two business days: payments from Monday are paid out on Wednesday.
• Weekends and US federal bank holidays are not business days. A payment made on a Friday typically arrives the following Tuesday.
• Your balance, upcoming payouts and history are always visible in your Stripe dashboard.

Refunds

• You can refund a payment in full or in part, from your dashboard or by asking us.
• The money usually reaches the customer's card in 5 to 10 business days, depending on their bank.
• The matching share of our fee is returned to you. Stripe keeps its processing cost.
• When a customer is clearly right, refunding quickly is almost always cheaper than losing a dispute later.

Disputes and chargebacks

A dispute happens when a cardholder asks their bank to reverse a payment. The bank pulls the funds back right away and the case starts.

1. You're notifiedOn the day the dispute opens, with the reason given by the bank and the deadline to respond. The deadline is set by the card network and shown in your dashboard, usually one to three weeks.
2. You gather evidenceOrder details, shipping and tracking (with signature for high-value orders), emails with the customer, the refund policy shown at checkout, and any proof the customer used the product. We help you put it together.
3. The evidence is submittedThrough Stripe, before the deadline. Late evidence is not accepted.
4. The card issuer decidesOften two to three months later. If you win, the disputed amount comes back to your balance. Nobody can guarantee a result.

Stripe's dispute fee applies to each dispute, as listed on Stripe's US pricing. Our fee on the disputed payment is not returned.

Practical habits that keep disputes low: a recognizable descriptor, fast replies to customer emails, tracked shipping, clear delivery times, and refunding payments that Stripe flags as likely fraud before they turn into disputes.

Payout delays and reserves

Because we are responsible to Stripe for the accounts we onboard, we sometimes need to protect against losses. We do it only in the situations listed in our Terms, and always in writing.

We may extend your payout delay (up to 30 days) or hold a rolling reserve (up to 25% of your payments, each amount released after no more than 120 days) when, for example:

• Your dispute rate is above 0.75%, or your fraud or refund rate is unusually high.
• You sell pre-orders or made-to-order goods delivered more than 30 days after payment.
• Your volume jumps far beyond what you declared, without explanation.
• Information or documents we requested are not provided.
• Your account is being closed and refunds or disputes may still come in.

If we apply a delay or a reserve, we tell you the reason, the amount or percentage, and when we'll review it. Stripe may also apply its own measures under its agreement with you.

Taxes and records

• Where IRS reporting thresholds are met, Form 1099-K is issued for your account through Stripe and is available in your dashboard.
• Sales tax on your orders, and your company's federal and state filings, are your responsibility.
• Keep order and delivery records for at least 18 months. They are your evidence if a dispute arrives late.

What we don't accept

We don't serve anything Stripe prohibits, and a few categories we choose not to serve. Some activities need our written approval before you sell them. The full list is in our Acceptable Use Policy; the short version:

• Illegal products and services, counterfeits and anything that infringes someone else's rights.
• Weapons, drugs, tobacco and vaping products, cannabis and CBD, adult content, gambling.
• Financial services, crypto assets, money transfer, gift card resale and get-rich-quick schemes.
• Deceptive marketing, fake reviews, hidden subscriptions and goods you can't deliver as promised.

Closing your account

Email us from the address on your account. We stop new payments on the date you choose. Your remaining balance is paid out on the normal schedule, minus anything needed for refunds or disputes still possible on recent payments. There's no fee and no notice period. If we need to close an account, the reasons and the process are set out in the Merchant Terms.

Questions

Write to orlandonicox@outlook.fr or call +1 (616) 883-2539. We reply within one business day, in English or French. Ready to go? Start your application.