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In this guide, we will show you how to set up PayPal Tipping with Streamlabs, including accepting credit card payments and one-click tipping to help improve your conversions, which means more money for you. Also, you can find some frequently asked questions regarding tipping towards the end of this guide.
Setting up Tipping with PayPal Plus (Linking a Business Account)
Credit card payments can only be accepted with the PayPal Plus option, which requires linking a business account.
1. From the Tipping settings on your Streamlabs Dashboard, select Connect next to PayPal Plus. Click the blue panel in PayPal Plus and follow the onboarding to link your PayPal business account to Streamlabs.
2. Sign into your PayPal account.
3. After signing in, enter all required information as requested by PayPal, starting with selecting your business type (Individual, Sole Proprietor, Limited Partnership, etc.)
4. Next, tell PayPal about your business (business contact, legal business name, and business address). Remember to agree to PayPal’s User agreement by checking the box located next to it. Also, give permission to share your payment information with Streamlabs (check the box). Note: If you enter your personal phone number and do not remove it in the steps later, it will show on the payment receipts sent to donors.
5. Next, PayPal will ask you to describe your business. Below are a few things to keep in mind when completing this portion.
- You must determine your product or service type on your own or with the help of PayPal support. Unfortunately, Streamlabs cannot advise you on this.
- On the phone number portion, please leave it as is (this is a dummy phone number— we’ll explain how to remove it later).
- You must also enter your business email address on the email portion, which will show on receipts given to your donors. FYI, You can use your PayPal email address for this section.
6. Tell PayPal about yourself. Please enter your social security number (SSN), date of birth, Nationality, and Home address in the appropriate fields.
7. If PayPal can’t verify the information you inputted, you may be asked to upload documents to confirm your identity.
8. When you’ve completed all steps, you’ll see a "Welcome to PayPal" screen. Be sure to click "Go back to Streamlabs" to complete the process.
9. When you are finished, you should see the connected status on the blue panel. You will not be able to see the PayPal email connected here because we do not have access to that information. If you do not see the connected status, click the blue panel again and complete the onboarding once more.
10. Unfortunately, PayPal does not allow us to process your business onboarding integration to accept credit card donations without adding a customer service number. Not to worry, we have entered a dummy number to protect your information, and you can remove it from your PayPal profile. To remove the dummy customer service number, go to your PayPal business profile settings and look for Customer Service phone number. Note that only a phone number labeled Customer Service will show on a payment receipt.
Setting Up With PayPal Lite (Linking a Personal Account)
If you’re setting up PayPal using a personal account, it’s important to double-check which information is visible to donors. As a reminder, credit card donations cannot be accepted with this linked method.
1. To connect your personal PayPal account using the PayPal Lite option, head to the Tip Method window of your Tipping settings on your Streamlabs dashboard.
2. Next, select Connect next to PayPal Lite.
3. Enter your PayPal email address and hit Submit.
4. That’s it! Your PayPal is connected and ready to accept tips.
One-Click Tipping via Streamlabs Tip Page
From your Tip Page (your URL can be found in the Tip Settings of your Streamlabs Dashboard to the right of your screen), supporters can quickly make a one-time or monthly recurring donation to your stream. Below is everything you need to know.
Login Required for Tippers
To reduce and better help you fight chargebacks, we require all users to log in before tipping. This helps us create global blacklists for bad actors and reduce fraud. We have a dedicated team now working on reducing fraud and fighting chargebacks. More updates are coming on this soon. If supporters don’t have a PayPal account, they also have the option to sign in as a guest but must provide an email and phone number.
PRO Checkout
Some viewers enjoy adding PRO effects and GIFs to donations to make their tips stand out amongst the crowd. Please note the PRO effects fee (billed at $5.99 per month to the donor) shows up as “Partner commission” in your PayPal dashboard. Streamlabs is not taking a cut of your tip— we are and always will be a 100% free platform. This is the optional PRO effects bought by the viewer.
Protecting Your Identity
Many banks and card providers have different requirements when it comes to the information they request about a merchant's (in this case, streamer's) account. This applies to all payment processors, including PayPal, that process transactions for the sender.
To avoid having your personal address appear on a viewer's bank statement - we recommend using a PO box or business address when setting up your account.
PayPal Tipping FAQs
We know you may have some questions regarding tipping with Streamlabs. Below are some frequently asked questions to help you out.
Who can donate to my channel?
Anyone with a PayPal account or accepted credit or debit card can donate to your stream.
When I receive a tip/donation, where does the money go?
When a tip is made to a streamer, the money is processed directly through PayPal from the donor to the creator. The funds are never held by Streamlabs. If you have any issues receiving funds or chargebacks, you should contact PayPal directly with the transaction ID(s) if possible.
How long will it take to receive my tip/donation?
All donations go through your Paypal account, so they will show up instantly on your Paypal account (check your recent activity). If you do not see your tip, it is because PayPal sometimes requires the owner to accept the donation manually inside of PayPal. You can use this guide to force PayPal to auto-accept tips/donations.
Why are my donors receiving an error when they try to donate?
There are some countries that are unable to receive money or payments through PayPal. If there is an error, both the sender and the recipient should check with PayPal or their bank. If the streamer has other donation methods enabled, you can also attempt to donate using an alternate payment option. Check here for a list of countries currently supported by PayPal.
My Paypal email was changed, but I did not change it. What should I do?
If someone has changed your PayPal email on your Streamlabs account, they have either logged in using your Twitch/YouTube/Mixer/Facebook account or have administrator access to your account. You should check under shared access to see if you have allowed administrator access to anyone. If you believe your account has been compromised, this means that someone has gained access to your platform account (Twitch/YouTube/Mixer/Facebook).
To correct this, you should:
1. Log in and link the correct PayPal email to your Streamlabs account in the donation settings.
2. Change your Twitch/YouTube/Mixer/Facebook password and enable two-factor authentication (if available).
3. Contact PayPal as soon as possible, as we cannot make any changes to the donations that were sent to the incorrect PayPal account. Streamlabs does not have access to your PayPal account as a third-party developer.
As always, we’d love to hear your feedback. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We’re always looking to improve our service, and your constant feedback keeps us motivated. Tweet at us, reply to this blog post, or come hang out on Discord. Or, if you’re old school, send us an email.
Why did my personal address appear on a viewer's bank statement?
Many banks and card providers have different requirements when it comes to the information they request about a merchant's (in this case, streamer's) account. This applies to all payment processors, including PayPal, that process transactions for the sender.
To correct this, we recommend using a PO box or business address when setting up your account.