🔈 September 2024: Member Dues — Stripe to replace PayPal as payment processor

As of October 3, 2024, Stripe will be used instead of PayPal as the payment processor for membership dues within Meetup. This change will affect organizers outside the United States who are currently using the PayPal integration within Meetup’s Member Dues feature. You’ll still be able to use PayPal to collect event fees.

Stripe is already the default payment processor for organizers based in the United States—with this transition, we can bring all our organizers to a single, unified platform. As with PayPal, you can use Stripe to create recurring subscriptions for your members, making your groups exclusive to those who choose to support you.

If you're currently collecting dues via PayPal, please follow the process to set up Stripe in Member Dues by October 3, 2024 to avoid any interruptions. 

❗Here are the most important things to know about this change:

• The PayPal integration within the Member Dues feature will no longer be available after October 3.
  • Subscriptions currently set up in PayPal will not be processed after this date.
  • To continue receiving contributions from members, you will need to create and link a Stripe account and set up Member Dues again.
• If you choose to add membership dues to your group, they will be mandatory for all group members
  • With PayPal, organizers based outside of the U.S. could only request optional dues. 
  • Now, membership dues will be mandatory for all members of your group, making it easier than ever to reliably collect payment from your community. 
• Members who don’t pay their dues are automatically removed from your group.
  • They will need to rejoin and pay the membership due to access the group going forward.
• Organizers can offer free trials
  • With Stripe, you can offer new group members a free trial before collecting their payments.
  • Customize the conditions of your trial period to give new members the chance to attend events before paying their member dues.
• The current status of membership dues within your community will be preserved during this change. This means that:
  • Members who have already paid their dues will continue to have full access to your events.
  • Members who have never paid dues before will be automatically enrolled into a free trial based on your personal specifications. After the free trial, they must make a payment to stay in the group.
  • Members who are late in paying their dues will automatically be charged to the payment method on record.
  • Again—if someone doesn’t make a payment, they will be removed from the group.

Are you currently using PayPal to manage membership dues in your group(s)? Here are the recommended next steps. 

1. Let your community know about upcoming changes—specifically that dues are becoming mandatory and what will happen if they do not pay.
2. Set up a Stripe account.
3. Set up Member Dues with Stripe—this is where you can determine the cost and set up your free trial.
4. Implement your changes and manage your group’s subscriptions in the Money tab of your organizer account.

For more information, please consider these additional resources: 

• Refunding member dues and event fees
• Joining a group with member dues

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.