Not every guest uses Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp, and that shouldn't mean they can't contribute. Enabling Credit or Debit Card on your cash fund means guests can give however works for them, including with Apple Pay and Google Pay, with no new app required on their end. The option works for both new and existing cash funds and can be turned on or off at any time.
Note: Credit or debit card contributions are currently available for registries in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe (EUR). All cash funds use your account's default currency, which is based on your country.
Setting It Up
You can enable Credit or Debit Card when creating a new cash fund or by editing an existing one.
Understanding Your Balance
When contributions come in, they're reflected in your Joy Wallet on the Registry Track page. A few numbers appear there:
Available Balance — The amount currently ready to transfer to your bank account.
Lifetime Received — All contributions that have been fully processed and recorded, including any that are still pending.
The difference between the two is usually due to pending transactions or reserved contributions that haven't fully settled yet.
Once connected to Stripe, you can view your contributions and balance from Joy's Registry Track page or directly from your Stripe Express account at any time.
Why Your Joy Wallet Balance Might Not Match Your Total Gifts
Your available balance reflects only the credit or debit card contributions processed through Stripe. If your total looks different from what you'd expect, here are the most common reasons:
Cash or Check Gifts — These are exchanged directly between you and your guests and don't appear in your Joy balance.
App Payment Contributions — Gifts sent through Venmo, CashApp, or PayPal go directly to your account on those platforms and aren't included in your Joy balance.
Reserved Items — Contributions that are reserved but not completed don't add to your balance.
Fees
Joy uses Stripe Connect to process credit and debit card contributions securely. Here's how the fees break down.
Contribution fee
A processing fee is added to each credit or debit card contribution. This fee goes to Stripe, not Joy, and is paid by the guest. The rate is subject to change.
For example:
If a guest contributes $100 and the processing fee is 3.5%, they'll be charged $103.50.
You receive the full $100. The additional $3.50 covers payment processing costs and goes to Stripe.
Joy does not keep this fee.
Transfer fee
When you transfer your Stripe balance to your bank or debit card, there's a $1.70 flat fee per transfer. This fee also goes to Stripe.
For example:
On a $500 transfer, you'll receive $498.30. The $1.70 goes to Stripe to cover the transfer to your bank or debit card.
Joy gets $0.
Joy does not keep any portion of the processing or transfer fees. They go entirely to Stripe for payment processing and bank transfer costs.
Tip: To minimize transfer fees, hold onto your balance until you have a larger amount ready rather than transferring after each individual contribution.
Using App Payment Instead
Joy also supports Venmo, CashApp, and PayPal through the App Payment toggle. Joy doesn't charge fees on contributions received through these platforms, though the platforms themselves may apply fees depending on how a guest pays and how quickly you move funds to your bank. Standard transfers to your bank are free.
Instant transfers carry a fee that varies by platform. Payments also happen outside of Joy and can't be confirmed or tracked by our team.
App Payment can be enabled alongside Credit or Debit Card on a single cash fund. Use whatever combination works best for you and your guests.
For full details on timing and fees by platform, see How Long Will It Take to Receive Our Cash after a Transfer Is Requested?
When Will I Receive My Funds?
After enabling credit or debit card and connecting Stripe, guests can usually start contributing within 24 hours, depending on the verification process.
Your total available balance is reflected on the Registry Track page in the Joy Wallet. The available balance is how much you can transfer at any given time and doesn't include any pending contributions still waiting to be deposited. Transfers from your Stripe balance to your bank or debit card typically arrive within 3 to 5 business days.
Still have some questions?
Ask us directly! Click on the black and white chat bubble in the bottom-right corner of this page to ask us your questions, or you can email us at support@withjoy.com. You’ll get a friendly response from someone on our team! 🙂