What Is Stripe and How to Use It in FittestArena
May 03, 2026
If you're organizing a fitness competition and want to collect registration fees online, you've probably come across the name Stripe. But what exactly is Stripe, and how does it fit into FittestArena? This post breaks it all down.
What Is Stripe?
Stripe is one of the world's leading online payment platforms. It lets businesses and individuals accept credit card payments, debit card payments, and other payment methods securely over the internet — without having to build complex payment infrastructure from scratch.
Think of Stripe as the engine running quietly behind the scenes whenever you pay for something online. It handles the secure transfer of funds between your athlete's bank account and yours, while managing fraud protection, currency conversion, and compliance automatically.
Some things that make Stripe stand out:
- Security: Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 certified, the highest level of payment security certification.
- Global reach: Supports payments in 135+ currencies and dozens of payment methods.
- Fast payouts: Funds are typically deposited into your bank account within 2 business days.
- Trusted: Used by companies like Amazon, Shopify, and thousands of event organizers around the world.
Why Does FittestArena Use Stripe?
FittestArena is built for fitness competition organizers — from small gym throwdowns to large-scale multi-division events. When you're charging athletes a registration fee, you need a payment system that's:
- Safe — so athletes trust entering their card details
- Simple — so you don't need to be a developer to set it up
- Reliable — so fees land in your account without issues
Stripe checks all three boxes. FittestArena integrates directly with Stripe's Connect platform, which is specifically designed for marketplaces and platforms that facilitate payments between a business (FittestArena) and their users (you, the organizer).
This means FittestArena never holds your money — funds go directly to your Stripe account.
How Fees Work
When an athlete pays a registration fee through FittestArena:
- Stripe charges a payment processing fee (typically ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, though this varies by country).
- FittestArena charges a small platform fee (2%) on top of that.
- The remaining amount is deposited directly into your Stripe account.
FittestArena's fee calculator in the division setup screen gives you a real-time estimate of your payout for any price you set, so there are no surprises.
If your event is free or you prefer to handle payments outside the platform entirely, you don't need Stripe at all — FittestArena works great without it.
How to Connect Your Stripe Account
Getting Stripe set up in FittestArena takes about 5–10 minutes. Here's how:
Step 1: Create a FittestArena account
If you haven't already, sign up for free. No credit card required.
Step 2: Go to your Stripe settings
From your dashboard, navigate to your event overview and find the Stripe section. Click Connect with Stripe.
Step 3: Complete Stripe's onboarding
You'll be redirected to Stripe's onboarding flow. You'll need to provide:
- Your name and email
- Business or personal details (depending on your country)
- Bank account information for payouts
Stripe will verify your identity as part of their compliance process. This is standard and required by financial regulations.
Step 4: You're live
Once your Stripe account is connected and verified, you can set paid registration fees on any division in your event. Athletes will be prompted to pay via an embedded Stripe checkout when they register.
What Athletes Experience
When an athlete registers for a paid division:
- They fill out the registration form on your event page.
- They're redirected to a secure Stripe-hosted checkout.
- They enter their card details and pay.
- They receive a confirmation email and their spot is reserved.
The whole process is smooth, mobile-friendly, and takes under a minute.
Do You Need Stripe for Every Event?
No. FittestArena is flexible. If you're running a free event — like an in-house gym throwdown or a charity competition — you don't need Stripe at all. You can add athletes manually or let them self-register for free.
Stripe is only required when you want to collect registration fees directly through the platform.
Check out the full features overview to see everything FittestArena can do, with or without paid registrations.
Getting Started
Ready to run your next competition with online payments handled for you?
- Create your free FittestArena account
- Build your event and divisions
- Connect Stripe and set your registration fees
- Share your event link — athletes can register and pay on the spot
That's it. No spreadsheets, no chasing payments, no headaches.