Card payments, deposits, and Stripe Connect
Take card payments the way real driving schools actually need to: package up-front, deposits on the diary, refunds without a phone call to the bank, and a clean instructor earnings split.
What's included
- Stripe Connect Express onboarding for every school
- Deposits when a student books, balance on the day
- Refunds in two clicks with a reason code (no bank visit)
- Per-instructor earnings cockpit — what they’ve earned, what’s owed
- Request a payment link by SMS or share via the student portal — no card reader needed
- Stripe processing fees (1.5% + 20p UK) — no Passdesk surcharge
How to take a card payment for a driving lesson
- 1
Connect the school to Stripe
On first run, click "Connect Stripe" and complete the Express onboarding (KYC, business details). Takes ~5 minutes; once approved you can start charging.
- 2
Send a payment link
Pick a student and a product or amount. Passdesk generates a Stripe-hosted payment link you can SMS to the learner — no card numbers in chat.
- 3
See it land
When they pay, the booking marks paid, the package balance updates, and the instructor earnings entry posts to their cockpit.
- 4
Refund if needed
Open the purchase, click Refund, pick reason. The Stripe refund fires and the audit log records it.
FAQ
Do I need a card reader?
No — Passdesk uses Stripe Connect to send a payment link the student opens on their own phone. No reader, no contract with a card-machine company.
What are the fees?
Stripe charges its standard rate (1.5% + 20p for UK consumer cards). Passdesk does not add a per-transaction surcharge — the subscription covers the platform.
How are instructor earnings split?
Each instructor has a configurable earnings rate. Passdesk records what they earned per lesson and shows it on their cockpit; the school pays them out of the school’s connected Stripe balance.