# Set up your account

Verify your business to set up Stripe services on a live account.

After you create a Stripe account, you can use your account in testing environments. *Sandboxes* (A sandbox is an isolated test environment that allows you to test Stripe functionality in your account without affecting your live integration. Use sandboxes to safely experiment with new features and changes) let you simulate transactions and test all Stripe services without processing real payments. To use Stripe services outside of a sandbox, you must verify your business and complete any requirements needed to activate the applicable Stripe service on a live account.

If you haven’t already, [create a Stripe account](https://dashboard.stripe.com/register). 

To securely set up your account:

- [Complete the account checklist](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/account/checklist.md).
- [Verify your business](https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/onboarding) in the Dashboard. You must answer some information about your business, product and your personal relationship to your business. As you expand your use of Stripe services, we might ask you to add or verify additional information over time.

Stripe “Know Your Customer” (KYC) obligations require that we collect and maintain this information on all Stripe users. Our regulators and financial partners require us to collect this information to prevent abuse of the financial system. We review your information to confirm it complies with [our services agreement](https://stripe.com/legal/ssa). We’ll contact you if we need any further information.

After you activate a Stripe service on a live account, you can’t change the business origin country. If you need to set your primary business location in a different country that we support, you must create a new account.

> Privacy and security are priorities for Stripe. Our [privacy policy](https://stripe.com/privacy) explains how and for what purposes we collect, use, retain, disclose, and safeguard any personal data you provide to us.

## Public business information

You can [close your account](https://support.stripe.com/questions/close-a-stripe-account) any time you want. We recommend you leave it dormant, however, in case you need to access any financial data or take action to resolve a dispute.

Your customers see the following details on either their card statements or in [email receipts](https://docs.stripe.com/receipts.md) sent by Stripe.

- Business name and website URL
- Support email address, phone number and address
- Support site URL
- Statement descriptor text

You provide this information when you verify your business, and can update it any time in your [Account settings](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/public). Make sure that your [statement descriptor text](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/account/statement-descriptors.md) and business information are clearly associated with you. If your customer can’t recognise one of your payments, they might [dispute](https://docs.stripe.com/disputes.md) it.

## Keep your account safe

After you set up your account, you’ll want to keep it safe. Here are our recommendations:

- **Keep private information private**: Don’t share your password and keep your secret [API keys](https://docs.stripe.com/keys.md) confidential on your own servers. Store secret keys in a secrets vault, not in source code. Use [restricted API keys](https://docs.stripe.com/keys.md#create-restricted-api-key) instead of secret keys wherever possible. As a reminder, Stripe employees never ask you for your keys.

- **Don’t reuse your Stripe password**: Use a password that’s unique to Stripe. If you use your password on another site and that site is compromised, an attacker could use those stolen credentials to take over your account. If you need to reset your password, click **Edit** > **Change password** in your [Personal details](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/user) settings and enter a new password.

- **Use team members to provide others with access to your account**: You can [invite others](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/account/teams.md) (with limited access) to your Stripe account so that they can log in and take certain actions.

- **Update your computer and browser regularly**: We recommend configuring your computer to automatically download and install updates (for example, [macOS](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201541) or [Windows](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/306525)). This helps protect your system against automated attacks and malware.

- **Beware of phishing**: All [genuine Stripe sites](https://support.stripe.com/questions/verify-you-are-on-an-official-stripe-webpage) use the `stripe.com` domain and HTTPS. If you get an email from us that you don’t expect, go directly to our site to log in. Don’t enter your password after clicking a link in an email. If you’re not sure if a message is from Stripe, review [Verified Stripe domains](https://support.stripe.com/questions/verified-stripe-domains) on Stripe Support.

- **Enable two-factor authentication with a passkey or security key**: When you enable two-factor authentication (2FA), you need to provide an additional verification step to complete the login process. Stripe supports passkeys, security keys, authenticator apps and SMS. We recommend passkeys or security keys because they’re resistant to phishing. SMS-based 2FA is vulnerable to SIM-swapping and interception, so use it only as a last resort. To enable this feature, go to your [user settings](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/user).

## See also

- [Account checklist](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/account/checklist.md)
- [Multiple accounts](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/account/multiple-accounts.md)
- [Single sign-on](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/account/sso.md)