Parent payout setup

You're doing two things in one sitting: signing a consent agreement that lets your athlete enter NIL deals, and connecting a payout account in your name so earnings have somewhere to land. NILify handles the consent. Stripe (our payments partner) handles the bank account, identity verification, and tax forms.

You do not need a NILify account. Everything you need is in the invite email.

Have these within arm's reach — it makes the flow a 10-minute job instead of a 40-minute one:

• Your legal name, date of birth, and home address.
• Your Social Security Number (US) — Stripe asks for the last 4 first, then the full SSN for verification.
• Your bank routing and account number — found on a check or in your bank app under "account details."
• A government-issued photo ID (driver's license or passport). Stripe sometimes asks for a photo upload.
• A phone that can receive an SMS code.

You'll get an email from notify@nilify.ai with the subject "Approve [athlete]'s NILify account." Tap "Review and approve." The link is single-use and expires in 7 days.

• If you don't see it, check Promotions / spam and add the sender to contacts.
• If the link has expired, ask your athlete to resend from their Account → Parent setup screen.
• Open the link on a phone or laptop with a stable connection — Stripe doesn't love being interrupted.

First screen asks you to verify your email and add a phone number. We text you a 6-digit code to confirm. This is the login you'll use any time you come back to your parent dashboard later.

Then double-check the athlete name and DOB shown at the top — if anything is wrong, stop here and have the athlete fix it in their account before continuing.

Read the one-page agreement (we keep it short and plain-English) and tick the three boxes:

• Identity — you're the parent or legal guardian.
• Acknowledgement — you've read the consent and the Terms of Service.
• Authority — you can receive earnings on the athlete's behalf.

Type your full legal name to sign and tap "Approve and continue." We stamp the agreement with the version, your IP, and a timestamp, and email a PDF copy to both you and the athlete for your records.

The moment you sign, you're forwarded to Stripe Connect in a new window. You'll see Stripe's branding — that's expected. NILify uses Stripe for all payouts so we never see or store your bank details or SSN.

• The progress bar at the top shows: Account → Identity → Bank → Review.
• If you bail out halfway, you can pick up right where you left off — Stripe saves progress.
• NILify gets a "verified" flag back when Stripe is done. That's it.

Stripe needs to confirm you're a real US adult before it can move money to you. You'll enter:

• Legal name, date of birth, home address (must match your ID and tax records).
• Last 4 of your SSN first. About 70% of parents verify instantly here.
• If Stripe can't match the last 4, it asks for your full SSN on the next screen.
• If that still doesn't match, it asks for a photo of your ID — usually verified in under an hour.

Your SSN goes directly to Stripe over an encrypted form. NILify never sees it. We can't retrieve it for you, but you can update it inside Stripe if you typed wrong.

You have two options for hooking up a bank:

• Instant connect (recommended) — log in to your bank inside the Stripe popup. Verifies in seconds. Works with most major US banks.
• Manual entry — type your routing number and account number. Stripe makes two tiny test deposits ($0.01-$0.99) in 1–2 business days. You come back and confirm the amounts to finish verification.

The account name on the bank must match the legal name you entered on the identity step. Joint accounts are fine as long as your name is on them.

Stripe shows you everything on one screen before submitting. Look for:

• Your name spelled correctly and matching your bank.
• SSN last 4 matches what's on your tax documents.
• Routing and account numbers are right (typos here are the #1 reason payouts fail).

Hit "Submit." Most accounts come back as verified within a few seconds. A small share get a "pending review" status that resolves in a few hours when Stripe finishes background checks.

Once you're verified, you'll get an email with a link to your parent dashboard. Bookmark it. From here you can:

• See every deal the athlete is offered or accepts, with the brand, the amount, and the deliverables.
• Approve or block individual deals before they go live (optional — off by default).
• Track payouts and the bank account they're landing in.
• Update your bank info, address, or SSN inside Stripe.
• Revoke consent at any time — the athlete's earning features re-lock immediately if you do.

Until the athlete turns 18, all earnings legally flow through you. That means:

• If the athlete earns $600 or more in a calendar year, Stripe issues a 1099-NEC in your name.
• You'll get an email in January with a link to download it. It's also in your Stripe dashboard.
• Talk to a tax professional about whether the income belongs on your return or the athlete's — every family's situation is different.
• When the athlete turns 18, they can switch payouts to their own Stripe account, and future 1099s go to them.

Stripe says my SSN doesn't match. Re-enter slowly. If still failing, switch to ID upload — Stripe accepts a clear photo of a driver's license or passport.

The bank micro-deposits never showed up. They take 1–2 business days. After 5 days, contact your bank — some block them as "test" deposits.

I typed the wrong routing number. Go to Stripe → Account → Payout method → Update bank. Funds that were already trying to send will bounce back automatically in a few days.

I want a different parent on the account. Ask the athlete to revoke from their side and resend the invite to the new parent's email. Your data stays in Stripe — the new parent goes through their own onboarding.

The athlete still sees "locked" after I'm done. Have them refresh / pull-to-refresh once. Stripe occasionally takes 30–60 seconds to notify us. If it's been more than 5 minutes, ping support from the locked screen.

You can close the tab. The athlete's account is now fully unlocked — they can price shoutouts, accept brand deals, and open their merch store. Bookmark your parent dashboard and check in whenever you want.