Understanding Stripe Payment Gateway Basics
Introduction to Stripe
What is Stripe?
Stripe is a simple and powerful way to accept payments online. Stripe has no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no hidden costs. Millions of businesses—ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies—rely on Stripe’s software tools to accept payments securely and expand globally.
Stripe is available to businesses in 36 countries. With Stripe, you can accept all major debit and credit cards from customers in over 190 countries and 135+ currencies. You can learn more at https://stripe.com/customers.
Is Stripe secure? Will I be PCI-compliant?
Yes! Stripe meets and exceeds the most stringent industry standards for security. Stripe is also audited by a PCI-certified auditor, and is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1. This is the highest level of certification available.
You can learn more about the technical details of Stripe’s secure infrastructure at Security at Stripe. You can see Stripe’s PCI certification on the Visa Global Registry of Service Providers.
Who is Stripe for? Who cannot use Stripe?
Stripe’s mission is to grow the GDP of the internet. Stripe is for all businesses. To learn more about the requirements to use Stripe, see Business information requirements to use Stripe.
Is Stripe a gateway? Why should I use Stripe instead of other gateways?
Stripe is a complete solution that combines the functionality of a merchant account and a gateway in one, which means you only need Stripe to accept payments and deposit funds into a bank account. You cannot use existing merchant accounts or gateways with Stripe, as it functions as both already.
Getting Started With Stripe
How do I sign up for Stripe?
We will are willing to initiate your new Stripe account, however you are required to activate it so we can connect it to your solutions by providing Stripe all of your business and personal information directly through their portal. You can always start on your own if you prefer by going to Stripe’s website and registering.
What is the process and how long will it take?
In most applications, the account approval process is nearly instantaneous and you will be able to accept payments right away. If Stripe needs more information about your business or expects a longer delay in approving your account, they will reach out to you immediately. Businesses on Stripe’s Restricted Business List commonly experience longer processing delays. If you are running a business that has trouble accepting payments online, we recommend reviewing Stripe’s Restricted Business documentation. If you’re not sure if your business falls into the categories listed here, reach out to Stripe Support.
What information and documents do I need to sign up for Stripe?
To sign up for a Stripe account, you’ll need an email address and password. To activate your account, Stripe needs details about your business, including your business website, and about you. Common follow-up requirements include photo identification documents and address verification. For a full list of requirements, see Stripe’s Required verification information.
Does Stripe work with my tax software? What other software does Stripe work with?
Please let us know what software you use and we will let you know if we are able to build a connection.
Why was my account rejected?
As Stripe provides financial services, they operate under several restrictions, which they’ve outlined in their Services Agreement. For more detail, see Why some businesses aren’t allowed.
When should I contact Stripe and when should I contact Fervent Fox Solutions?
You are welcome to contact us for most questions, however you must contact Stripe about transaction-related questions such as:
Questions regarding a specific charge, refund, payout, or dispute
Account-related issues, including account lockouts
Using the Stripe Dashboard’s functionality and settings
How do I contact Stripe?
Contact Stripe’s support team through your Stripe Dashboard. Stripe can respond quickest if you use the following guidelines:
Log into Stripe first, then submit a request at contact support. Logging in ensures that Stripe knows which account you’re inquiring about, It also shows Stripe that you’re an authenticated user of the account.
Include formatted IDs to help us solve your issue as quickly as possible. If your inquiry is regarding a specific card, please include as much information about the card as possible, such as the expiration date, last 4 digits of the card number, and the card brand. However, please never share or send a full card number or CVC. We do recommend including pertinent IDs such as:
Customer Name: Johnny Example
Customer Email: [email protected]
Any other relevant Stripe IDs:
Charges begin ch_*** or py_***
Transfers begin tr_***
Where can I find a demo of the Stripe Dashboard?
You can watch a video of the Stripe Dashboard on Stripe’s support site or inline below.
Video – https://youtu.be/AwklziE5HKo
I can’t login due to 2FA/password issues
You can reset the password for your Stripe password reset page.
To troubleshoot two-step authentication, see Cannot complete two-step authentication step while signing into Stripe and Sign in to your Stripe account without a two-step authentication device or backup code.
How do I update my bank account number?
The bank account on Stripe is used by Stripe to send payouts to you. To update your bank account on Stripe, see Update existing bank account information.
How do I update my business details?
You can update your business details in the Dashboard under Business Settings.
Stripe Payments
What does Stripe cost to use?
Stripe charges processing fee for each successful charge. This might differ in each country. To learn more about pricing, see Stripe’s pricing guide.
Can I negotiate my Stripe fees?
Stripe offers a discounted processing fee for qualified non-profit organizations. To learn more, see Stripe’s discount for nonprofit organizations.
You can also inquire about volume discounts if you process more than $100k per month. To inquire, contact the Stripe Sales team.
What will my customers see on their credit card or bank statement? Can I set my statement descriptor?
You can set a static statement descriptor or the shortened descriptor (prefix) in the Stripe Dashboard. This value then appears on all customer statements for charges or payments. To learn more, see Statement descriptors.
How do I issue a refund?
Stripe offers you the ability to refund a customer charge, be it in full or a partial amount of the original charge. Learn how to issue a refund from your Stripe Dashboard, how long refunds can take to reach your customers, what to do if a refund is not received as expected, at Stripe’s refunds support page.
What is a reserve and why do I have it?
Reserved funds are used to prevent negative balances due to disputes and refunds. Most reserves Stripe places are temporary. There are a number of reasons that Stripe might place a reserve on an account. To learn more about some of the most common reasons for reserves, see Stripe reserving funds.
Stripe Payouts
How long does it take to get paid?
You will typically receive your first payout 7 days after the first successful payment is received.
For the 2nd payout and onward, your standard payout timing depends on your sign-up country. (e.g., businesses in the US paid out on a 2-day rolling basis)
You can also set a specific payout schedule from the Payouts settings page of your Stripe Dashboard. (By default, you are on an automatic everyday payout schedule.)
Stripe offers additional resources to troubleshoot any delayed or missing payouts.
Why is my first payout taking longer?
The first payout for every new Stripe account is made 7 days after the first successful payment is received. This initial payout timing requirement cannot be waived. Any changes made to your payout timing or payout method during this time will take effect after this initial delay. This delay allows Stripe to mitigate some of the risk inherent in providing credit services. To learn more about payout schedules, see Waiting period for first payout on Stripe.
Why is my payout delayed?
Account verification issues are the most common causes of a delayed or paused payout. If your payouts are paused or delayed, Stripe will send you an email requesting further action. Alternatively, you can visit notifications in your Stripe Dashboard to see the action required.
Some common verification requirements include:
To learn more about payout delays, see Delayed or missing payouts .
Why do I have a negative payout balance?
Your available Stripe balance may become negative if the cost of refunds or disputes is greater than the existing balance. To learn how to resolve negative balances, see Negative balances in Stripe: handling by country.
My bank returned a payout. What happens next?
If your bank returns a payout, it may take several days to arrive at Stripe. Please contact Stripe Support to confirm payout status.
If the bank account on your Stripe account is incorrect or closed, please update your bank account information to avoid future failure. In addition to updating Stripe, you will need to update us to ensure any payments can be completed.
I accidentally sent a payout to the wrong bank. How do I correct this?
If incorrect bank account details were added in your Stripe account, your payouts will have been sent to that bank account. If that bank account does not exist, the payout(s) will be returned to your Stripe balance. If your funds have not returned to your Stripe balance after 5 business days, contact Stripe Support.
What are Instant Payouts?
Instant Payouts allows a business to deposit their pending balance to their bank account within minutes. It’s available 24×7 on nights, weekends, and holidays.
How do I find out if I’m eligible for Instant Payouts?
Instant Payouts is available to Stripe users in the US. New users to Stripe do not have access to Instant Payouts until sufficient payment history is established on the Stripe platform.
You can check your eligibility (and request access) from the Stripe Dashboard.
What’s an eligible debit card?
To see which banks support Instant Payouts via an eligible debit card, see Bank support for Instant Payouts.
How much do Instant Payouts cost?
To review Stripe pricing, see Stripe’s pricing page.
