Is Stripe a payment processor? Yes, Stripe is an online payment processor for online merchants. Stipe payment platforms is used by companies of different sizes. Among the giant customers of Stripe are Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Uber and Shopify.
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What is Stripe Payment Platform?
Stripe is a third party payment processor that allows merchants to receive payments made using credit cards, debit cards, wallets and international currencies. These payments can be made in person or online.
However, it does not necessarily mean that your business should use Stripe because giant companies are using it. The article will help you decide if Stripe payment processor is the best option for your business. Stripe is available for both iOS and Android devices.
Features of Stripe Account
A Stripe account has the following features.
- Connect. It allows you to set payout timing, customize onboarding and allow money to move freely between your business and your customers. It can support over 100 currencies and enable credit card payments in over 25 countries.
- Sigma. Stripe does not have an inbuilt report feature, but you can use Sigma to make customize reports using SQL. You can also write a SQL query.
- Atlas. This is a feature that helps entrepreneurs to establish an online business within the United States. You can open a bank account and get a credit card and start accepting payments. Startups can receive up to $5,000 credit from Amazon web services.
- Issuing. This is a platform that you can use to create and distribute and manage both virtual and physical credit cards. With Issuing, a merchant can create prepaid cards or virtual cards. It can also be used with a mobile wallet for employees.
- Integration. You can integrate Stripe with different applications. The apps can be integrated with Stripe and used for various activities such as accounting, analytics, chat and marketing.
How Stripe Works
Stripe is a payment processor that allows transfer of money from a customer’s bank to a merchant’s bank. The transfer of funds can be for payment of goods or services made using a credit card. Stripe develops tools that can be integrated and customized using various programming languages. It is important to note that Stripe is used to processing third-party credit card payments processor for different companies. Then the payments are channeled to a one particular merchant account. This means that when you sign up for a Stripe account, you will not need to open a merchant account. Besides, Stripe has its payment platform that accepts online credit card payments.
When you sign up for the Stripe account and your account is approved, you can start collecting payments from your customers immediately. The account is very beneficial to a user since Stripe takes all the liability for any fraudulent transaction. This makes it the most trusted platform for online transactions.
Accepting Payments
There are a number of Stripe payment methods. Among them are cards such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. It also accepts mobile wallets such as Google and Apple Pay. Stripe can support over 100 currencies and change them at no extra charge. Stripe has the following payment tools.
- Stripe Elements. With Stripe Element, a merchant can custom their payment for their desktop, mobile or tablet.
- Embeddable checkout. This is a form of payment that can be used on your desktop, tablet and mobile and can be integrated into your website.
- Invoicing. You can use Stripe Billing to send bills, requests for payment to your customers and ACH payments. You can also use it to make scheduled and promotional payments.
- Stripe.js. It allows you to build a checkout from scratch using APIs.
Stripe Payment Tutorial
Stripe Fees
With Stripe payment processor, there are no set up fees, monthly fees or any hidden fees. You can choose pay-as-you-go pricing for 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge. You can also choose a customized package, which is available for businesses with large payments volume or unique business models. You need to contact Stripe sales support to get full details to customize your package.
Benefits of Using Stripe Third Party Payments Processor
- Payout. Stripe takes two business days to process payments. This means that when money is sent on Monday, it should have arrived by Wednesday, regardless of the payment option used.
- Security. Stripe uses Radar to protect its customers from fraud. This is a machine that differentiates between legitimate and fraudulent purchases. To make it more secure, you can integrate the payment with 3D Secure that will prompt your customers to complete a verification to complete the purchasing process.
- Reconciliation. You can use Stripe’s API and Dashboard to get charges, transfers and refunds so that you can later reconcile your reports. You can use its inbuilt feature to sync data with accounting software for your business.
- Customer support. You can reach out to Stripe’s customer support at any time of the day through an email and live chat.
- Account management. From your dashboard, you can track all the activities in your Stripe Account. From your dashboard, you can set specific roles, make payments and refunds. Stripe has two-step authentication to ensure the security of your account.
Stripe Reviews
There were over 9,000 reviews on Trustpilot as at August 18, 2022. The payment solution has received 3.2 start out of 5. 50% of users were satisfied with the service while 39% thought the services was bad. Common complaints from customers includes poor customer service, holding of customers’ money, frozen accounts, Stripe refunding customers without notification, etc.
