There are a few ways you can start accepting payments, depending on your technical capabilities. To get started quickly without writing any code, we partner with thousands of platforms and marketplaces that let you easily accept payments — all with no technical expertise required. These FAQs address the most common questions to getting started with Stripe through a partner.
How do I sign up for Stripe?
You can sign up for a Stripe account via your preferred platform’s website or product. You can also sign up for Stripe and then connect your Stripe account to your platform.
What is the process and how long will it take?
After you submit your application, for most businesses, 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 an account, you’ll need an email address and password. To activate your account, Stripe will need details about your business and about you. Common follow-up requirements include photo identification documents and address verification. You can find a full list of requirements here.
Tip: Make sure you've added the website associated with the goods and services you're using Stripe for.
Does Stripe work with my tax software? What other software does Stripe work with?
Stripe offers a rich third-party ecosystem with hundreds of integrations ranging from tools for email alerts, shipping, taxes, and more. You can explore Stripe integrations here.
Why was my account rejected?
As Stripe provides financial services, there are a number of restrictions that they have to operate under. Stripe has outlined these in their Services Agreement, which they’ve tried to make as readable as possible. You can also read more detail on this here.
When should I contact Stripe and when should I contact my platform?
You can start with your platform for most questions. You can contact Stripe about 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:
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: johnny@example.com
Any other relevant Stripe IDs:
Charges begin ch_*** or py_***
Transfers begin tr_***
How do I learn more about the Stripe Dashboard?
You can find answers to common questions about using the Stripe Dashboard here or learn more about the Stripe Dashboard in our docs.
I can’t log in due to two-step authentication (2FA) or password issues.
You can reset the password for your Stripe account here.
You can troubleshoot two-step authentication by using a backup code or authorized device or you can try an alternative method. Learn more here and here.
How do I update my bank account number?
The bank account on your Stripe account is being used for Stripe to send payouts to you. You can update your bank account on Stripe here. You should also confirm whether you need to update your bank account information with your platform in addition to or in lieu of updating with Stripe.
How do I update my business details?
You can update your business details in the Stripe Dashboard under Account information.
How do I change the owner of a Stripe account?
There are a number of ways that the current owner of a Stripe account can transfer ownership to someone else.
What does Stripe cost to use? Are there hidden fees?
Stripe charges processing fee for each successful charge. This might differ in each country. You can learn more about pricing here.
Can I negotiate my Stripe fees?
Stripe offers a discounted processing fee for qualified non-profit organizations. Learn more here.
What payment types are supported?
Stripe allows you to accept a wide variety of payment types. Check with your platform to see which payment types are supported with your integration.
To learn about payment types, read Stripe’s Guide to Payment Methods
What countries and currencies are supported?
With Stripe, you can accept payments from over 195 countries and over 135 currencies. You can find a list of which countries are supported by your platform’s integration with Stripe here.
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. You can also learn more about statement descriptors here.
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, and more here.
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. You can read about some of the most common reasons here.
How do I see my reporting?
In addition to the reports offered by your platform, Stripe offers many reports in the Stripe Dashboard. You can learn more here.
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. (ie: 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. More information about payout schedules can be found here.
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 (bell icon in the top right corner) in your Stripe Dashboard to see the action required.
Some common verification requirements include:
You can also learn about other reasons your payout might be delayed here.
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. Learn how to resolve negative balance here.
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. You should also confirm whether you need to update your bank account information with your platform in addition to or in lieu of updating with Stripe.
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 is Instant Payouts?
Instant Payouts allows a business to deposit their pending balance to their bank account within minutes. It’s available 24x7 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 Dashboard here.
What’s an eligible debit card?
You can see which banks support Instant Payouts via an eligible debit card here.
How much do Instant Payouts cost?
You can review Stripe pricing here.
What is Stripe Radar?
Stripe Radar is a suite of modern tools to help you fight fraud. It’s fully integrated into your payments flow and automatically works behind every Stripe transaction. At the center of Stripe Radar is a machine learning system that provides real-time transaction scoring based upon thousands of signals about each incoming card payment. Stripe’s system also uses data across their network of millions of businesses to evaluate the level of risk for each payment you process, and has shielded businesses on Stripe from millions of attempted fraudulent payments. You can learn more about Stripe Radar here.
What is fraud and how can I prevent it? What is a dispute or an inquiry and how do I handle them?
Read Stripe’s Guide to Fraud and Disputes or explore their docs for more information.
What are the fees associated with disputes and chargebacks?
Learn more about Stripe’s pricing for disputes here.
How are some ways I might decrease fraud?
Creating an effective dispute and fraud prevention strategy that best suits your business can help prevent fraud from occurring. By employing some of these best practices as part of your overall strategy, you can avoid excessive chargebacks and reduce potential customer burden and losses.
What is 3D Secure?
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) regulation in Europe requires the use of 3D Secure for card payments. Your platform can confirm if their integration with Stripe is already SCA-compliant and supports 3D Secure. Read Stripe’s Guides to 3D Secure and Strong Customer Authentication if you’d like to learn more.
What is Stripe Terminal?
Stripe Terminal lets businesses collect in-person payments. With one payment solution across channels, you can unify your online and offline payments, and simplify your reporting and reconciliation to save time and to improve business insights. Check with your platform to see if they offer Terminal.
What payment methods are supported?
Stripe Terminal supports chip, swipe, and contactless payment methods, including Apple Pay and Google Pay.
What countries and currencies are supported?
You can find the latest country and currency availability for Stripe Terminal here.
How do I see my in-person payments?
Terminal transactions are displayed in the Stripe Dashboard. Click on the payment to see more details.
You can also filter for Terminal transactions in your Stripe Dashboard, read more here.
What card readers are available?
Stripe Terminal supports the BBPOS Chipper 2X BT mobile reader and the Verifone P400 countertop reader. Check with your platform to see which version is supported by your integration. Learn more about these card readers here.
Are the card readers secure and compliant?
In-person payments must follow strict rules to meet PCI compliance, PCI certifications, and EMV certifications. Stripe Terminal offers pre-certified, PCI-compliant readers. This ensures that your transactions are secured by Stripe’s end-to-end encryption, and that your readers are always up to date via Stripe’s remote management tools.
What is Stripe Terminal pricing?
See Stripe Terminal pricing.
How do I order a card reader?
You can order a card reader here or you can:
Go to your Stripe Dashboard and select “Terminal” from the left-hand menu
In the “Hardware orders” section, click “Shop”
Select the name of the reader that you’d like to purchase
Click “Add to cart”
Navigate to your cart, check out, and pay
How do I pair the card reader to my platform and Stripe account?
Check with your platform to learn how to pair the card reader with the platform and your Stripe account.
How do I run a test payment?
Check with your platform to learn how to run a test payment.
I’m having trouble accepting payments with Terminal. How do I troubleshoot?
If you’re having trouble accepting payments with the BBPOS Chipper 2X BT mobile reader, make sure that:
Bluetooth is turned on and the card reader is on or near your phone. You cannot connect the mobile reader to your phone with a cord, only via Bluetooth
The reader is charged. If you need to charge it, attach the USB cord to an adapter and plug it into a wall outlet
If you’re having trouble accepting payments with the Verifone P400 countertop reader, follow these instructions:
The screen is unresponsive. https://support.stripe.com/questions/verifone-p400-screen-is-unresponsive
The reader is “not connected”. https://support.stripe.com/questions/not-connected-error-on-verifone-p400-with-ethernet-connection
You can find more information in Stripe’s documentation.
Can I manually enter card details?
Check with your platform to see if you can manually enter card details.
How long does the battery last on the mobile card reader?
For the BBPOS Chipper 2X BT mobile reader: A single charge of the lithium polymer rechargeable battery supports 800 dips, 5000 swipes, or 1000 taps
For the Verifone P400 countertop reader: This reader remains connected to a power source while in use.
How do I charge the mobile card reader?
Charge the mobile card reader by attaching the included USB cord to an adapter and plugging it into a wall outlet.