Background

Sofort is a popular bank transfer method available in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Spain. In 2014, Klarna acquired Sofort and later integrated it as part of Klarna’s “Pay Now” payment option, which allows buyers to pay immediately using a linked card or bank account. Since the acquisition, Sofort continued to operate as an independent payment method. Businesses on Stripe could accept both Sofort and Klarna on their checkout as separate payment methods.

What’s changing?

Klarna is in the process of deprecating Sofort as a standalone payment method while reducing buyer geo coverage for Sofort.

Businesses wanting to continue accepting bank methods from buyers in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain can use the following payment methods instead:

• Klarna (recommended) - bank transfers are available via their “Pay Now” payment option. This enables the closest buyer experience to Sofort.
• Bank transfers - available in the EU.
• SEPA direct debit - available in the EU.

Additionally, Sofort is exiting Italy and will soon no longer support Italian buyers.

FAQs

When do these changes take effect?

Sofort for new businesses:

• Effective 1 November, 2023 Sofort will no longer be available as a separate payment method for new businesses on Stripe.
• This also applies to platforms and plugin users, who should also stop offering Sofort to their businesses.
• Unfortunately no extensions will be provided as this is an external deadline not set by Stripe.

Italy exit:

• Effective 1 January 2024, Sofort will no longer be available to buyers based in Italy.
• Italy based Stripe businesses can still use Sofort for buyers based in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain.

Sofort for existing businesses:

• Existing businesses which already accept Sofort via Stripe will be able to continue processing Sofort payments throughout 2023, but will be asked to migrate some time in 2024 (exact date to be determined).

What action do I need to take?

The required actions will vary based on your Stripe integration.

If you are a platform/plugin/app on Stripe, you’ll need to do the following by 1 November, 2023 to prevent disruption to your business:

• Update your code to prevent new businesses using your platform/plugin/app to turn on Sofort as a payment method.
• You may also need to update your own support and integration documentation and train impacted teams on the deprecation.

If you are not a platform/plugin/app, no immediate action is required, however Stripe will later reach out to all users about required actions in 2024, including:

• Updating your checkout frontend to remove Sofort.
• (Optional) Adding Klarna on your checkout to continue offering “Pay Now” via bank transfer.
• If you’re using a Stripe hosted UI, such as Checkout, Payment Element, Invoicing, or Payment Links, no code changes will be required since Stripe will automatically hide Sofort from the UI.

If you or your businesses sell to Italian buyers:

• By 1 Jan 2024, you should update your checkout to hide Sofort from Italian buyers.
• Similarly, if you’re using a Stripe hosted UI, no code changes will be required since Stripe will automatically hide Sofort from Italian buyers.

What happens if I do not take action?

If platforms/plugins/apps do not take action to stop new businesses from enabling Sofort, Sofort may appear on your business’ checkout and/or their settings page as an enabled payment method. However, if a buyer chooses to check out with Sofort, Stripe will return a 400 error code. This is a breaking change and strongly recommend making the required changes by 1 November, 2023.

Similarly, if an Italian buyer attempts to checkout with your business after 1 January 2024, you will receive a 400 error code.

Contact support

We’re here to help you navigate these changes and grow your business. If you still have questions, please reach out to the Stripe team.