Stripe Startups is a by-application program to help venture-backed startups that are just getting started. It gives founders of early-stage, venture-backed startups access to financial benefits in the form of waived processing fees or fee credits (depending on the country), a focused community of other builders and Stripe leaders, and expert resources.
Program eligibility and application
Who is eligible for the Stripe Startups program?
Stripe Startups is designed for early-stage, venture-backed companies. In order to qualify, your application must include proof of institutional funding. You may provide any of the following to verify funding: link to PitchBook (or similar) naming your investors, links to articles featuring funding announcements (e.g., TechCrunch articles, VC websites), other documentation verifying your company’s funding status.
If you meet the qualifying criteria for Stripe Startups but have received a prior fee offer, your application to Stripe Startups may be approved even though you may no longer be eligible for further offers.
Can I apply if I already use Stripe?
If you meet the requirements, you can apply.
How do I apply for the Stripe Startups program?
There are two ways to apply:
-
Apply through your investor:
- Use the private referral link provided by your investor or startup partner. (If your company has raised funding from an institutional investor, you can check if they have joined Stripe’s Startup Partner program and request a referral link.)
- Apply online at www.stripe.com/startups.
Whichever method you use to apply, you must:
- Complete the form.
- Verify your Stripe account:
- Submit your application. You’ll see a confirmation message in your Stripe Dashboard and in your email inbox.
We’ll review it and respond within 2–3 business days
Once you’ve submitted your application:
- If approved:
- You’ll get an email with instructions on how to accept your offer and details about your approved offer amount.
- If declined:
- You’ll get an email explaining why.
If you don’t hear back within the expected timeframe, contact Stripe Support.
“Stripe fee credits” vs. “waived processing fees”
Depending on what country you are in, you may either be eligible for product fee credits or for waived processing fees. Fee credits are replacing waived processing fees over time. Find your region below to see which offer is available to you.
Type of offer |
What it is |
Countries where available |
What it means |
Are there fees where the offer does not work? |
Fee credits |
Credits offset Stripe fees for more products—not just payment processing. They can be used for Stripe fees on products like Payments, Connect, Billing, Tax, and Sigma. |
USA
Rolling out to more countries over time |
Offer amount = what you get to use on Stripe |
Yes, fee credits do not apply to the following products:
|
Waived payment processing fees |
“Waived processing fees” mean that Stripe won’t charge you payment processing fees, up to a threshold approved for your account. These apply only to payment processing fees for cards and local payment methods, including buy now, pay later and ACH. |
Outside of the United States |
Offer amount = the payment processing volume that won’t incur fees |
Yes, waived processing fees do not cover some fees, including but not limited to:
|
Am I eligible for Stripe fee credits?
You’re eligible if all of these are true:
- Your application to the Stripe Startups program was approved.
- You have an active Stripe account.
- You are on Stripe’s standard pricing.
- Your account is located in a supported country where support for fee credits is rolled out. Otherwise, you may be eligible for a waived processing fee offer instead.
- You haven’t already received an offer.
- You have access to a Stripe Dashboard and are not connected to any other platform that controls your pricing.
What amount am I eligible for?
Offer amounts vary by offer type (i.e., in the form of fee credits or in the form of waived processing fees on a certain payment volume) and, if applicable, by your referral source. Stripe has standing partnerships with some investors to whom we offer elevated benefits. Venture capital firms and startup accelerators can apply for Stripe benefits for their portfolio companies here.
Using your offer
How long does the offer last?
The offer expires 12 months from when you activate your offer or until you reach your offer limit—whichever comes first.
Can I wait to activate my offer?
Yes. You have 12 months to activate your offer. The 12-month period to use your offer starts only after you activate it. Activate it when you’re ready to process payments.
How do I activate it?
Log in as an admin or owner. Look for the banner or setup guide task in your Dashboard to accept the offer.
If you don’t see your offer, make sure that your account is active and that there are no outstanding verification banners. You can also check the Fee Credits section under Reports, or Fee Discounts section under Reports—though, this section will only appear if you have completed your Business Profile.
How do I track my fee credit usage?
Check your remaining balance in the Fee Credits section under Reports in your Dashboard. Fee Credits show how much of your offer you’ve used so far.
How do I track my waived processing fee usage?
Check your remaining balance in the Fee Discounts section under Balances in your Dashboard. Fee Discounts show how much of your offer you’ve used so far.
If you manage multiple accounts with offers, each account’s balance is tracked separately in their respective Dashboards.
What if I have multiple Stripe accounts tied to one email?
Offers apply to individual accounts, not all accounts tied to one email. Make sure you’re logged in to the correct account when applying.
Don’t know which account you are logged into?
- Head to your Stripe Dashboard and navigate to Profile.
- Scroll down to the Accounts section, where you’ll see your Account ID.
- If this is not the account you want the offer to apply to, before applying:
- Account uses different email: Log out and log back in with the correct account, then apply for the program.
- Account uses same email: In the upper left of the Dashboard, click on the name of your Stripe account and then select the account you want the offer to apply to. Then apply for the program.
Can I apply an offer to multiple accounts or startups?
A startup can only redeem one offer in its lifetime, even if you have multiple Stripe accounts (e.g., one in Mexico and one in the US). The offer applies to one account, so you’ll have to decide which one to use it on. Though, if you manage multiple eligible startups, each one that is affiliated with a Stripe referral partner can receive its own offer, even if you are the founder of or are associated with all of them.
Does the offer apply retroactively if I forget to activate the offer?
No, the offer only starts after offer activation. Be sure to activate it only when you’re ready to process payments.
Does the offer apply to my connected accounts if I use Stripe Connect?
First, only fee credit offers are eligible to use on Connect (waived processing fee offers may not be used on Stripe product fees).
Second, it depends on how you’re using Stripe Connect. You can select different Connect configurations that allow you to identify who is responsible for collecting payment fees, who is responsible for negative balances, and what kind of dashboard experience you want for your connected accounts. The application of this offer differs based on who pays Stripe fees (controller.fees.payer) in your Connect integration.
- Connected accounts pay fees: If your Connect integration has the connected account paying Stripe fees, you can redeem this offer for directly processed volume on your platform only, not for volume facilitated through your connected accounts.
- Platform pays fees: If your Connect integration has your platform directly paying Stripe fees, you can redeem this offer for both direct and facilitated Connect volume. To obtain this integration pattern, you must be the merchant of record.
Will the offer work if my payments are in a different currency than my bank account?
Yes. The offer will convert to the currency of your default bank account, so you can still use it even if your customers pay in a different currency. That said, if you have more than one bank account with different settlement currencies (e.g., one for EUR, another for USD), the offer will only apply to payouts sent to the account in your default currency (e.g., EUR if that was the default). For details on supported currencies, head here.
Keep in mind that the offer doesn’t cover currency exchange fees (e.g., converting USD to EUR).
Will I receive my offer in my local currency?
Yes, you will receive the offer in your default bank account currency. But, it will not appear in your currency until it has been activated.
Where can I see fee adjustments once the offer is applied?
You’ll still see a fee listed on each charge, but they’ll be combined and credited back to you as an adjustment. That happens when we calculate the total for each payout.
Here’s where you can find the details:
- Fee adjustments: You can view all offer adjustments here.
-
Remaining offer:
- For waived processing fee offers: Look in Balances → Fee Credits
- For fee credit offers: Look in Reports → Fee Credits
I also have credits through Stripe Atlas. How do Atlas credits impact startup program credits, if at all?
These two programs can be stacked. That is, you may be enrolled in both and obtain offers through each program. You can learn more about the Atlas program here.
Troubleshooting
What happens if the activation banner isn’t there or it disappears?
If the banner isn’t there:
- Verify that your account is active, with no outstanding verification banners.
- Make sure you have administrator access permissions. If not, the banner won’t be visible.
- If you don’t have the necessary permissions, reach out to your company’s internal administrator or account owner.
- For waived processing fee offers: Look in Balances → Fee Discounts
- For fee credit offers: Look in Reports → Fee Credits
- Check your email for the acceptance email.
What should I do if my offer isn’t applied correctly?
If your offer isn’t working as expected, double-check your activation status:
- For waived processing fee offers: Look in Balances → Fee Discounts
- For fee credit offers: Look in Reports → Fee Credits
The offer processes when payouts are calculated, not immediately after transactions. You’ll still see fees listed on each charge, but they’ll be combined and credited back to your account as an adjustment in your payout total.
What should I do if my account isn’t activated yet?
Your account needs to be fully verified to use the offer. Check your Stripe Dashboard for any pending steps.
What if my investor or startup partner doesn’t provide me with a link or application details?
Contact them directly and ask for the link. Venture capital firms and startup accelerators can apply for Stripe benefits for their portfolio companies at https://stripe.com/startups/partners.
You can also apply to Stripe Startups directly at stripe.com/startups.
What if my application takes longer than 2–4 business days?
After the offer ends
What happens when my offer runs out or expires?
If your business processes over $100,000 in monthly payments for 3 consecutive months, you can request a pricing review. Otherwise, standard fees will apply.
How do I request a pricing review?
- Log in to your Stripe account and contact support.
- Let us know you’d like a review of your current processing fees.
- Our team will review your account and, if eligible, share a new fee proposal with you.
Need more help? Contact sales directly here.
What happens during a pricing review?
Stripe evaluates your payment volume, card mix, and other factors to determine if you qualify for custom pricing. Note that not all Stripe users who receive a pricing review qualify for custom pricing.
Can I pause my offer if I’m not processing payments for a while?
No, the offer starts once you activate it and can’t be paused. If you’re not ready to start processing payments, it’s a good idea to wait before activating it.
How will I know if my offer is about to expire?
We don’t send reminders for expiring offers right now, but you can track your remaining balance in the Fee Credits section of your Dashboard.
Can I get another offer later?
Unfortunately, we can only extend one offer per startup. If your case is unique, feel free to contact us.
Have more questions?
Stripe’s developer documentation and the Stripe Developers channel on Discord are great resources, in addition to Stripe support, where you can search our support site or connect with our support team.