A Guide to Stripe Payment Methods

Getting started with Stripe means choosing how you want to get paid. This guide will walk you through the benefits of each Stripe payment method. 

Stripe is fast becoming the leading payment processor in the world. It started with humble beginnings. Two Irish brothers and a few lines of code. 

Stripe now services thousands of businesses across the world. It is the epitome of online payments. One of the reasons for its popularity is the many integrations it has. It offers so many payment methods from different service providers. 

This guide will help you understand which payment methods work for your business model.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

Credit and Debit Cards

Digital Wallets

Bank Debits, Redirects and Credit Transfers

Buy Now, Pay Later Payment Methods

Key Takeaways

Credit and Debit Cards

Most online businesses use Stripe for its Stripe checkout service. This allows customers to pay you directly using their credit card or debit card. Stripe’s card processing has clear fees. Your customer also doesn’t need a special account to pay with their card. 

A wide range of credit cards are accepted, including Amex. 

Stripe allows you to change the appearance of checkout forms. You can create a custom checkout that’s branded to your company!

Card Payments Are For You If: 

• You sell digital or physical products online
• You send invoices for consulting fees with accounting software like FreshBooks
• You use your website to accept payments
• You want to accept international card payments

List of Credit and Debit Cards Supported by Stripe

• American Express
• China UnionPay (CUP)
• Discover & Diners
• Japan Credit Bureau (JCB)
• Mastercard
• Visa

Key Features: 

• Support refunds
• Supports recurring payments
• High dispute rate
• Immediate payment confirmation on both ends of the transaction

Digital Wallets

Digital wallets are online money bags that link directly to the payee’s bank account. These are the newest payment methods on the market but are becoming popular. They work well for contactless in-person payments as well as online payments. 

Mobile wallets can be safer than credit cards. They usually require the user to insert a code or scan their fingerprint to confirm the payment online. 

Digital Wallets Are For You If: 

• You sell digital or physical products and want to increase mobile conversion
• You don’t have a subscription service

 List of Digital Wallet Providers Supported by Stripe

• Alipay
• Apple Pay
• Click to Pay
• Google Pay
• GrabPay
• Microsoft Pay
• WeChat Pay

Key Features: 

• Support refunds
• Supports recurring payments
• Lower dispute rate than cards
• Immediate payment confirmation on both ends of the transaction

Bank Debits, Redirects and Credit Transfers

Let’s break down this trifecta.

Bank debits – This is when your customer gives you their bank account details and agrees to a mandate that money can be pulled directly from the account. 

Bank redirects – Bank redirects add another step to the debiting process. The payment gateway redirects them to a bank-owned portal where they can authorize the payment. They don’t enter their bank account details directly into your system.

Bank credit transfers – Bank credit transfers are the transfers we are most familiar with. You give your bank details to your customer. They send your payment using those details. 

Bank Transfers Are For You If: 

• You don’t need instant payment. Bank transfers take 3-7 days to process
• You want to pay lower processing fees. Transaction pricing starts at 1%
• You have a subscription service. A direct debit service is perfect for you. 

Key Features: 

• You can have recurring payments via direct debits. Credit transfers don’t work as automatic recurring payments
• All support refunds
• Bank debits allow disputes but have a very low dispute rate
• Only bank redirects have immediate payment confirmations

Buy Now, Pay Later Payment Methods

Buy now, pay later payment methods are popular with online retailers. It is instant financing.

You receive full payment from the finance provider. The customer then owes the provider installments that they have agreed to pay the full amount.

Buy Now, Pay Later for You If: 

• You sell online luxury products
• You don’t mind the higher processing fees

List of Buy Now, Pay Later Providers by Stripe

• Afterpay/Clearpay
• Klarna

Key Features: 

• Support refunds
• Doesn’t support recurring payments
• Medium dispute rate. The provider will likely take on the fraud risk if this happens.
• Payment confirmation takes a little while 

Key Takeaways

Stripe has its fingers in every payment pie on the internet! However you want to accept payments, Stripe can support your business.

To learn more about Stripe or other payment processors, our resource hub can help.

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