Stripe Payments - Full Review On How They Work

When wanting to take payments online, there can be many confusing steps; One of those steps is getting started using Stripe Payments.

Stripe is a payment gateway that allows people and businesses to take payments online.

No coding or technical experience is needed.

This article will explain what Stripe Payments are, how they work, the pricing, and how to start taking Stripe payments on your website.

What Are Stripe Payments

Stripe is an online payment processor that allows merchants to sell products. Founded in 2010, Stripe set out a mission to make it easier to accept payments online.

Before Stripe, it was challenging to sell products online.

You needed either custom-built databases, expensive infrastructure, or a middleman to assist.

Not to mention the security and fraud companies that took a considerable cut.

Someone couldn't dream up a product and sell it online with ease.

You had to have a well-established business already if you wanted to sell online.

Stripe came in and streamlined the entire process.

Stripe handles the payment processing and security fraud protection.

They also allow third-party apps to connect via their application programming interface (API).

In doing so, Stripe allows hundreds of thousands of applications to accept payments in their apps.

This groundbreaking feat democratized online payments.

Now millions of merchants use Stripe to run their online business.

How Do Stripe Payments Work

To understand how Stripe Payments work, let's discuss how credit card processing works.

If you ever used your credit card to buy something online or offline, you swiped it, and the payment went through.

But, there is much more that happens behind the scenes for that transaction to process.

For sellers, there are many people involved to make that seamless process work.

You have:
Customers
Merchants
Merchant Acquirers
Processors
Independent sales organizations
Card issuers
Card Networks

Customers relate to anyone with a debit or credit card making the sale.

A merchant is a business selling the product.

A merchant acquirer is a financial organization that proved the tools for debit or credit cards to be accepted.

Processors verify that transactions are valid, make sure there are enough funds, and check for fraud.

Independent Sales Organizations sell access to a processor along with any equipment.

Card Issuers are the companies that distribute credit cards to consumers.

Card networks are usually the bank's logo on the credit/debit cards.

This process made selling online cumbersome and tiring, which is why Stripe made this process easier.

Now a merchant does not have to deal with these steps and only has to deal with Stripe.

Types of Payments That Stripe Accepts

Stripe has several different ways merchants can accept payments online.

Stripe Credit Card Payments

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Stripe accepts and processes American Express, Visa, Discover, and Mastercard-branded cards.

As well as some of the more niche products like UnionPay, JCB, and Diners Club

Stripe Digital Wallet Payments

Stripe also allows for digital wallets like Google or Apple Pay.

With this digital wallet service, you can get payments from Apple Pay, Google Pay, Masterpass, Visa Checkout, WeChat Pay, and more.

Stripe International Payments

In addition to serving payments in the US, Stripe accepts payments from more than 135 currencies.

Accepting international cards adds a 1 percent fee on top of the standard costs.

Here is the full list of countries supported by Stripe:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

Stripe Payments Pricing

Stripe has paid as you go pricing.

Meaning that you don't have to pay a monthly fee to use their features.

Instead, you pay 2.9% + 30 cents per successful card charge.

So, for example, if you charge someone $100 for a product.

Stripe would take 2.9% or $2.90 + 30 cents.

Totaling to $3.20.

Leaving you with $96.80.

Stripe Processing Fees for Recurring Payments

Stripe processing fees for recurring payments are the same as their regular pricing.

Meaning that if you charge someone $100 per month. You would be paying $3.20 per month in transaction fees.

Learn more about Stripe Recurring Payments.

How to Process Customers Online Payment in Stripe

Stripe has several ways for you to start taking payments online.

Most users who don't care about branding or customization will use Stripe Checkout.

Stripe Checkout is a payment page that merchants can use to sell.

Unfortunately, this page does not give you much flexibility when it comes to design.

Merchants can also use Stripe Elements, which gives users a bit more flexibility.

Stripe Elements uses prebuilt components allowing you to customize your payment form.

Using Custom Stripe Payment Forms

If you decide to use a custom payment form, then we recommend using Cartfuel.

Cartfuel is a payment form builder that integrates with Stripe.

As we mentioned before, Stripe allows third-party apps to use their services, and Cartfuel is one of those apps.

The benefit of using Cartfuel is the extra customization and functionality.

Here is an example of what a Cartfuel form looks like:

As you can see, you can add your custom font, change button colors, add countdown timers, and more.

To get started using Cartfuel go to Cartfuel.io.

Once you're signed up, then you'll want to connect your Stripe account.

Go to 'Payment Gateways' in the left-hand menu bar and then select Stripe.

Creating Stripe Payment Form

Once you connect your account, you'll then want to create a product sequence.

Click the 'New Product Sequence' menu item.

From there, click 'Add New' to add a new product sequence.

From there, you'll see a new screen that looks like this:

You will want to enter your product information, including name and price.

You can also select the billing frequency from one time or recurring. Here is a more detailed article about Stripe recurring payments.

You can then proceed to customize the form even further with other features like countdown timers, order bumps, and more.

Here is a more detailed video explanation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VELV6UfDiIM

Once done customizing the payment form, click on Next Step.

In the second step, you can add even more customization, including changing the font text, button size, button color, etc.

You'll have full control over how you want your payment form to look, which benefits from using a third-party app.

Once you finish customizing, go to the next step.

Enter your thank you URL or app a one-click upsell.

Once done, click on Save.

Stripe Payments on Website

If you want to use Cartfuel for payments, then once you save, you'll receive code snippets. Depending on your site, you should have the ability to add HTML or embed codes.

If you are unsure if this is the case, then reach out to your website's support to see if they can assist.

Once you add the HTML or embed code element to your site, you will want to take the two codes from Cartfuel and copy and paste the two codes into the HTML/embed code box.

Here is an example of this process using WordPress:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjPWalJb_fA

Once you paste the two codes into the HTML or embed element, you will want to save them.

Then you can preview your site, and you will see your new customized Payment form.

If you don't want to use Cartfuel, you can use other third-party apps or stick to the less customizable Stripe Checkout or Stripe Elements.

How Secure Is Online Payments Through Stripe

Since Stripe is handling sensitive information, they take security seriously.

Stripe uses strong encryption, fraud prevention, and PCI enforcement controls to ensure that data is safe.

How Does Stripe Keep Data Safe?

All stored card numbers come with AES-256 encryption, which is the industry standard for security data.

None of the internal Stripe servers can access the plain-text card numbers.

Stripe Fraud Protection

Stripe uses machine learning to help fight fraud. They created a unique product called Radar to detect and block fraudulent transactions.

The machine learns from millions of transactions and becomes smarter in the process; Keeping your business and customers safe from thieves.