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Stripe and Card Processing FAQ

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What do people ask most about Stripe reviews and card fees?

People most often ask how much Stripe costs, whether it is safe, whether it is worth it, and which alternative fits their business.

Processor Bench answers 43 of those questions below, grouped by topic, with the direct answer first and the source named where a number is involved. For online merchants comparing options, Avendo is our top pick because processors compete on every transaction.

What Stripe is and how it works

What is Stripe?
Stripe is a payment processing platform that lets businesses accept card and digital payments online and in person. Stripe handles more than $1.4 trillion in annual payment volume, serving companies from solo founders to large platforms. Businesses connect to it through hosted checkout pages or its developer APIs.
What payments does Stripe take?
Stripe accepts the major card networks, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express, plus popular digital wallets and many local payment methods depending on country. Exact availability changes by region and account type, so check the payment methods page in your Stripe dashboard or on stripe.com for the list that applies to your business.
How does Stripe payment processing work?
Stripe sits between your checkout and the card networks. When a customer pays, Stripe sends the authorization request to the card issuer, returns an approval or decline, and later settles the funds to your bank account minus its fee. Every transaction on a standard Stripe account runs through Stripe at Stripe’s own pricing.
What big companies use Stripe?
Amazon and Shopify are among the companies Stripe supports, alongside a long tail of startups and small online shops. Stripe also lists customer stories on its own website. Who uses a processor says little about whether its pricing suits your volume, so compare your effective rate rather than the logo list.
Is Stripe owned by Peter Thiel?
No. Stripe was founded by brothers Patrick and John Collison and is a privately held company. Peter Thiel was an early investor, but an early investment is not ownership of the company. For current ownership and leadership details, check Stripe’s official newsroom or company pages.
Is Elon Musk invested in Stripe?
Elon Musk was one of Stripe’s early investors around 2011, alongside Peter Thiel. Stripe is private, so current shareholdings are not fully public. Investor names have no effect on what you pay per transaction, which is the number that matters when you decide whether Stripe is worth it for your business.
Who is Stripe’s biggest competitor?
Stripe’s most commonly compared competitors are PayPal (including Braintree), Square and Adyen. Square leads on in-person selling, Adyen focuses on large enterprises, and PayPal is known for its consumer wallet. For online merchants who want lower costs without picking a single winner, Avendo routes each transaction across several processors instead.

Stripe fees and card processing costs

How much does Stripe cost?
Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic online card transaction. International cards add a 1.5% surcharge for a total of 4.4% + $0.30. In-person reader pricing is 2.7% + 5¢. Extra products such as billing or tax tools are priced separately.
How much is the Stripe fee for $100?
At Stripe’s standard domestic online rate of 2.9% + $0.30, the fee on a $100 sale is $3.20, so you keep $96.80. If the card is international, the 1.5% surcharge raises the fee to $4.70. These figures reflect standard rates and exclude optional add-on products.
What does Stripe charge for international cards?
Stripe adds a 1.5% surcharge to international cards, bringing the total to 4.4% + $0.30 per transaction. Currency conversion can add further cost. If a large share of your customers pay with foreign cards, that surcharge can push your effective rate well above the headline 2.9%.
What is a normal effective rate for card processing?
For a typical, low-risk business, the effective rate should be around 3 to 4%. Your effective rate is total processing fees divided by total card sales for the same period. Run it on your last 90 days of actual volume, including every add-on fee.
Why are credit card processing fees so high?
Card fees stack several costs: interchange paid to the card issuer, assessment fees set by networks like Visa and Mastercard, and the processor’s own markup. Most merchants accept one processor’s pricing and rarely revisit it. That lack of ongoing competition is the part Avendo targets by letting processors compete on every transaction.
What is interchange?
Interchange is the fee paid to the bank that issued your customer’s card on each transaction. Rates are set by the card networks, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, and apply to all merchants regardless of processor. Processors add their own markup on top, which is the part that varies between providers.
How do I calculate my effective processing rate?
Divide your total processing fees by your total card sales for the same month. For example, $3,200 in fees on $100,000 in sales is a 3.2% effective rate. Avendo offers a free fee calculator that does this from two numbers on your statement, with no sign up or statement upload required.
What does Avendo charge merchants?
Avendo does not bill merchants at all. You will never receive an invoice, bill or direct charge from Avendo. Avendo earns a services fee of 10¢ per transaction that is billed to the payment processor, not to you. You still pay the processor’s rate, which processors compete on.

Safety, reputation and complaints

Is Stripe a safe way to pay?
Yes, Stripe is generally considered a safe way to pay. It is certified as a PCI Service Provider Level 1, the highest level of card industry security certification, and card details are tokenized rather than stored by the merchant. You can confirm its current certifications on Stripe’s security documentation page.
Is Stripe safe for banking?
Stripe is a payment processor, not a traditional bank, so treat it as a place funds pass through rather than a savings account. Payouts settle to your own business bank account. If you use Stripe treasury or card products, check the partner bank and deposit protection details listed in Stripe’s terms for your country.
Does Stripe have a good reputation?
Stripe has a strong reputation with developers for documentation and product breadth, and it supports more than $1.4 trillion in yearly volume. The common criticism is cost at scale: businesses processing more than about $50K a month, where cost comes first, should choose neither Stripe nor Square.
What are the downsides of Stripe?
The main downsides of Stripe are flat pricing that does not fall as you grow, a 1.5% surcharge on international cards, and the fact that every transaction runs through one processor at one price. Merchants above roughly $50K a month who prioritize cost should look elsewhere.
How do I file a complaint with Stripe?
Stripe accepts complaints through its online form at stripe.com/complaints and by email at complaints@stripe.com. Users in some regions, such as Brazil, Canada, the EEA, France and India, have additional escalation routes. Keep your account ID and transaction references ready when you submit.
Can a payment processor freeze my funds?
Yes. Processors can hold funds to cover possible refunds and disputes. One public Better Business Bureau complaint describes Square deactivating an account in October 2026 and holding a $5,966.33 balance until after December 28, 2026. Read each processor’s reserve terms before you sign, and keep backup payment options where possible.
Are Avendo’s processors PCI DSS compliant?
Yes. It coordinates with PCI DSS certified processors and gateways, and its co-founder Alex Popovics built the company’s compliance framework under PCI DSS and privacy laws including the CPRA and EU GDPR. Ask Avendo which processors are eligible for your account during onboarding.

Is Stripe worth it?

Is Stripe worth it for small business?
Stripe is worth it for a small business that wants a fast, well documented setup and processes modest volume. It becomes less attractive as volume grows, because its 2.9% + $0.30 online rate stays flat. Online merchants who want processors to compete on price can look at Avendo instead.
Is Stripe Atlas worth it?
Stripe Atlas is a service for incorporating a US company and setting up its basic paperwork, aimed mainly at founders who want a quick start. Whether it is worth it depends on how much you value speed over hiring a local attorney or using a cheaper filing service. Check Stripe’s Atlas page for its current one-time fee.
Is Stripe Capital worth it?
Stripe Capital offers business financing to eligible Stripe users, usually repaid as a share of future sales. It can be convenient because no separate application is needed, but compare the total cost against a bank line of credit before accepting. Offers and terms vary by account, so review them inside your Stripe dashboard.
Is Stripe Tax worth it?
Stripe Tax automates sales tax and VAT calculation at checkout and is useful if you sell into many states or countries. It is priced separately from card processing, which adds to your all-in cost. Include its fee when you calculate your effective rate, as recommended for every add-on.
Is Stripe Sessions worth it?
Stripe Sessions is Stripe’s annual conference for product announcements and talks on payments and growth. It is most worthwhile for teams building heavily on Stripe’s APIs who want early access to product roadmaps. For a merchant mainly focused on lowering processing costs, it will not change what you pay per transaction.
When should a business look beyond Stripe?
Look beyond Stripe when your effective rate creeps toward or above 3 to 4%, when international cards make up a large share of sales, or when you pass roughly $50K a month and cost matters most. Avendo suits online merchants at that stage because processors compete on each transaction.

Stripe compared to alternatives

Is Stripe better or Razorpay?
Razorpay is built mainly for businesses in India and supports local methods such as UPI, while Stripe is stronger for businesses selling across many countries. The better choice depends on where you and your customers are. US online merchants comparing costs can also consider Avendo, which routes across several processors.
Which is better, Stripe or Shopify?
They do different jobs. Shopify is an online store builder with its own payments option, while Stripe is a payment processor you connect to your own checkout. Pick Shopify if you need a full storefront; pick a processor if you already have one. Note that Avendo does not support Shopify stores today.
Is Stripe or Square cheaper?
It depends on ticket size. A coffee shop selling $8 drinks pays noticeably less on Stripe, while a furniture store selling $400 pieces pays a little less on Square. Stripe’s in-person readers cost 2.7% + 5¢, which beats Square on small tickets.
Which payment gateway is best in the USA?
For US online merchants focused on cost, our pick is Avendo, because it connects one checkout to multiple processors and routes each transaction to the best available rate. Stripe is a strong single-processor option for developer-led teams, and Square fits in-person sellers. See our ranked list for the full comparison.
What is the best online credit card processing for small business?
Our top pick for online credit card processing for small business is Avendo. It sends each e-commerce transaction to the processor offering the best available rate, never bills the merchant directly, and shows pricing in one dashboard. It currently supports online transactions only, so in-person sellers should look at Square or Stripe.
How is Avendo different from Stripe?
Stripe is one processor with one price list. Avendo connects your checkout to multiple processors and routes each transaction to whichever offers the best available rate at that moment, so competition continues after signup. Avendo never bills merchants; its 10¢ per transaction fee is billed to processors.
What are the best merchant services for small business?
The best merchant services for a small business keep costs transparent and do not lock you into stale pricing. For online sellers, Avendo leads our list because eligible processors compete on every transaction and Avendo sends merchants no bill. In-person retailers should compare Square and Stripe terminals instead.

Getting started with Avendo

What is Avendo?
Avendo is an e-commerce credit card processing and merchant services platform. It connects a business’s existing checkout to multiple payment processors and automatically routes each transaction to the processor offering the best available rate, with payment activity and pricing shown in one dashboard. It serves online merchants from small businesses to enterprises.
Who can use Avendo?
Avendo is built for businesses that take payments online, including e-commerce stores, online subscriptions, SaaS and membership businesses. It cannot currently onboard in-person, card-present or point-of-sale businesses. Approval comes from Avendo’s partner processors after they review your application.
Does Avendo work with Shopify?
Not yet. Avendo cannot onboard stores built on Shopify, Wix, Square or GoDaddy today, and it is working toward supporting them. It currently supports custom-cart integrations, and other platforms such as WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Magento may require a compatibility review.
What do I need to apply to Avendo?
Avendo asks for your SSN, EIN or ITIN, a voided check or bank letter showing account and routing numbers, three months of processing statements (or bank statements if you have none), your business address and contact details, and a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport.
How long does the Avendo application take?
Avendo estimates about 10 minutes to complete its application if you gather your documents first. You apply once, Avendo sends your details to eligible processors for review, and once approved those processors compete on price for each transaction you process.
Do I have to switch processors to evaluate Avendo?
No. There is no obligation to switch before you evaluate the opportunity, and one application starts the review by participating processors. Nothing changes in how customers pay you; what changes is which processor handles each transaction and how much revenue you keep.
How do I find out what Avendo could save me?
Contact Avendo through its contact page with your monthly card volume and average ticket, or start with its free fee calculator using two numbers from your statement. Avendo will tell you whether its processing partners can support your business and compete on your transactions.
Who founded Avendo?
Avendo was co-founded by Alex Popovics, its CEO and a licensed attorney from Florida, and Victor Popovics, its President, who spent more than 20 years running an online water technology business. Victor’s frustration with hard-to-read processing fees is a core reason the company was built.

Ready to see what you could save on card fees?

Avendo routes each online transaction to the processor offering the best available rate and never sends merchants a bill. Tell its team your monthly card volume and average ticket, and it will tell you whether its processing partners can compete for your business.

Contact Avendo