Today, starting an online business is not as complicated as many people think, so are stripe payments one of the best payment gateways for online entrepreneurs, more so for a dropshipping business model?
With the internet’s help, countless tools and platforms can help you get started by setting up a storefront, tracking orders, and collecting payments.
However, things were different in 2010. Setting up an online store or any other internet business requires a lot of work and building websites.
You also had to figure out how to make a legacy payment processor work with the new type of business. Stripe payment was born in this type of marketplace.
Table of Contents
What are Stripe Payments?
Stripe Payment was started in 2010 with the primary mission of making accepting payments over the Internet easier. At this time, credit cards were still in use, but they were too much work.
It meant working with a legacy processor or a middleman broker who was to provide you with access to the processor.
You had to deal with banks, the respective credit card companies, and other additional services that were poorly explained and sold by third parties.
This explains how accepting credit cards as a form of payment was complicated and poorly defined. People got into the deal without knowing what using credit cards for payment entails.
A stripe set is designed to fix all those problems by making the payment process as smooth as possible.
The added services on Stripe, such as fraud protection, fixed rates regardless of the network, and an application programming interface (API), allowed the founders of this app to add card processing to their apps quickly.
Why is Stripe Payment Important?
First, you must understand how the credit card processing industry works to know why the Stripe payment method is so important.
Most consumers attest to the fact that credit card payment is straightforward and straightforward.
All you have to do is swipe your card or insert it into a machine, key in your number and any other required information on the form, and your payment will go through.
Other customers see credit card transactions as the end of the transaction unless something has gone wrong. However, sellers see this whole process as the beginning of the transaction.
You must know the parties involved to understand how a credit card transaction works fully. Some distinct parties are involved in the whole process, although sometimes the line gets blurry. The main parties include the following;
- Customers. In this case, a customer is anyone trying to make a purchase using his or her credit card.
- Merchants are the businesses from which customers try to buy goods or services. Each merchant in the industry has a unique merchant ID.
- Merchant Acquirers. This is where confusion kicks in, and things start to become complicated. Typically, merchant acquirers are financial institutions and organizations that provide the tools and processors that allow cards to be accepted during a transaction. There are two significant types of merchant acquirers: ISOs and Processors.
- Processors are large financial institutions that act as the backbone of all transactions. They are responsible for verifying that the whole transaction process is valid and that the customer has enough funds in their credit card. Then, they initiate the transfer of funds. Some of the known examples of processors are Wells Fargo and Chase Paymentech.
- Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs). This party acts as a reseller for the processor. They sell access to a processor and the necessary equipment for taking cards. In addition, ISOs serve as technical support for merchants. Examples of ISOs are Stripe, Authorize.Net, and Vantiv or Worldpay.
- Card Issuers are companies responsible for distributing credit cards to consumers. However, Visa and MasterCard are banks and other financial institutions. American Express and Discover’s card networks issue the cards themselves.
- Card Networks are the logos on your credit card. Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express are all examples of Card networks. Besides Discover and American Express, most card networks franchise their network to individual issuers.
When the ideas of Stripe Payments were conceived, merchant acquirers were the most difficult to deal with. This is because most were still operating in physical retail spaces. They also did not have the technology or knowledge to help online businesses.
Many merchant acquirers were still using the traditional sales process, which made signing up for a merchant cumbersome.
Furthermore, knowing what your rates could be was also close to impossible.
It wasn’t easy to gauge the cost of the technology, the kind of service to be expected, and whether or not the processor technology could work with the merchant’s online business implementation.
Stripe Payment changed that by focusing more on digital card payments.
This payment type was one of the first ISOs to build a platform for online businesses and app payments.
They also brought a technology-forward approach, which made signing up and using the service much more comfortable, faster, and transparent.
This guide gives insight into who Stripe is, how to use it, some of the services and benefits that Stripe provides, and what apps and services can be integrated with Stripe.
About Stripe Payments
John and Patrick Collison, Irish entrepreneurs and brothers, are the founders of Stripe. They founded Stripe in 2010 with initial funding from the famed startup accelerator Y Combinator.
This public service was launched in September 2011 and rapidly became a darling of Silicon Valley.
In the years that followed, Stripe received almost $800 million in funding and a valuation of over $22 billion, making It one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
This company grew increasingly, mainly because its products were digital and initially centered on the developer.
The platform was built mainly to be incorporated into custom-made and existing digital apps. This is because they provided clear and straightforward directions.
Moreover, the invention of this platform reduced the complexity of working with a processor.
This led to the increased use of the self-service option, which was available for all customers. These features seem ordinary today, but they were revolutionary in 2011.
Overview of Stripe Payment Options
The Stripe platform started as a domestic, straightforward credit card processing platform in the United States.
However, over the years, there have been developments, and Stripe Payment Options has grown its offerings to cover most of the payment options used worldwide. Some of the leading payment options that Stripe uses include the following;
Stripe Credit card payments
This basic version of Stripe Payment allows merchants to collect traditional one-off credit card purchases online or at a physical location.
Consequently, Stripe payment accepts and processes American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard-branded cards. They also receive niche products such as JCB, UnionPay, and Diners Club.
Moreover, one thing that differentiates Stripe Payments from traditional processors is the full range of options that Stripe offers its merchants.
They can embed an already-built payment form out of the prebuilt elements, code their own from scratch, or connect Stripe to one of the hundreds of Compatible apps.
In addition, Stripe provides an execution option for anyone, regardless of their technical ability. This is what makes Stripe Payment Unique.
Stripe digital wallet payments
The two most prominent tech companies, Apple Pay and Google Pay, control the most significant share of the digital wallet market in the United States. This is because wallet use is still a novelty in this region.
Mobile wallets are thriving in international markets. In China, over half a billion people used mobile wallets to complete their transactions in 2018.
The main advantage of using Stripe Payment is that the integration of the digital market lets your business accept payments in whatever way your clients prefer you make their payments.
In addition to that, it also takes your online business to a global level.
Moreover, Stripe digital wallet services allow payments from Google and Apple Pay, Masterpass, Microsoft Pay, Visa Checkout, Amex Express Checkout, and others.
Stripe international payments
Taking your business internationally is an added advantage when using Stripe Payment.
Stripe accepts payments in more than 135 currencies and is used in most countries.
When a business accepts international cards, it adds a 1% fee to the standard charges, and converting these cards to a different currency adds another 1%.
This brings the total fee for Stripe international transactions to 4.9 percent plus 30 cents.
The good news is that even though those rates may sound high, Stripe also offers options to reduce those fees.
In addition, for those charging large transactions, methods such as ACH, SEPA direct debit, Alipay, and others allow transaction fees of between 0.8 and 2.9 percent.
This includes the 30-cent transaction charge. Moreover, in some countries, Stripe allows merchants to set up local subsidiary accounts to make accepting local payments easier and lower fees.
Stripe automatic payments
Consequently, Stripe offers an automatic payment option that allows businesses that require regular recurring payments, like subscriptions and retainers, to send out costs for the exact amounts at regular intervals of your choosing.
The good news about using the Stripe recurring revenue plan is that you don’t incur additional costs until you have exceeded $1 million in recurring revenue.
After you have exceeded that amount, Stripe will charge an additional 0.4 percent.
Stripe’s recurring payment plan is bundled into its general billing platform, allowing for other invoices.
The platform has various safety and security features to prevent recurring credit card transactions from being rejected.
How does Stripe work?
Since Stripe is an Independent Sales Organization, they do not do the heavy lifting of processing your transactions.
What they do is collect and forward your transactions to a financial institution that will make sure that the funds are cleared.
Stripe is known as an aggregator.
Instead of signing up as total merchants with the merchant acquirer, Stripe’s users can sign up as sub-merchants under Stripe’s merchant account.
This is important for users as it saves them from setting up their merchant accounts in a complicated process.
This makes this platform easy for merchants to use because after signing up for an account and being approved, you can start collecting payments immediately without thinking about it.
On the other hand, things are slightly complicated for Stripe. Since all the charges go through Stripe’s merchant account, they are highly liable for fraudulent transactions on their platform.
This benefits the platform’s users since it encourages Stripe to build a better security system and prevent fraudulent activities on the site.
Stripe is one of the most trusted names in the processing of credit cards for online businesses because of its ease of use, high security, and customizability.
In addition, other trusted platforms, such as Amazon, Shopify, DocuSign, and Peloton, use Stripe.
Stripe Tutorial and Guide
Any proper digital-first solution will include an app on its platform. Stripe also has a robust app API that allows third-party developers to create applications that work well with the service.
The advantage is that these apps make it easier to use Stripe and do more than allow you to make payments.
You can also collect credit card payments on your mobile. Leveraging a point of sale (POS) app is essential in setting up a pop-up or a permanent shop.
The dashboard apps present in Stripe help you monitor your Stripe account’s performance and ensure that you have the latest information at your disposal.
A vast ecosystem of partners in Stripe allows you to integrate with different platforms.
These platforms include accounting, payment, Point of Sale, analytics, and other services.
Leveraging Stripe’s built-in functionality for many of your payment needs is also something that you can easily do.
Stripe payment Apps
The main advantage of using the Stripe payment app is that it provides you with everything you need to accept and process payments, settle and reconcile your accounts, and manage anything related to Stripe.
Integrated Stripe payment apps are slightly different but have some things in common. Most of these apps allow for a certain level of customization regarding the appearance of the checkout forms. However, none of these apps give as much freedom as going through Stripe directly.
Moreover, these apps support all of Stripe’s payment countries, and most also accept Apple Pay where available.
However, many merchants may consider the platform’s other features a disadvantage. Features such as the ability to request payments, send invoices, and accept ACH payments are rare options that often require using a specific Stripe app.
The good news is that finding a Stripe payment app that works perfectly for all your needs is very easy.
Stripe works perfectly with Charge for Stripe, Lunatap, Moon Clerk, InstaPayments, Payvoice, Payfunnels, MYFUNDBOX, and Splunk.
These apps accept mobile and recurring payments and other apps and integrations that range from simple to complex and bare-bones to fully featured.
The Stripe Partners page is also handy since it includes easy filtering to help business owners find exactly what they want.
Stripe Dashboard app
This Stripe app helps you set up, manage, and easily monitor your account’s progress. Furthermore, Stripe dashboard apps allow you to manage payments and refunds, respond to disputes from different merchants, and monitor integrations.
The Dashboard is an essential app for running analytics and viewing real-time charts that show your business’s performance.
You also get access to information on recent activities you may need to act on, such as disputes and verifying identities.
This is the best if you are looking for a Stripe organization app. The Stripe dashboard app organizes information into separate sections.
Each section represents a different area of the API. The Dashboard is also helpful for doing specific things, such as refunding payments or canceling a subscription, without necessarily accessing the API.
The dashboard app has many other functionalities, including searches and team members’ privileges.
The Stripe dashboard is essential in collecting specific information, such as finding payments made using the customer’s email address or the last four digits of their card number. This makes working your way through this platform an effortless task.
Team members can also access the Dashboard, but you must give them different privileges. You can do this by restricting and allowing access to some information and the actions that they can take.
For instance, you can privilege the customer service team’s access to handle refunds. This means that only those with an access code can access these services.
Stripe POS app
The Stripe Point of Sale app and the Stripe terminal allow you to extend your online business or store into the physical world.
The Stripe POS app is a seamless way to unify your online and offline channels, whether a pop-up store or a permanent retail location.
Stripe Terminal works with Stripe Payments, Connect, and Billing. In addition, you can integrate Stripe into your mobile and web applications to accept in-store payments and allow customers to reserve online and pick up their orders in the store.
Stripe Terminal works with Stripe’s EMV 1, 2, or 3 precertified credit card readers. This helps you save time when you get the physical retail presence up and running.
Stripe’s credit card readers work with chip cards and support end-to-end encryption, Apple Pay, and Google Play.
Payment for Stripe is the only recognized and certified third-party Stripe POS app, so it works with it, too.
Stripe Payment allows you to create charges, manage customers, send receipts, apply for refunds, and sell inventory using the Payment for Stripe’s POS app.
Stripe mobile apps
Stripe’s mobile app accepts payments from Android phones, iPhones, and other mobile websites and helps you manage your account.
This gives you access to the Stripe Dashboard, subscription plans (available in iOS only), payment and customer information, transfers, and other relevant information.
You can also initiate refunds and respond to all disputes, all possible from your iOS or Android device. However, the app is not optimized for iPads, but you can still run the iOS version on your iPad.
The Stripe mobile apps also support summaries of daily activities on both platforms. When using an iOS device, you can also receive push notifications for the account activity.
In addition, Stripe’s mobile app is perfect for managing and monitoring transactions from your iOS or Android device. The disadvantage is that you cannot create charges from them, meaning you must use the Stripe Terminal or third-party integration. Moreover, you can only see live mode transactions in Stripe mobile apps.
Among all digital payment processors, Stripe was the first to make a name for itself.
They remain the top players in the market, not only because of their perfect timing but also because they have consistently provided one of the easiest-to-use and most powerful payment processing platforms.
In addition, the ability to use either integration or app for an out-of-the-box solution or customize your implementation to work correctly for you gives Stripe a big leg up over most of its competitors, making it the best solution for businesses of all sizes.
Stripe business options
After setting up your account and connecting to Stripe, you can proceed to what Stripe can do for your business.
Accepting payments
Accepting payments is one of the complex processes that any business has to deal with. This is because you want your customer interface to match your website interface, making it much easier for the clients to pay with their mobile devices.
Stripe Checkout. For a seamless experience, consider dropping this good payment page into your checkout flow. It accepts Apple Pay, supports 14 locales, and will soon accept Google Pay.
Stripe Elements is a set of already-built user interface components that allow you to design your website’s custom payment form.
Moreover, using Stripe elements helps minimize user error, increasing the number of successful payments.
Stripe Terminal. This helps provide a way to accept payments made in person. You can also create custom checkouts with developer-friendly SDKs so that you are not forced to use a different system for in-person transactions.
Stripe.js, on the other hand, lets you build your checkout from the beginning using a set of APIs. Moreover, you can also use Stripe to create custom invoices and request payments from United States businesses.
Invoices can also match your Company branding, allowing you to add payment terms and accept credit cards and ACH payments.
Stripe has many advantages, including working with various open-source plug-ins that efficiently integrate payment into your store.
This also includes Drupal, Magneto, Shopware, WooCommerce, and WordPress. The setup process is straightforward.
Payment options
By incorporating Stripes into your business, you can accept all major credit and debit cards from customers in any country.
In addition, you can customize how the charges appear on statements, use authorization features such as partial capture and unlinked refunds, offer both full and partial refunds, and conduct CVC/AVS checks.
Customers can also store their credit and debit cards electronically using the wallets. Stripe supports Alipay, AmEx Express Checkout, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Masterpass by Mastercard, Visa Checkout, and other wallets.
Using Stripe also lets you offer local payment methods that are popular with the source API.
This gives you the upper hand in processing more than 135 currencies while displaying prices in the customer’s preferred locale, helping to avoid additional costs associated with currency conversion.
If you have any subsidiaries, you can set up a local Stripe account to maximize your acceptance rates, take advantage of the lowest costs, and avoid foreign exchange fees for customers.
Accounts for other countries also use the same API infrastructure and are very easy to turn on.
Mobile Payments
Stripe offers a mobile SDK to accept payments, whether you have an Android app, iOS app, or just using a mobile website.
There is no need to change your system’s back end since the Android and iOS SDKs allow you to collect credit card information without exposing sensitive data to the servers.
Using the Stripe library, your Android and iOS apps can accept any supported payment method, from Alipay to iDEAL.
You can also build a complete checkout flow using the Stripe SDK from mobile sites and customize the colors and fonts to match the look of your website.
Payment Processing
Stripe uses a dynamic payments API that applies smart authentication logic. This helps maximize conversations while minimizing disruptions to the user experience.
The advantage of using Stripes for payment processing is that it supports the latest authentication protocols and embeds the authentication flow in the checkout to keep customers moving through the process.
There is also a pre-authorization layer in Stripe that connects to major credit card networks. You can incorporate directly with the rest of the networks to optimize routing paths and reduce transaction dormancy.
Fraud and dispute handling
Any company that can handle fraudulent activities and disputes well always succeeds. In the event of a credit card dispute, Stripe helps you manage the risk and effectively fight fraud.
This also applies if the credit card is new to your business. The credit card might have been seen on the Stripe network before.
A machine learning system known as Stripe Radar integrates well with your payments. It helps mitigate fraud, provides transparent risk scores and real-time fraud insights, and supports trust and block lists.
Additionally, Stripe reduces the risk of fraudulent activities and chargebacks by adding a layer of authentication that protects you from liability for fraudulent card payments.
Moreover, dynamic 3D secure authentication applies only to high-risk transactions or payments that require approval due to regulation.
During the problem-handling process, Stripe’s automated process works directly with networks that support credit cards to help you submit the best possible evidence in your favor.
Settling and reconciliation of accounts
Using Stripe helps you simplify and accelerate transaction reconciliation.
Stripe’s API and Dashboard provide real-time information about charges, fees, refunds, and transfers.
This means you can directly create financial reports using Stripe data instead of compiling multiple reports from different merchant account providers.
Consequently, Stripe also tags every deposit with a transfer report that gives details of the exact transactions and fees, simplifying how you reconcile your transactions.
Stripe includes built-in reporting features, which help you create your reports through the API.
You can automatically sync your Stripe data with your respective accounting ledger or use the Stripe data to export information about refunds, payments, and fees.
Getting Payouts
A transaction that has been settled is paid quickly by using the Stripe Dashboard and API.
You can also get combined payouts across all the payment methods and currencies you accept from your customers.
You can also set up historical payments and see any upcoming payments and expected deposit dates from the Dashboard using Stripe.
Managing payments
Using the Stripe Dashboard, you can easily see all charges for different payment types, countries, and currencies. You can also export this data directly from the API.
Stripe Stigma. This allows you to use SQL to analyze your Stripe data, create custom reports, and get insight inside Stripe’s Dashboard.
Your data is accessible through structures, which helps you identify the customers who are least likely to generate a list of unpaid invoices.
Stripe Dashboard. This Dashboard helps you view and manage all the data present in Stripe, including customers, plans, and balances.
You can also refund your customers, review possible fraudulent charges, manage disputes, and access all information, from bank transfers to HTTP request logs.
You can also use the Dashboard mobile app to see your daily earnings, payments, and new customers.
Using Stripe also helps you add new users, set up roles and permissions to protect the platform’s data, and monitor user account activity.
Stripe vs merchant accounts
Many online business owners choose Stripe over a merchant account because Stripe is much easier to set up. It also provides any information you could have found in a merchant account, like a traditional bank account, with less setup and easier management.
For instance, if you decide to set up a merchant account through your business bank, you must provide your personal credit history, business credit history, and business model before the bank considers opening an account for you.
In addition, using a merchant account needs to be underwritten since it does not balance its users’ risk as Stripe does. Moreover, most merchant account providers also consider online transactions to be high-risk.
This makes finding a provider to underwrite the new online business nearly impossible.
However, suppose you are lucky enough to find a provider. In that case, you are most likely to navigate through a complicated channel of rates and fees, hoping that the technology will fit your online business platform.
Stripes also focuses on digital card payments because it has already built interactions with most of the top online business platform providers. The transaction rate charged is flat, and because the risk is balanced among users, you can set up the account easily and quickly.
What are the benefits of using Stripe?
When Stripe first appeared on the market, it was among the first startup-focused payment processors.
This made Stripe the easy choice, especially when you compared Stripe to legacy providers.
Since then, many competitors have entered the market. Below are some of the fantastic benefits of using Stripes.
Ease of Use
Among different payment processing platforms, Stripe is still the easiest to use. It may look complex, especially if you have gone through their documentation, but the truth is that Stripe is much easier for most users to set up.
It takes less than 10 minutes to register a Stripe account and to be able to accept payments.
As discussed above, Stripe sets up its users as sub-merchants underneath their main merchant accounts.
This is advantageous to users since they do not have to go through the demanding and complicated verification and activation process to access their merchant accounts.
This makes signing up for this account easier and quicker.
A large number of integrations
There are different ways of doing business digitally. They range from online businesses to nonprofit fundraising, Software-as-a-Service, to billing for physical services.
This is because each business model has countless apps to aid in smooth business operations. The good news is that Stripe has in-built integrations for many of them.
This makes collecting payments very quick and much more comfortable.
Business owners can plug Stripe into apps they already use with less work using these integrations.
Furthermore, adding apps like JotForm allows people to start taking payments in any way they want instead of being limited to a smaller pool supported by the platform.
Powerful customization options
Stripe offers different opportunities for customizing implementation for people with little coding ability and willing to put in more effort.
Stripe also offers different developers different ways to change how their payment forms look and how they function.
Since Stripe was built with developers in mind, it allows for more customization than many alternative plug-and-play options.
Even though many users will never need to worry about these options, business owners already creating their apps or other complex products benefit hugely from Stripe’s flexibility.
Payment Options
Compared to traditional processors, Stripe offers more payment options for a unified interface. In conventional payments, the processors and merchants’ accounts allow you to accept payment by credit or debit card, depending on your country.
Stripe, however, allows you to take payments virtually from anywhere worldwide.
Stripe uses almost every kind of traditional banking instrument, including credit and debit cards, payment schemes such as Chase Pay, and direct bank deposits using Automated Cleaning House.
Moreover, Stripe allows business owners to create accounts with local subsidiaries, lowering the international cost of transactions.
They also blend in easily with emerging payment methods popular in other countries.
Stripe also benefits business owners by giving them more flexibility in accepting payments, saving them significant money in the long run.
Stable Costs
Stripe payment charges a stable or minimal processing fee for every type of transaction. The other advantage is that there is no limit on the number of transactions or monthly costs when using Stripe.
There are no levels that businesses have to deal with, unlike the traditional methods of holding companies.
Doing more business means that you will automatically be switched to a much lower percentage per transaction. Every company wants flexible costs so that it can make great sales.
Stripe is beautiful for businesses of all types and sizes because it lacks fixed costs. You can only pay when you accept the payment, and there is no need to worry about the amount you pay changing occasionally.
Advantages of Stripe
After reviewing Stripe’s benefits, we will discuss some advantages of using it compared to specific competitors.
Advantage of Stripe over Square
Square is also another giant when it comes to the payment processing space.
Initially, they began as a card-swiping dongle users could attach to their phones, but now, they have grown beyond that and are offering many online business options.
The contrast comes in the payment method that Square accepts. Square accepts cards and mobile wallets only.
Square’s global reach is less vast than Stripe’s and lacks many customization and integration options.
Advantages of Stripe over PayPal
Many people are familiar with PayPal, especially since it introduced online payment processors worldwide. Famous names such as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk come to mind when you hear about PayPal.
PayPal has gone through some transitions in ownership since it was founded.
This has caused the company to lose the pioneering spirit that it was initially founded on.
For instance, PayPal requires that all transactions be redirected to their page for completion.
This breaks up the flow of customers, which in turn leads to higher abandonment.
Alternatively, if you are willing to pay a monthly subscription fee, you can use a “hosted” payment page to conduct all your transactions.
New accounts also undergo a thorough vetting process, and PayPal plays an active role in settling disputes, much to the annoyance of many business owners.
Advantages of Stripe over Braintree
Braintree is a payment platform owned by PayPal, even though the companies seem to have different business methods.
Sometimes, PayPal may feel like a giant, out-of-touch company, whereas Braintree is next to Stripe on the cutting edge of payment processing.
Stripe’s main advantage over Braintree is the number of available integrations and the speed with which new species are offered.
In addition, Stripe has managed to stay on the cutting edge of development despite its age. Its age also means it has had enough time to develop more plug-ins and partnerships.
However, it might be a bit of a stretch to conclude that Stripe is the best payment processor and that they are suitable for everyone.
They are incredible, flexible, and powerful, allowing many businesses to accept payments much easier and faster.
This was not possible before Stripe was founded.
Additionally, Stripe has many advantages over its competitors. This means it has more integrations, is readily available worldwide, and is much easier to set up.
How protected are you with Stripe’s secure payments?
The main thing that customers look for with any payment option is that their details, including bank account and credit card information, are safe and secure.
You also want to ensure that you are providing a safe payment option and complying with the regulations, including the Payment Card Information (PCI) standards.
Stripe assures you and your customers that using it to make payments is the right decision. This is because it is a safe way to pay.
At Stripe, security is the main concern. It also uses secure encryption, fraud protection, and PCI compliance controls. This helps give reassurance that Stripe is the safe way to make payments.
Stripe encryption
This type of encryption offers peace of mind to merchants and customers. It offers security to payment information in transit and already stored payment information.
On the online platform, Stripe forces the HTTPS connection for all services using TLS (Transport Layer Security), also known as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).
This means that all communication sent to and from Stripe, including the Stripe public website and the Dashboard, is encrypted.
When using Stripe.js, you can only access the encryption over the TLS. Furthermore, all of Stripe’s official libraries are connected to Stripe’s servers over TLS.
Each connection also verifies TLS certificates. This helps secure customers’ information, including sensitive payment data, while still in transit.
Encrypted stored data
Stripe’s primary service runs on a separate machine from Stripe’s infrastructure to store, decrypt, and transmit card numbers. The primary services include API and a website.
Any card number stored on the platform is encrypted with AES-256 (Advanced Encryption Standard). This is the industry standard for security data.
The key for decrypting the card numbers is kept separately, and the good thing is that none of Stripe’s internal servers can access the plain-text card numbers.
Cards are only sent to already whitelisted providers through the request that has been put in by the servers.
Stripe’s encryption is extended to communications. Stripe uses two PGP keys to encrypt and verify the signed message.
After securely contacting Stripe, you can use the general PGP key. When you send sensitive data like credit card information, you use the data migration PGP key as part of your import data.
However, this is not where Stripe encryption stops. Regular audits examine the security measures, including the certificates they serve, the certificate authorities they use, and the ciphers they support.
Stripe uses the HSTS to enforce security and ensure that browsers only access Stripe with HTTPS. Moreover, Stripe is also on the HSTS preloaded list for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Stripe Fraud prevention
Stripe uses a fraud protection mechanism called radar. Machine learning detects and blocks fraudulent activity to prevent fraud.
This machine is already built into Stripe. Radar then channels data from millions of global companies, allowing the algorithms used to learn the machine to be better and perfect at detecting new kinds of fraud.
In addition, radar has been customized to be applicable to modern internet transactions.
The ancient ways to prevent fraudulent transactions were never meant to be used for online purchases.
This is why Radar was built. It was built specifically for such reason and helped prevent unnecessarily declined transactions and lost revenue.
Stripe fraud prevention also includes a 3-dimensional secure known by different brand names, such as MasterCard Identity Check, Visa Secure, and American Express SafeKey.
Moreover, Stripe supports 3D Secure 2.0, which introduces “frictionless authentication” and provides a safer and more secure purchasing experience than 3D Secure 1.0.
3D Secure 2.0 is the main card authentication method used in the EU to meet the upcoming SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) requirements for PSD2.
This is the best way for businesses to request exemptions to SCA. In addition, 3D Secure 2.0 was specially designed for smartphone use, requiring less customer back-and-forth.
However, it still provides a very safe way to validate purchases.
Stripe PCI compliance
PCI is a complex and challenging standard. If you handle credit card data, you should be able to prove that you comply with the PCI DSS (Data Security Standard).
PCI DSS helps protect consumers by setting a baseline of protection and also helps reduce fraudulent activities and data breaches across the entire payment system. This rule applies to any organization that accepts or processes payment cards.
Three main things are involved in PCI DSS compliance;
- Ensuring that sensitive credit card details are collected and transmitted securely.
- Secure data storage includes encryption, continuous monitoring, and testing of the security of access to the card data.
- Annual security control authorization can require forms, questionnaires, external scanning services, and third-party audits.
Stripe has been audited by a PCI-certified auditor and is certified PCI Service Provider level 1. This is the highest level of certification that any business can achieve in the payment industry.
Guide to the Stripe app and integration options
You can also include other apps and services, some of which you may already use when using Stripe.
With commonly used apps, tools, and other services, Stripe’s integration provides analytics, accounting, emails, shipping, taxes, and more.
You can also integrate with online stores and POS platforms because of Stripe’s existing relationship.
Connect to an open-source or self-hosted platform like WordPress or Magento and work with the developer resources to integrate Stripe’s APIs.
A brief Stripe integration tutorial
The advantage of using Stripe is that it offers many third-party integration options.
However, you need to be a developer or hire a developer to create a custom Stripe integration. In this tutorial, the Stripe integration covers the basics of what you are supposed to do to integrate Stripe with other tools.
However, if you need a more comprehensive integration tutorial, In that case, the Stripe website has a lot of helpful information and checklists that can be a good reference point as you go through the integration process.
You can practice some of the following tasks simultaneously to get set and run faster with your Stripe integrations.
Set up your Stripe account.
Creating your Stripe account is the first phase of integration. On the team page, you will see a + New user button. Click on that button to give your organization access to the Dashboard.
Your finance, engineering, customer service, and product team will likely need access. When you give your organization access to the Dashboard, you’ll also set up your CVC and AVS checks and the default description on customer’s billing statements.
Migrate data to Stripe.
This is the second phase of integrating your Stripe after you have set up your account.
This is easy to achieve, especially since Stripe has a dedicated migrations team to bring over your data, including credit card numbers. They help you map your existing data fields to the data field in Stripe.
Build the buyer experience.
The next stage is building the buyer experience. The engineering and user experience teams are responsible for this.
This is because they have the correct information, which will help provide insight into what the process flow should look like.
This can consist of Stripe payment forms or payment request buttons. Most Stripe integrations use Stripe Elements for this.
Build webhooks
A webhook event is essential in that it notify your application anytime an event happens on your account.
For instance, you will get notifications on disputed charges and recurring billing events that are not triggered by a diet API request.
To set up a webhook, you must build endpoints in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), configure the webhook settings, and test and respond to webhook events.
Customize charges with metadata and descriptors
First, you must identify the valuable metadata for your customer service and finance teams.
Metadata is necessary because it allows you to store additional information on charges, customers, and accounts.
It can also be used in the Stripe Dashboard and for reporting with Stripe Sigma.
Make sure that your dynamic descriptors are customized to help reduce the risk of a dispute.
Implement risk mitigation
To set up basic risk management and fraud protection, you will need Stripe Elements’ help. The Elements allow you to collect the cardholder’s name and billing address when you create a token. You can then set it up to save customer email addresses and shipping information.
In addition, you can implement 3D Secure, which effectively adds another layer of security.
However, this is only recommended if your company accepts high-risk payments, such as those in industries with a higher-than-average risk of chargebacks.
3D Secure also requires your customers to complete additional steps during the payment process. Customers need reassurance, and if they don’t have their 3D secure information, they might not be able to complete the payment.
Stripe Payment Integration
Stripe.js allows you to create a seamless payment integration without worrying about merchant accounts or PCI compliance for your servers.
Stripe.js is a JavaScript library that connects your web forms to Stripe’s servers, allowing an easy Strip payment integration process.
Furthermore, you can also create one-time payment forms, recurring payment forms, and even donation forms. Setting up and making collecting payments as painless as possible is easy.
Stripe API integration
Stripe is a suite of payment APIs. These APIs follow a standard REST (representational state transfer) protocol, in which instructions are sent to a URL that controls the API’s behavior.
It is like having different PO boxes for your business, and these PO boxes handle various kinds of requests: Maybe PO Box 1 is for orders, PO Box 2 is for returns, and PO Box 3 is for general questions.
Assuming you are a programmer, using the API is as simple as sending the correct data to the right URL or endpoint. If the data is formatted correctly using JSON, the endpoints read your data and do something with it.
Since it is all handled through URLs, it uses the same standards for transmission, confirmation, authentication, and response as regular http___—the same standard that you use to browse the web.
On the other hand, if you are not a developer, you can choose from the full suite of apps that will integrate with Stripe’s APIs.
However, if you need something custom for your implementation, any web developer should not have problems using Stripe’s API to help build your solution.
Stripe POS integration
Stripe works with many POS systems, some of which include Collect for Stripe, Big Cartel, Payment for Stripe, and Inner Fence.
These Stripe POS integration partners are essential in this model since they allow you to accept credit cards from anywhere, including readers.
In addition, Stripe offers Stripe Terminal, which allows you to build your own POS system. You can also create custom checkout screens and email receipts.
Consequently, Stripe Terminal integrates with JavaScript web apps or iOS and Android apps using Stripe’s SDK and APIs.
The Stripe Terminal card readers provide end-to-end encryption and support chip cards and contactless payments like Google Pay and Apple Pay.
Top apps for Stripe Payments.
As familiar with any other digital-first solution, Stripe includes a robust app known as API that allows third-party developers to create apps that function well with the service.
These apps are essential since they make it easier to use Stripe, but they can do much more than allow you to take payments.
Moreover, you can collect credit card payments on your mobile device and leverage a point of sale (POS) app to set up a pop-up or permanent shop.
The Stripe Dashboard apps help you manage and monitor your Stripe account and ensure you have the latest information at your fingertips.
There are vast ecosystems of partners in Stripe that allow you to incorporate with different platforms, including payments, accounting, analytics, POS, or other services.
Moreover, you can also choose to leverage Stripe’s built-in functionality for many of your payment needs.
Stripe vs PayPal: Who should you choose?
You have probably heard more about Stripe, the hottest new payment processor on the block.
What is PayPal? They have a trusted brand and an ongoing history of processing payments online.
When do I get paid?
PayPal usually pays within one business day.
Stripe, on the other hand, has a rolling 2-day transfer in the United States and Australia and a rolling 7-day transfer in most of the different countries
This information is important, especially if your funds are important and you reside outside the United States and Australia.
In summary, Stripe is one of the most accessible payment processing platforms.
Most users find it much easier to set up their Stripe accounts. Registering an account takes less than 10 minutes, and you’re ready to accept payments.
In addition to that, Stripe also offers more payment options, which is very convenient for the users.
However, when it comes to getting paid, PayPal pays within one business day everywhere in the world compared to Stripe, which takes about two days in the US and Australia and up to 7 days in other parts of the world.
Therefore, the best payment processing platform depends on your needs and level of convenience.
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