Stripe

Vorteile

It is extremely easy to set up an account and authorize it for use. Reporting is easy and useful, and I love that I get a snapshot of my income immediately upon logging in. Adding in new business is easy and allows me to keep my revenue streams organized for both me and my customers. Each new business lets me set a new statement descriptor so my customers know what they are paying for when reviewing their credit card statements.

They are integrated with many different platforms, including ecommerce and accounting software, so connecting the many pieces of your business is easy.

Nachteile

They have some extremely technical pieces of their software, including webhooks and API calls. If you are not technically minded, this can get confusing and potentially cause issues with your credit card processing. But as long as you are working with software that is integrated well (think Woocommerce or Xero) then it should be very easy to use Stripe in your business.

Also, while it is great that they send emails to my customers that have issues with their recurring transactions, they do not give those customers a way to update their credit card information. This seems like a no brainer considering they are the processor and they are giving notice that they are unable to process the card they have on file. Instead, they continue to email my customer, who then contacts me and I have to try to sort this out for them.

Vorteile

I used to use my bank's merchant for 3-4 years, thinking they were giving me a better rate. long story short, they weren't AND they were confusing to use. So I switched to Stripe, which is frequently used in my field of coaching and digital products. I have been very happy so far.
- I am able to process payments myself, it integrate with 3rd party shopping carts with ease (I use ThriveCart), it allows to create trials, subscriptions, all the things I wanted. PLUS I get to charge and bill clients on my own too with their cards on file which sometimes we have to do when the clients tell us to do so, instead of having to send constant shopping cart links. I was doing that before with Infusionsoft and my merchant, but now I can do it all within Stripe and it's easy.
- I have not had any issues with Stripe holding my funds or anything. Pleased.
- I like their simple reporting as well, how much money you've made each day, etc. It's nice to see the comparisons on the monthly basis as well.

Nachteile

- It's a bit complicated to use for someone who might not be techy. I am pretty techy and I think I've got a handle on it, especially since I mainly use it as the processor with my shopping cart, but if I had to use Stripe on its own, it probably would get complicated.
- Sometimes I find it hard to find what I need to in Stripe. Like, a payment would get declined and I'd want to rebill or attempt the rebill - sometimes it's hard to find the option to do that on the declined payment. I always do eventually find it, but I never know EXACTLY how to do it.
- I wish the payments landed in my bank sooner but I just switched it so it lands in my bank like a day or so after being collected which is better. My own merchant would be next day so this is now closer.
- Obviously always would be nicer if the fees were lower but it is on par with every other option out there so this can't really be a con since it's not HIGHER.

Vorteile

Hands down, the easiest merchant processor to integrate into Gravity Forms or WooCommerce - I have to imagine it integrates just as easy with other popular tools, but my experience is limited to Gravity Forms and WooCommerce. Within Stripe itself, navigating is intuitive and easy with very friendly report tools. Looking up transactions is easy and may be search by name, email address, transaction id, and even partial data (like billing address, product, etc). Full and partial refunds are also very easy to manage.

The reporting is especially helpful as it goes back in detail for as long as you've been a customer (so, I have data going back 3 years all readily available). I also appreciate the popularity of Stripe and how common third-party integration has become - in my case into AgileCRM and Freshbooks.

Lastly, they have an amazing free iPhone app. Very useful for when you're on the road and you can basically do everything from the app that you could do from their desktop dashboard.

Nachteile

I have never won a dispute - no not one - and the process seems entirely automated. While I have only had four disputes in the past 12 months, all of which were admitted mistakes on the customer's part, I submitted emailed conversations with the client where they admitted error, and I still lost. Since then, I've been told it's best to get the client to contact their credit card company to rescind the dispute but it was frustrating that the process is so automated that it seems not to favor the merchant.

So, with that in mind, if you ever have a dispute, work with the customer to get them to rescind it.

Vorteile

Sometimes you just find exactly what you're looking for. When I stumbled upon Stripe it was one of those times. At first I was even skeptical, it sounded way too good to be true, an online payment processor that offered all the features I needed, was easy and intuitive to navigate. I showed it to a friend who told me if its too good to be true its probably a scam. But in this case I've been using Stripe for over five or six years and I couldn't be happier with it. Stripe is easy to use, and efficient. From Stripe, money is deposited directly into my bank account within a matter of a day or two. What's more, the online checkout on my webstore is, thanks to Stripe, very cutting edge looking which adds to costumer trust when purchasing my, not exactly inexpensive, products. I like Stripe. I trust Stripe. And, with the utmost confidence, I highly recommend Stripe.

Nachteile

When its comes to "Cons," I'm sorry to disappoint but I can really think of very few cons. I suppose my needs are fairly simple, and if my needs were financially more complex I would need a platform with a more robust set of offerings. But that being not the case, I just can't think of many minuses to using Stripe.

Vorteile

Stripe is one of those products that JUST WORKS. They have meticulously thought through every detail of accepting online payments, and they take care of it all in the background so you can run your business.

They have automated fraud detection, a beautiful UI, several bank deposit scheduling options, just the right amount of customization options for invoices & receipts, seamlessly allow for recurring subscriptions, and provide great reporting.

They also have an Android app with limited features, but it provides a great overview of your daily, weekly and monthly stats.

Nachteile

Honestly, I can't think of any. I've never had a problem with any part of their software. It's integrated seamlessly with a WordPress plugin I use called Easy Digital Downloads, and I've had no issues in the 12 months since I've been selling with Stripe.

If I HAD TO mention one, it would be that they aren't available in all countries yet. They are expanding to add more countries, and have about 10 or so in a pilot program right now, but this could be a potential deal breaker if you do business in one of the countries they don't support.