Stripe accepts cards, bank transfers, digital wallets, and regional payment methods depending on your customer's location and your business setup

Stripe's payment method support varies by country and by what you've configured in your account. In the United States, Stripe processes credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), debit cards, ACH bank transfers, and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Outside the US, the list expands significantly—Stripe supports local payment methods in over 135 countries, which means your customers in Europe might pay by SEPA transfer or iDEAL, while customers in Asia might use Alipay or WeChat Pay.

What you can actually accept depends on three things: where your business is registered, where your customer is located, and which payment methods you've turned on in your Stripe dashboard. Stripe doesn't automatically enable every method for every account. You have to set up the ones you want to support, and some require additional setup or verification before they're live.

Key Takeaways

  • Stripe processes major credit and debit cards everywhere, but also supports bank transfers, digital wallets, and local payment methods that vary by country.
  • Not every payment method is available in every country—what you can accept depends on where your business is located and where your customers are.
  • You control which payment methods appear to your customers by turning them on or off in your Stripe dashboard; they don't all set up by default.
  • Some payment methods like ACH transfers and certain regional options require additional verification or have different fee structures than card payments.

Card payments and digital wallets available everywhere

Stripe accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards in virtually every country where Stripe operates. These are the baseline—if you set up a Stripe account, card processing is available from day one. Debit cards work the same way as credit cards from a processing standpoint; Stripe doesn't distinguish between them.

Digital wallets—Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Microsoft Pay—work through Stripe in most regions. These aren't separate payment methods in the traditional sense; they're encrypted card or bank account data that your customer authorizes through their device. From your perspective, a payment through Apple Pay looks like a card transaction. The advantage for your customer is speed and security; they don't type card details into your form.

One important detail: not all card types work everywhere. Some countries restrict certain card brands or require additional authentication steps. Stripe handles most of this automatically, but if you're selling internationally, you may see that some customers' cards decline even though the card is valid in their home country. This is usually a regional restriction, not a Stripe limitation.

Bank transfers and ACH payments in the US and Europe

In the United States, Stripe processes ACH transfers—direct payments from a customer's bank account to yours. ACH is slower than cards (typically 5 to 7 business days) but cheaper for you as the merchant. Stripe's ACH fees are lower than card processing fees, which makes ACH useful if you're selling to other businesses or if your customer base is willing to wait for settlement.

In Europe, Stripe supports SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA when ready Credit Transfer, which work similarly to ACH but follow European banking standards. SEPA transfers are common in the eurozone and are often the default payment method for European customers. Stripe also supports iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, and similar regional bank transfer methods.

Bank transfer methods require you to turn them on in your Stripe dashboard. They also typically require additional verification—Stripe may ask for business documentation or a tax ID before you can accept bank transfers. This is because bank transfers carry higher fraud risk than cards and regulatory bodies require more scrutiny.

Regional and local payment methods by geography

Stripe's real strength is local payment method coverage. If you sell to customers in Brazil, Stripe processes Boleto payments. In Mexico, you can accept OXXO cash payments. In India, Stripe supports UPI (Unified Payments Interface). In China, Alipay and WeChat Pay are available. In the UK, you can accept Faster Payments and Bacs Direct Debit.

The full list is long—Stripe publishes a payment methods directory on their website that shows what's available in each country. The key point is that you don't have to know all of these. You turn on the methods that matter for your customer base, and Stripe handles the routing and settlement. If most of your customers are in Germany, you'd enable SEPA and iDEAL. If you sell to Australia, you'd add Afterpay.

These regional methods often have different fee structures than cards. Some are cheaper, some are more expensive. Stripe's pricing page breaks down the fees by method and by country, so you can see exactly what you'll pay before you enable a method.

Buy now, pay later and installment options

Stripe also processes buy now, pay later (BNPL) services like Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm. These aren't payment methods in the traditional sense—they're financing products that your customer uses to split a purchase into installments. From your perspective, Stripe collects the full amount upfront and handles the installment collection on the backend.

BNPL availability varies by country and by customer creditworthiness. Afterpay works in the US, UK, and Australia. Klarna is available across Europe and North America. Affirm is primarily US-based. You enable these in your Stripe dashboard just like any other payment method, and they appear as options at checkout if the customer is in a supported region.

BNPL methods typically have higher fees than cards because Stripe is taking on more risk. You'll see this reflected in your pricing—Afterpay and Klarna transactions cost more per transaction than a standard card payment.

Cryptocurrency and alternative payment types

Stripe does not process cryptocurrency directly through its standard payment processing. Stripe shut down its native Bitcoin payment option in 2018. However, Stripe does offer Stripe Treasury and Stripe Crypto, which are separate products designed for businesses that specifically want to work with digital assets. These are not part of standard Stripe payment processing and require a different setup and approval process.

For most businesses using Stripe as a payment processor, cryptocurrency is not an option. If you want to accept Bitcoin or other digital currencies, you would need to use a different processor or integrate a third-party crypto payment service alongside Stripe.

How to enable and manage payment methods in your account

You control which payment methods your customers see by logging into your Stripe dashboard and navigating to Settings > Payment Methods. From there, you can toggle each method on or off. By default, Stripe enables cards and the most common methods for your region, but you can disable any of them or add others.

When you enable a new payment method, Stripe may require additional verification. For bank transfers, you might need to provide business documentation. For certain regional methods, you might need to confirm your business address or tax ID. Stripe will tell you what's needed and won't set up the method until you've provided it.

You can also set payment method-specific rules—for example, you can require 3D find authentication for certain card transactions, or you can set minimum or maximum amounts for ACH transfers. These rules live in the same Payment Methods section and let you balance security with customer experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Stripe accept PayPal?

No. Stripe and PayPal are separate payment processors and don't integrate directly. You can use PayPal as your payment processor instead of Stripe, or you can use both—some businesses accept cards through Stripe and PayPal through PayPal's own gateway. But Stripe does not process PayPal payments.

Can my customers pay by check or wire transfer?

Stripe does not process checks or wire transfers through its standard payment gateway. Wire transfers are typically used for large business-to-business transactions and require manual processing outside of Stripe. If you need to accept checks, you would handle those separately from your Stripe setup.

What happens if a payment method isn't available in my customer's country?

Stripe automatically hides payment methods that aren't available in the customer's location. If a customer in France tries to pay, they won't see ACH as an option because ACH is US-only. They'll see SEPA, iDEAL, and cards instead. You don't have to manage this—Stripe handles the filtering based on the customer's IP address and billing address.

Do I pay different fees for different payment methods?

Yes. Card payments typically cost 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction in the US. ACH transfers cost less (around 0.8% with a $0.30 minimum). BNPL methods cost more (often 3% to 8% depending on the provider). Bank transfers and regional methods have their own fee schedules. Stripe publishes all fees on their pricing page broken down by method and country.

Can I force my customers to use a specific payment method?

Technically yes, but it's not recommended. You can disable all payment methods except one in your Stripe dashboard, which forces customers to use only that method. However, this usually reduces conversion because customers prefer choice. A better approach is to reorder payment methods so your preferred option appears first, or to offer incentives for certain methods rather than blocking others.