4 ms·

I work at Stripe, and I can assure you that the situation you described would not apply to any of our users. All Stripe accounts are independent of each other,

by anurag 14y ago

I work at Stripe, and I can assure you that the situation you described would not apply to any of our users. All Stripe accounts are independent of each other, and the actions of one user do not affect anyone else. We've worked closely with our banking partners to ensure that this is the case in the US and Canada, and we're working to make sure we can provide the same level of service and ease of use in other countries as well. Separately, Stripe is allowed to transfer customer data to other PCI-compliant providers. So if you ever want to move to another provider, we'll happily move your customer information to your new payment provider (or your own systems, if you are PCI-certified): https://stripe.com/us/help/faq#export-card-data https://stripe.com/us/help/faq#export-card-data

jacquesm 14y ago
That last paragraph is really good news. So do you or do you not have separate merchant accounts per customer? And if they're not separate do you have multiple merchant accounts or just a single one? > I can assure you that the situation you described would not apply to any of our users. All Stripe accounts are independent of each other, and the actions of one user do not affect anyone else. If one stripe account maps onto one merchant account then I can see how that would work, but if that's not the case then I really fail to comprehend how you could make that claim.
- anurag 14y ago
  I wouldn't quite think about it in terms of a merchant accounts -- it's an old term in a changing industry, and it doesn't apply to Stripe users. They get the same benefits that they'd get with a merchant account (independent reputation, fund segregation, your own name on card statements) and none of the associated hassle. In fact, thinking about merchant accounts for your Stripe account is like thinking about the physical address of one of your AWS instances - it doesn't really matter.
  - jacquesm 14y ago
    I'm a 15 year veteran of the internet payment industry, I have yet to see a single cc transaction without a merchant account, as far as I know this is not some 'antiquated term', but simply how business is done. > it doesn't apply to Stripe users. But it does presumably apply to stripe. I like stripe - a lot - but I really wished that you would separate marketing from fact here and make it plain whether or not transactions for multiple stripe account holders are passed through the same merchant account or not. If no merchant accounts are involved at all then that is also a valid answer but again, I fail to see how this is possible. My direct experience is limited to: - DMR (gone out of business) - CCBill (barely survived after a buy-out but left 1000's of merchants stranded with their funds confiscated by the card companies) - Virtual Access - PaySquare - paypal - and quite a few others besides on behalf of customers - PayBuyNet (since gone out of business) For most of those I have a pretty good idea of what happened behind the scenes. Either stripe has a new model or I am still not understanding you. Thinking about merchant accounts matters because payments are the lifeblood of a company and not understanding how service provider implements such details can be the difference between surviving and getting caught up in something beyond your control. Your AWS suggestion implies 'merchant account hopping' where transactions are processed through a variety of merchant accounts, is that what you are getting at?
    - anurag 14y ago
      > I like stripe - a lot - but I really wished that you would separate marketing from fact here and make it plain whether or not transactions for multiple stripe account holders are passed through the same merchant account or not. That's fair (and thanks!) Depending on the context, we use both individual merchant accounts as well as shared accounts with unique merchant identifiers. I should add that this model isn't unique to Stripe, but it's still a relatively new model in the industry. A Stripe account is perhaps best thought of in terms of its properties rather than as a traditional, segregated merchant account or a shared account. The typical benefits of a traditional merchant account are: 1. Your name shows up on customers' statements. 2. Your funds are clearly segregated from those belonging to other users (and from the payment provider's as well). 3. Your account's reputation is independent of other users. Let me know if I've missed any properties that you think are important. Stripe gives you all of these properties, with the added bonus of not requiring a lengthy form faxed in with a copy of your driver's license. I completely agree with the concerns around merchant accounts. It's probably worthwhile noting that even with a segregated merchant account, it's important to make sure you're actually getting all the properties mentioned above.

by anurag 14y ago

jacquesm 14y ago

That last paragraph is really good news. So do you or do you not have separate merchant accounts per customer? And if they're not separate do you have multiple merchant accounts or just a single one? > I can assure you that the situation you described would not apply to any of our users. All Stripe accounts are independent of each other, and the actions of one user do not affect anyone else. If one stripe account maps onto one merchant account then I can see how that would work, but if that's not the case then I really fail to comprehend how you could make that claim.

anurag 14y ago
I wouldn't quite think about it in terms of a merchant accounts -- it's an old term in a changing industry, and it doesn't apply to Stripe users. They get the same benefits that they'd get with a merchant account (independent reputation, fund segregation, your own name on card statements) and none of the associated hassle. In fact, thinking about merchant accounts for your Stripe account is like thinking about the physical address of one of your AWS instances - it doesn't really matter.
- jacquesm 14y ago
  I'm a 15 year veteran of the internet payment industry, I have yet to see a single cc transaction without a merchant account, as far as I know this is not some 'antiquated term', but simply how business is done. > it doesn't apply to Stripe users. But it does presumably apply to stripe. I like stripe - a lot - but I really wished that you would separate marketing from fact here and make it plain whether or not transactions for multiple stripe account holders are passed through the same merchant account or not. If no merchant accounts are involved at all then that is also a valid answer but again, I fail to see how this is possible. My direct experience is limited to: - DMR (gone out of business) - CCBill (barely survived after a buy-out but left 1000's of merchants stranded with their funds confiscated by the card companies) - Virtual Access - PaySquare - paypal - and quite a few others besides on behalf of customers - PayBuyNet (since gone out of business) For most of those I have a pretty good idea of what happened behind the scenes. Either stripe has a new model or I am still not understanding you. Thinking about merchant accounts matters because payments are the lifeblood of a company and not understanding how service provider implements such details can be the difference between surviving and getting caught up in something beyond your control. Your AWS suggestion implies 'merchant account hopping' where transactions are processed through a variety of merchant accounts, is that what you are getting at?
  - anurag 14y ago
    > I like stripe - a lot - but I really wished that you would separate marketing from fact here and make it plain whether or not transactions for multiple stripe account holders are passed through the same merchant account or not. That's fair (and thanks!) Depending on the context, we use both individual merchant accounts as well as shared accounts with unique merchant identifiers. I should add that this model isn't unique to Stripe, but it's still a relatively new model in the industry. A Stripe account is perhaps best thought of in terms of its properties rather than as a traditional, segregated merchant account or a shared account. The typical benefits of a traditional merchant account are: 1. Your name shows up on customers' statements. 2. Your funds are clearly segregated from those belonging to other users (and from the payment provider's as well). 3. Your account's reputation is independent of other users. Let me know if I've missed any properties that you think are important. Stripe gives you all of these properties, with the added bonus of not requiring a lengthy form faxed in with a copy of your driver's license. I completely agree with the concerns around merchant accounts. It's probably worthwhile noting that even with a segregated merchant account, it's important to make sure you're actually getting all the properties mentioned above.