What Stripe Charges for Bank Transfers
Stripe's own pricing page spells out its bank transfer fee, the cap on it, and the refund rule that catches some shops off guard. Here is what it says.
A customer pays an invoice straight from their bank account. No card, no reader, just money moving between banks. Stripe calls this ACH Direct Debit, and its pricing page gives it its own line. Here is what that page says, in plain terms.
What Stripe's page says about its pricing structure
Stripe's pricing page describes standard pricing as pay-as-you-go. You pay per transaction and nothing on a monthly basis. The page says Stripe does not charge setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees like closure fees. It also says all fees for businesses on standard pricing are listed on its website.
The page adds that Stripe offers custom pricing for businesses with large processing volumes, and eligibility varies by market. If you are on a custom plan, your fees follow the schedule you agreed to with Stripe, not the standard list.
The ACH Direct Debit rate on Stripe's pricing page
So what does Stripe charge for a bank debit? Stripe's pricing page says ACH Direct Debit costs 0.8% with a $5.00 cap.
That cap is the part worth sitting with. On a $200 invoice, 0.8% is $1.60. On a $2,000 invoice, 0.8% would be $16, but the fee stops at $5.00. The bigger the bank transfer, the smaller the fee as a share of the sale.
Stripe's page says it charges a per-transaction fee depending on the payment method the end customer uses. Bank debit is one method among several, and its rate stands apart from the card rates.
The refund wrinkle: what Stripe's page says about bank transfer refunds
Here is the catch. Stripe's pricing page says businesses on standard pricing may face fees for refunds when bank transfers are used. That is not true across the board. The page says that for all other payment methods there are no fees for issuing refunds.
So a card refund and a bank transfer refund are treated differently on Stripe's standard plan. If customers pay by bank transfer and refunds are common in your work, read this part of Stripe's page before you sign up.
The page also says the payment processing, Connect and currency conversion fees from the original transaction are not returned. When you refund a payment, the fees from that first sale stay with Stripe. Businesses on custom pricing may face fees for issuing refunds depending on their fee schedule with Stripe.
Other payment method rates on Stripe's page for context
To see where the ACH Direct Debit rate sits, here are the card rates from the same page. Stripe's pricing page says its standard online rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards. Manually entered cards add 0.5% to that rate. International cards add 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%. For in-person card payments, the page says 2.7% + 5¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards.
The ACH Direct Debit rate is a percentage of the sale with no flat cent amount attached, unlike the card rates. Whether it works out cheaper for you depends on your ticket size, since the cap only helps on larger transfers.
Where to confirm current Stripe fees
Published prices change. The numbers above come from Stripe's pricing page as written there, but a rate can move at any time. Before you sign up, open Stripe's pricing page and read the current lines for yourself. Stripe's page says dashboards, tools, and APIs give you transparency into your costs, so once you are running, you can watch what you actually pay.
One more note from the page: Stripe must charge tax on certain products and services, based on your location or tax status.
How bank transfer fees fit into your overall processing costs
Bank transfer fees are one line among many. If you take cards too, each sale carries the rate for the method the customer used. Add up every processing fee you paid last month and divide by total sales. That gives you your effective rate, the real cut across all payment methods.
To see how fees change by payment type, our walkthrough of a card sale at the counter shows the same idea with card rates. And if you ever pay extra to get your money faster, that fee counts too. Our piece on paying to be paid tonight explains how speed fees add to your costs.
The habit worth building is simple. Check your invoice sizes, check how often you refund, and check Stripe's page before you commit. The ACH Direct Debit rate with its cap suits some sales and not others. Your own numbers tell you which.