Stripe

Refund Rules

Stripe doesn't offer refunds in the traditional SaaS sense since it's transaction-based pricing. However, Stripe doesn't return processing fees when merchants issue refunds to customers - the merchant absorbs the fee loss. For disputed transactions, Stripe charges a $15 dispute fee that's only refunded if the merchant wins the dispute. No refunds for setup, monthly fees, or unused capacity since there are none.

Credit Policies

Stripe offers service credits for documented downtime that affects payment processing, typically calculated as a percentage of daily fees during the outage period. Credits may be issued for: significant API downtime, webhook delivery failures, or processing delays. However, Stripe's uptime is exceptional (99.99%+), so credits are rare. No credits for unused products or features since pricing is usage-based.

Contractual Terms

Stripe operates under Terms of Service rather than traditional contracts. Key terms: 30-day termination notice recommended for planning but not required, no auto-renewal clauses since it's pay-per-use, pricing changes communicated 30+ days in advance. For high-volume merchants ($80K+/month), custom negotiated contracts may include price protection clauses and volume commit requirements. No long-term commitments required.

Integration Complexity

Technical Notes

REST API with excellent documentation and SDKs. Authentication via API keys (secret key for server-side). Rate limit: 100 requests/second for read operations. Key quirks: balance_transactions provide actual fee breakdowns, charges show gross amounts. Pagination required for large datasets. Webhook verification required for real-time updates. PCI considerations for handling payment data. OAuth 2.0 available for Connect applications accessing merchant accounts.