Last updated: September 11, 2023
As part of Stripe's Startup Partner Program, venture-backed portfolio companies of affiliated partners can receive fee-free processing on Stripe.
What is fee-free processing (aka waived fees on Stripe processing)?
Fee-free processing eliminates Stripe credit card processing fees on all volume up to the allotted amount for incoming Stripe transactions. The fee-free processing discount applies in your account’s default currency for payment processing fees only when you accept payments using Stripe, and it excludes foreign exchange, international card fees, manual card fees and other product fees.
What is the process for receiving a fee-free processing discount?
Stripe Startup Partners’ portfolio companies can apply to receive a fee-free processing discount using the link provided by their Startup Partner.
After a startup applies for a discount, the Stripe team will confirm the startup’s eligibility.
If eligible, the Stripe team will confirm the discount has been added to the startup’s Stripe account within 2 weeks. After that, the startup can log into their Stripe dashboard, from an admin account on their Stripe account, to accept the discount. Because discounts expire, it’s a good idea to wait to accept your discount until you’re ready to start accepting payments.
When does the fee-free processing discount expire?
After you accept your fee-free processing discount, it will apply to your account immediately. The discount will be applicable for one year.
Which startups are eligible for the discount?
Both new and existing Stripe users can redeem the discount.
Startups are eligible to receive fee-free processing discounts if they are affiliated with a Stripe Startup Partner, have a working Stripe account and access to the Stripe dashboard, are on standard Stripe pricing, and have not yet received a discount equal to or greater than the requested discount. Additionally, certain integrations with Stripe are ineligible to receive the discount (for example, companies on Shopify Payments).
If you have a question about your specific integration, please reach out to support@stripe.com and include the link provided by your startup partner to confirm eligibility.
For Stripe Connect users, does the waived fee discount also apply to all my connected accounts?
Short answer - it depends. These waived fees are always applied at the platform level.
If you have a Standard Connect implementation, your connected accounts will not receive waived fees. However, if you, as the platform, bill for anything directly (e.g. a monthly subscription fee), you’d benefit from the discount.
If you have a Custom or Express Connect implementation with destination charges or separate charges and transfers, you will get waived Stripe fees at the platform level. Again, the discount will only apply to charges you process on the platform.
Note that waived fee discounts only apply to payments processed, not Stripe Connect fees.
If you are a Standard account connected to a platform, you may have the discount applied to your account specifically. Custom and Express accounts are not eligible for this discount.
Can startups that use a different currency still redeem the waived fees discount?
Yes. The discount amount will be converted into the currency of the default bank account linked to their Stripe account.
If I already received one discount, can I get another?
If you have already received a fee-free processing discount, your company is not eligible to receive an additional discount. To request an exception for exceptional circumstances, you can email .
I received a Stripe discount through a different program, does it work the same way?
This FAQ only applies to waived fee discounts provided through Stripe's Startup Partner Program. Discounts provided through other programs may work differently.
After the discount has ended, how can I get lower pricing on Stripe?
As a Stripe Startup Partner portfolio company, if your Stripe account is based in the United States and processes over $150,000 USD in payments for each of 2 consecutive months you can contact to request a pricing review and find out if you qualify for discounted Stripe pricing.
(However, note that many startups may not qualify for reduced pricing regardless of their spend level, due to interchange rates and the underlying costs of their cardmix, among other factors.)