Overview
Stripe Billing offers subscription management and invoicing capabilities as part of Stripe's payment infrastructure. Our analysis reveals extensive data collection for fraud prevention and analytics, account reserve requirements, and mandatory arbitration clauses that businesses should carefully consider.
Key Concerns
- Reserve Requirements: Stripe can hold a percentage of funds as reserves based on their risk assessment, impacting cash flow.
- Extensive Data Collection: Transaction data, customer information, and behavioral analytics are collected for fraud detection and product improvement.
- Account Termination: Stripe reserves broad rights to terminate accounts for policy violations, sometimes with limited notice.
- Mandatory Arbitration: Disputes must be resolved through binding arbitration with class action waivers.
Positive Aspects
- Developer Documentation: Comprehensive API documentation and clear technical terms for integration.
- PCI Compliance: Strong security infrastructure handles PCI compliance burden for merchants.
- Transparent Pricing: Clear fee structures without hidden charges for standard transactions.
- Data Portability: Subscription and customer data can be exported through APIs.
Data Collection Summary
Stripe collects payment card data, customer information, transaction history, device fingerprints, IP addresses, and behavioral analytics. This data is used for fraud prevention, compliance, and to improve Stripe's machine learning models for risk assessment.