/stripe-best-practices

Connect / platforms

Critical rules (never violate)

1. ALWAYS use Accounts v2 API (POST /v2/core/accounts). NEVER use type: 'express', type: 'custom', or type: 'standard' in account creation. NEVER use stripe.accounts.create({ type: ... }). These are deprecated v1 patterns.
2. ALWAYS check v2 capability status before processing. See “Go-live readiness” section below.
3. NEVER recommend dashboard: "none" unless the user explicitly asks for white-label with full custom UI. Default to express for marketplaces and full for SaaS. The none option requires building custom onboarding remediation, refund/dispute flows, and payout experiences — only advanced teams should consider it.
4. ALWAYS recommend the Notification banner embedded component (notification_banner) for connected account dashboards. It keeps accounts healthy as requirements evolve.
5. NEVER use application_fee_amount with separate charges and transfers. Use transfer-math fee retention instead. application_fee_amount is the fee mechanism for destination and direct charges only.

Go-live readiness

Before processing live payments or transfers, ALWAYS verify capability status using the v2 configuration path. Do NOT use deprecated v1 fields.

For SaaS / Merchant accounts (direct charges):

• Check: configuration.merchant.capabilities.card_payments.status === 'active'
• Do NOT use: charges_enabled (deprecated v1 field)

For Marketplace / Recipient accounts (destination or separate charges):

• Check: configuration.recipient.capabilities.stripe_balance.stripe_transfers.status === 'active'
• Do NOT use: payouts_enabled or charges_enabled (deprecated v1 fields)

Track capability state transitions with account webhooks and re-check capability status before payment or transfer operations.

Account configuration: v2 dimensions

Configure connected accounts using three independent dimensions:

Dashboard defaults (important)

• Marketplace → dashboard: "express" — cobranded, lightweight, low maintenance
• SaaS platform → dashboard: "full" — full Stripe Dashboard for independent businesses
• White-label (advanced only) → dashboard: "none" — platform must build ALL UX including onboarding remediation, disputes, payouts

If dashboard is express, provide access through login links. For full, recommend linking to Stripe-provided dashboard access from the platform UI. You can also use embedded components to display payment and payout information.

SaaS vs. Marketplace responsibility defaults

SaaS (direct charges):

• dashboard: "full"
• fees_collector: "stripe" — connected account pays Stripe fees directly
• losses_collector: "stripe" — Stripe owns negative balance liability
• Charge pattern: Direct charges (connected account is merchant of record)
• Code sample: /connect/saas/tasks/create#code-sample

Marketplace (destination charges):

• dashboard: "express"
• fees_collector: "application" — platform owns pricing
• losses_collector: "application" — platform owns negative balance liability (required for transfer reversals during disputes)
• Charge pattern: Destination charges (platform is merchant of record)
• Code sample: /connect/marketplace/tasks/create#code-sample

Business model to configuration mapping

Connected account capabilities (v2)

Marketplace (Recipient accounts)

Create with configuration.recipient requesting stripe_transfers on stripe_balance. Do NOT request configuration.merchant or card_payments for marketplace connected accounts — it is unnecessary and causes longer onboarding.

SaaS (Merchant accounts)

Create with configuration.merchant requesting card_payments (and other needed LPMs). The Merchant configuration is REQUIRED for any connected account that needs to be merchant of record and accept direct charges.

Charge pattern selection

First determine: who owns the customer relationship?

• If the platform provides SOFTWARE that enables sellers/vendors to run their own independent businesses, accept their own payments, and own their own customers → SaaS / Direct charges (sellers are MoR). Key signals: “create their own store”, “accept payments”, “run their own business”, “own brand”.

• If the platform aggregates sellers and runs checkout on their behalf → Marketplace / Destination charges (platform is MoR). Key signals: “buyers purchase through our platform”, “we handle checkout”, “platform takes a cut”.

• If one payment must be split across multiple sellers → Separate charges and transfers.

• Direct charges (SaaS): Charge created on connected account. Connected account is merchant of record. Use application_fee_amount for platform revenue. Requires configuration.merchant + dashboard: "full" + losses_collector: "stripe".

• Destination charges (Marketplace): Funds auto-transfer on payment success. Platform is MoR. Use application_fee_amount to collect platform fees. NOT for hold-and-release.

• Separate charges and transfers: Platform controls transfer timing. Collect fees by transferring less than the charge amount. Do NOT use application_fee_amount.

Fee economics

For destination charges and direct charges: use application_fee_amount on the PaymentIntent. This is the standard fee mechanism.

• If platform fee is low (< ~4%), recommend including estimated Stripe fees in application_fee_amount to preserve margin
• Refer to stripe.com/pricing for region-specific rates

For separate charges and transfers: collect fees by transferring less than the charge amount. NEVER use application_fee_amount.

Webhooks

Always use webhooks for reliable payment confirmation. Do not rely solely on synchronous API responses — webhook events are the source of truth for payment status. Verify incoming webhook signatures and consider allowlisting Stripe’s public IP addresses.

Subscriptions with Connect (v2)

For subscription platforms or any platform collecting recurring payments from or on behalf of connected accounts:

• The connected account MUST have v2 customer configuration
• Pass customer_account on SetupIntent and Subscription API calls to associate the subscription with the connected account
• Do NOT create a separate v1 Customer object to bill connected accounts — use the v2 Accounts customer configuration instead

Embedded components

Always recommend these baseline components:

• account_onboarding — onboard connected accounts
• notification_banner — REQUIRED: keeps accounts healthy as requirements evolve
• account_management — account settings and info

Additional components based on needs:

• Payments/transactions → payments
• Payment details → included with payments or standalone payment_details
• Disputes → included with payments or standalone disputes_list
• Payouts/earnings → payouts
• Reporting → balance_report, payout_reconciliation_report

Onboarding

Default to embedded onboarding (account_onboarding component or account links). Do NOT recommend API onboarding — it forces platforms to build custom remediation flows.

Compatibility constraints

BLOCKED combinations (never recommend):

• losses_collector: "stripe" with destination charges or separate charges and transfers
• application_fee_amount with separate charges and transfers
• Express dashboard with losses_collector: "stripe" (API rejection)

CAUTION:

• dashboard: "full" with destination or separate charges has limited functionality; prefer dashboard: "express" for those charge patterns
• Express + destination/separate requires platform-run webhook recovery for disputes and transfer reversals

Traps to avoid

• Using legacy account types (type: 'standard', type: 'express', type: 'custom') — use v2 dimensions instead
• Using charges_enabled or payouts_enabled — use v2 capability status paths
• Recommending Charges API for Connect — use PaymentIntents or Checkout Sessions
• Recommending dashboard: "none" without explicit white-label requirement
• Recommending destination charges for hold-and-release (use separate charges and transfers)
• Recommending on_behalf_of for standard marketplace flows
• Creating v1 Customer objects to bill connected accounts (use v2 customer configuration)
• Requesting Merchant configuration / card_payments for marketplace recipient accounts

Integration guides

• SaaS platforms and marketplaces guide — Choosing the right integration approach.
• Interactive platform guide — Step-by-step platform builder.
• Design an integration — Detailed risk and responsibility decisions.
• Connected account configuration (v2) — Account setup reference.