Stripe International Card Fees: What You Really Pay
Stripe international card fees explained: the cross-border surcharge, the 2% conversion fee, Australia's April 2027 cut, and how to lower what you pay.Stripe International Card Fees At A Glance
If you sell online and a growing share of your customers are abroad, Stripe international card fees are probably the largest line on your payments bill that you never chose. A card issued outside your account's country costs more to process than a local one, and if the charge also needs converting into your currency, a second fee stacks on top. This guide sets out what Stripe's own pricing pages say you pay, why cross-border cards cost more, what changes in Australia in April 2027, how to lower the bill, and where a stablecoin payment link such as Moove fits — and where it does not.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Every figure below comes from the provider's own pages, checked on October 24, 2026.
Why International Cards Cost More To Accept
A card payment carries costs that the processor passes on: the interchange fee paid to the bank that issued the card, network fees charged by Visa or Mastercard, and the processor's own margin. When the card comes from another country, those upstream costs are typically higher, and processors price the difference into a separate international rate.
Stripe's own Australian pricing update shows how much of the price is set upstream. It says Stripe is lowering its international card rate in Australia because the Reserve Bank of Australia is reducing the caps on interchange fees, and Stripe is passing those savings on¹. In other words, the surcharge is not something your account can negotiate away on the standard plan; it moves when the underlying card economics move.
Two separate things trigger the extra cost:
- The card's country. Stripe defines a domestic transaction as one where the card country matches your account's country, and an international one as any other¹. A customer living in Sydney with a card issued in London is an international card.
- The currency. Stripe's documentation says that if the charge currency differs from your settlement currency — the currency of the bank account you are paid into — Stripe converts it². Both the Australian and UK pricing pages add 2% when that conversion is required³ ⁴.
They are independent. A UK card charged in Australian dollars triggers the international rate but not conversion. The same card charged in pounds and settled in Australian dollars triggers both.
What Stripe Charges, By Account Country
Stripe prices by the country of your account, so there is no single global answer. These are the standard online card rates for two accounts, from Stripe's pages on October 24, 2026.
| Stripe account | Domestic cards | International cards | Other | Currency conversion | Dispute fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1.65% + A$0.30³ | 3.5% + A$0.30, falling to 2.80% + A$0.30 from 1 April 2027¹ ³ | — | + 2%³ | A$25 per dispute, plus A$25 if you counter it manually, refunded if you win³ |
| United Kingdom | 1.5% + 20p (standard UK cards)⁴ | 3.15% + 20p⁴ | 2.5% + 20p for European Economic Area cards⁴ | + 2%⁴ | £20 per dispute, plus £20 if you counter it manually, refunded if you win⁴ |
Stripe's Australian page says its fees include GST³. Stripe's Australian domestic rate fell from 1.70% to 1.65% on 1 October 2026¹. We could not load Stripe's US pricing page from our location on the day we checked, so US rates are not included; check the page for your own account country before relying on any figure.
A Worked Example
Take an A$100 sale on an Australian Stripe account, using the published standard rates above:
- Australian card, charged in AUD: 1.65% + A$0.30 = A$1.95.
- UK card, charged in AUD: 3.5% + A$0.30 = A$3.80.
- UK card, charged in GBP and converted to AUD: the A$3.80 plus 2% conversion, about A$5.80.
- The same converted sale after 1 April 2027: 2.80% + A$0.30 plus 2%, about A$5.10.
That is roughly three times the domestic cost on the same sale, before any dispute. On thin margins, the mix of where your customers' cards come from matters as much as the headline rate.
What To Check This Week
If your international card fees are higher than you expected, work through these before changing provider.
- Find your card-country mix. Look at what share of your payments come from cards issued outside your account's country. That share, not the headline rate, drives your blended cost.
- Check which currency you charge in. If you price in your customers' currencies but settle in your own, the 2% conversion applies to those charges²³.
- Read your own pricing. Stripe's pages describe standard pricing. Stripe says accounts on custom pricing should check with their account team¹.
- Count your disputes. A dispute fee on a small order can wipe out the margin. Our guide to a chargeback rate that is too high covers how to bring it down.
- Diary 1 April 2027 if you are in Australia. Stripe says the international rate change needs no action on standard pricing¹, but it is worth re-running your numbers after it lands.
How To Lower Your International Card Costs
You cannot change the card a customer holds, but you can change how much of each sale the fees take.
- Charge in your settlement currency where you can. Stripe converts only when the charge currency differs from your settlement currency². The trade-off is that the customer's own bank may then charge them a foreign transaction fee, which Stripe's documentation also notes².
- Settle in more currencies. Stripe says some countries support settlement in additional currencies, so you can hold and pay out in a currency you earn in². On the Australian page this costs 1% of payout volume³, so compare it with the 2% conversion fee for your volumes.
- Offer a cheaper local method. For Australian customers, Stripe's Australian page lists PayTo and BECS Direct Debit at 1% + A$0.30, capped at A$3.50³.
- Price international orders to reflect cost. Some sellers build the extra cost into international prices rather than absorbing it.
- Give customers who hold crypto another way to pay. A stablecoin payment carries no card interchange, network fee or chargeback. It suits only customers who already hold crypto, which is why it is an addition to cards, not a replacement.
Your Options Compared
These are realistic ways a sole trader or small online seller can take a payment from a customer abroad. Each cell comes from the provider's own pages, checked on October 24, 2026. "Not published" means the source does not state it.
| Stripe, Australian account | Stripe, UK account | PayPal, Australian account | A Moove payment link, paid in crypto | A Moove payment link, paid by card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee on an international payment | 3.5% + A$0.30; 2.80% + A$0.30 from 1 April 2027¹ ³ | 3.15% + 20p, or 2.5% + 20p for EEA cards⁴ | 2.90% + A$0.30, plus 1.00% for international commercial transactions⁵ | Nil for same chain and token; 0.02% cross-chain or cross-token, paid by your customer; network gas separate⁶ | Not published as a separate merchant fee⁶ ⁷ |
| Currency conversion | + 2%³ | + 2%⁴ | 3.0% spread on most conversions⁵ | Not applicable: you receive the token you chose⁶ | Not published |
| Dispute or chargeback fee | A$25, plus A$25 to counter, refunded if won³ | £20, plus £20 to counter, refunded if won⁴ | A$15, not charged if the transaction is eligible for Seller Protection⁵ | None on-chain. Payments are final; you make any refund yourself⁸ | Not published. The docs list hold and refund statuses for card payments⁷ |
| Who can pay | Card holders worldwide | Card holders worldwide | PayPal and card payers | Anyone with a supported crypto wallet; no account or identity check for the payer⁷ | A payer with the Moove App and a verified identity; verification available in Australia, Hong Kong and Nigeria when we checked⁷ |
| What you need to start | A Stripe account | A Stripe account | A PayPal business account | No application or approval process⁸ | No application or approval process⁸ |
Card and PayPal payers generally have dispute rights under their provider's terms. Footnotes resolve in Sources and how this was checked.
How Moove Works For International Payments
A Moove payment link lets you name an amount in the stablecoin you want to be paid in, USDC for example, and send it to a customer anywhere. They pay in what they hold, on the chain they hold it, and you receive the token you chose⁶. You can create one from the Receive USDC page; the Send and Receive guide covers both directions.
What this changes for the international card fee problem:
- No card-country surcharge on crypto payments. There is no issuing bank and no card network in an on-chain payment, so a customer in London pays the same Moove fee as one in Sydney: nothing on a same-chain, same-token payment, and 0.02% when a swap or bridge is needed⁶.
- You receive what you invoiced. On a payment link, the customer's side covers the conversion fee, so the amount you named is the amount that lands⁶.
- Non-custodial. Moove's terms say receiving is non-custodial: payments settle to a wallet only you control, and Moove never holds your funds, so there is no reserve or payout schedule⁸.
- No chargebacks on crypto payments. On-chain payments are final. That protects you from reversals, and it means your customer gives up the card dispute rights they would otherwise have. Moove provides no chargeback or buyer-protection service; any refund is a separate transfer you send yourself⁸.
- No application. Moove operates no application, registration or approval process for merchants⁸. Its terms still prohibit some businesses and exclude sanctioned persons and countries⁸.
Moove's docs also describe card payment on a payment link: a payer who has the Moove App and has verified their identity can pay by Visa or Mastercard, with a licensed payment partner handling the card side⁷. Identity verification was available in Australia, Hong Kong and Nigeria when we checked, and the docs list "Payment on hold" and refund statuses for card payments⁷. So for most overseas customers today, a Moove link is a way to be paid in crypto rather than a cheaper way to take their card.
If you are new to receiving stablecoins, How To Get Paid In Stablecoins As A Freelancer walks through invoicing and wallets, and Are Stablecoins Safe? covers the risks of holding them.
Where A Card Processor Is Still The Better Fit
A stablecoin link removes international card fees only for customers who pay in crypto. Keep a card processor when:
- Your customers do not hold crypto. Most shoppers pay by card. Card payment through Moove needs a payer verified in Australia, Hong Kong or Nigeria⁷, so a buyer in the UK or US will usually still pay by card through a processor.
- Your customers expect dispute protection. Card buyers can dispute a charge. On-chain payments remove that, and some customers will not buy without it.
- You need your local currency outside Nigeria. Moove Ramp sells crypto for naira in Nigeria; in Australia and Hong Kong it is buy-only⁹. An Australian seller paid in USDC needs another licensed provider to convert to Australian dollars, and the rules on crypto in your country apply.
- You trade as a company. Moove's terms are for natural persons acting on their own account; a company, partnership or trust cannot be the user⁸. A sole trader is within the terms.
- You need subscriptions or a store plugin. Links created in the Moove Widget are single-use; links with a usage cap or expiry need the API, and reusable perpetual links are announced but not built¹⁰.
For many sellers the answer is both: a card processor for card-paying customers, and a payment link for those who would rather pay in stablecoins.
Sources And How This Was Checked
- Stripe, "Updates to card pricing in Australia from October 2026": support.stripe.com/questions/updates-to-card-pricing-in-australia-from-october-2026, checked October 24, 2026.
- Stripe documentation, "Supported currencies" (presentment, settlement and conversion): docs.stripe.com/currencies, checked October 24, 2026.
- Stripe, pricing for Australia (card rates, conversion, disputes, multi-currency settlement, PayTo and BECS): stripe.com/au/pricing, checked October 24, 2026.
- Stripe, pricing for the United Kingdom: stripe.com/gb/pricing, checked October 24, 2026.
- PayPal, business fees for Australia: paypal.com/au/business/paypal-business-fees, checked October 24, 2026.
- Moove, pricing: docs.moove.xyz/product-prices/how-product-and-prices-work, checked October 24, 2026.
- Moove, "Moove Pay": docs.moove.xyz/transact/pay-with-moove, checked October 24, 2026.
- Moove, Terms of Service (last updated 12 September 2026), clauses 2.2 (non-custodial), 3.1 (sanctions), 3.2 (natural persons only), 7.2 and 7.3 (prohibited businesses, no approval process) and 9.5 (refunds and disputes): docs.moove.xyz/legal-and-compliance/terms-of-service, checked October 24, 2026.
- Moove, FAQ (Moove Ramp corridors): docs.moove.xyz/faq, checked October 24, 2026.
- Moove, "Moove Receive" and FAQ (payment link types): docs.moove.xyz/transact/moove-receive, checked October 24, 2026.
Figures were checked on October 24, 2026 and may have changed; check the provider's own pages before deciding. The worked example uses published standard rates only and is illustrative. Stripe, PayPal, Visa and Mastercard are trademarks of their respective owners. moove.xyz is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stripe, PayPal, Visa or Mastercard.
Take International Payments Without The Card Surcharge
If some of your overseas customers already hold stablecoins, a payment link gives them a way to pay you without a cross-border card fee on either side.
👉 Ready to try it?
Create a free Moove payment link at moove.xyz and get paid directly to a wallet only you control.
About moove.xyz
moove.xyz is a global Web3 fintech platform built for the permissionless and effortless movement of value. We empower businesses and consumers anywhere to send, receive, stake, and swap any cryptocurrencies across any blockchains — all in one single platform.
We are one of the first Web3 fintech companies globally to innovate and build a full-stack crypto payments and decentralised finance infrastructure, enabling an integrated and comprehensive coverage across multi-chain wallet access, personalised wallet handles, cross-chain token swaps, embedded cross-chain transactions and a decentralised social financial network. Our key products include Moove Profile, Moove Send, Moove Receive, Moove Stake, Moove Swap, Moove Rewards, Moove Discover and more.
Our mission is simple — to create and distribute permissionless and effortless financial technology for the next 1 billion Web3 users. We fundamentally believe that the future of the movement of money and value shall be costless, borderless, permissionless, effortless, and built for everyone — and we're building the ultimate Web3 fintech platform to make that future real.
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