Key findings
- The standard domestic card rate ranges from 1.5% in United Kingdom to 3.99% in Brazil — a 2.7× spread for the same Stripe product. The 18-market average is 2.55%.
- Accepting a foreign-issued card adds 1.09% on average over the domestic rate — and as much as 2.3% in India.
- The currency-conversion markup runs from 1% (United States) to 2% (United Kingdom) — charged on top of the processing fee whenever the charge and payout currencies differ.
- 11 of 18 markets carry an extra American Express surcharge beyond the standard rate.
The headline percentage is only half the story: a flat per-transaction fee sits on top in every market, so the effective rate on a small ticket is always higher. Model your own mix in the Stripe True Fee Calculator.
Why this index matters
Stripe is often discussed as if it has one global price. It does not. The card rate depends on the country of the Stripe account, the currency being charged, the card network, whether the card is domestic or international, and whether a currency conversion is required before settlement. Two companies selling the same product at the same price can therefore keep different amounts of revenue after fees.
That difference becomes material when the business is cross-border. A domestic card in the lowest-cost market in this dataset has an effective rate of about 1.7% on a $100charge before any optional Stripe products. In the highest international card example we track, the same $100 charge can face an all-in card-plus-FX drag of roughly 9.6% before disputes, refunds, failed-payment recovery, or subscription billing fees. The gap is large enough to change pricing, market expansion, and payout routing decisions.
Domestic card rate by market
Lowest rate in green, highest in brass. Bar length is proportional to the headline domestic rate.
The full index — ranked by domestic rate
| # | Market | Domestic | International | FX markup | Dispute fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 1.5% | 2.5% | 2% | £20 |
| 2 | Eurozone | 1.5% | 2.5% | 2% | €15 |
| 3 | Poland | 1.5% | 2.9% | 2% | PLN 65 |
| 4 | Australia | 1.75% | 3.5% | 2% | A$25 |
| 5 | Sweden | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | SEK 150 |
| 6 | Norway | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | NOK 150 |
| 7 | Denmark | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | DKK 110 |
| 8 | India | 2% | 4.3% | 2% | ₹350 |
| 9 | New Zealand | 2.7% | 3.9% | 2% | NZ$30 |
| 10 | United States | 2.9% | 3.9% | 1% | $15 |
| 11 | Canada | 2.9% | 3.9% | 2% | CA$15 |
| 12 | United Arab Emirates | 2.9% | 3.9% | 2% | AED 55 |
| 13 | Switzerland | 2.9% | 3.9% | 2% | CHF 15 |
| 14 | Singapore | 3.4% | 4.4% | 2% | SGD 20 |
| 15 | Hong Kong | 3.4% | 3.9% | 2% | HK$120 |
| 16 | Japan | 3.6% | 3.8% | 2% | ¥1,500 |
| 17 | Mexico | 3.6% | 4.6% | 2% | MX$250 |
| 18 | Brazil | 3.99% | 4.99% | 2% | R$50 |
What the spread means for operators
A 2.7× gap between the cheapest and most expensive market is not a rounding error — on a business doing meaningful volume it is the difference between a healthy and a marginal payment line. The rate is set by where your Stripe account is based, not where your customer is, so for cross-border businesses the choice of settlement market is a real lever. And because the international premium averages 1.09%, any business with a high share of foreign customers should budget against a blended rate well above its domestic headline.
How to use the index without making a bad decision
Do not pick a payment setup from the domestic percentage alone. First, estimate the share of cards issued outside your Stripe account country. Second, check whether you charge and settle in the same currency. Third, account for ticket size: fixed fees punish low-price products and barely matter on enterprise invoices. Finally, model disputes and refunds. A market with a lower headline rate can still be worse if your customer mix forces international-card and FX charges on most transactions.
The index is also not a recommendation to move entities only for payment fees. Tax residency, accounting overhead, local acquiring eligibility, payout timing, chargeback operations, and customer trust can outweigh a fee difference. Use this page to identify where Stripe fees deserve attention, then use the calculator to model your own transaction mix before changing checkout, pricing, or market strategy.
Methodology
Every figure is sourced from Stripe's published standard pricing for each market; the most recent verification date is 2026-06-15. Rates shown are standard pay-as-you-go pricing — Stripe offers custom interchange-plus pricing to larger merchants, so a negotiated rate may differ. Dispute fees are shown in each market's local settlement currency. This dataset is published under CC BY 4.0: cite it freely with a link back to this page. Spotted an error? Tell us via the contact page and we correct within 48 hours.