Stripe
Stripe is a US - contrast fintech-infrastructure provider (Payment gateway, Card issuing software, Agentic payments & commerce, Click to Pay). Verified at source - licence, regulator and registry reference. Active (contrast)
Who it's for
Stripe is built for merchants and platforms accepting online payments with the local methods European customers expect. It holds its own e-money licence, so programmes can run under its umbrella with safeguarded client funds. Verified stand-outs: published entry pricing (1.5% + EUR 0.25/tx (EU cards)).
Sovereignty profile
- Data residency (EEA): No - outside the EEA
- Company origin: US (US)
- Card scheme: US scheme - Visa (the elephant in the room)
What Stripe does
Capabilities & rails
- 🌐 Local-payments coverage: Regional / pan-European
- Local payment schemes: iDEAL, Bancontact, BLIK, Przelewy24, EPS, giropay, SOFORT, Klarna
- E-commerce integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Wix
- Entry price: 1.5% + EUR 0.25/tx (EU cards) (as of verification - confirm at source)
Verified licence profile
Stripe (US) - PSP with issuing via partner banks (US/EU) and strong developer experience; EU IBANs limited. Agentic-ready - co-developed the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) with OpenAI and a Machine Payments Protocol (MPP) with Tempo/Visa.
Verified 2026-06-25. How we verify → · Spotted something out of date? Report a correction. · Are you Stripe? Work with us →
Official register entries
- E-money institution (EMI) - Central Bank of Ireland · Ref C187865 · Active (EBA PSD2 register, as of 2026-07-18)
Register-sourced. See the full European Fintech Index. Registers have no legal significance - always confirm current status with the home regulator.
European alternatives to Stripe
🏦 Local IBANs: NL
Adyen (Netherlands) - global acquiring, card issuing and banking; Adyen Issuing offers BIN sponsorship for platforms plus business accounts with NL IBANs. Credit institution (bank), DNB; passported across the EEA (CRD IV). A rare EU-HQ global processor. Agentic-ready - named partner in Mastercard Agent Pay (AI-agent commerce).
HiPay (France; Euronext Growth Paris: ALHYP; spun from HiMedia 2015) - PSP and acquirer; EUR 9.5bn payment volume, ~250 staff across five EU locations.
IT Card (Warsaw, Poland) - Poland's largest transaction processor (founded 2008); card issuing (1.6m+ cards), 3DS, the Planet Cash ATM network (~7,400) and Planet Pay POS acquiring. Licensed via Planet Pay - National Payment Institution (KNF), Visa Principal Member + Mastercard acquirer - offering 'fintech-in-a-box' BIN sponsorship. Operates PL/CZ/HR; SIBS (PT) took a majority stake (completed 2026). KRS 0000640662.
Klarna Bank AB (publ) (org. 556737-0431) - full banking licence Swedish FSA since 2017 (category 2 institution), passported EEA. BNPL pioneer; rolling out Klarna Card (debit) across 10 EU markets 2025; FCA authorisation UK (Jul 2025). NB: SFSA SEK 500m AML remark/fine 2025.
🏦 Local IBANs: LU
Mangopay (Mangopay S.A., Luxembourg) - marketplace and platform payments with per-user virtual IBANs. EMI, CSSF.
myPOS (founded Varna, Bulgaria 2014; London HQ) - SME card payments for 350k+ merchants across 35+ countries; EMI, Central Bank of Ireland (Dublin) for EU settlement. Being acquired by Advent International (US PE). Bulgarian roots.
Side-by-side
Verified facts in one table - licence, residency, rails. No verdict.
FAQ
Is Stripe European / EEA-based?
Stripe is US origin (US) and is not fully EEA-based; shown as a contrast/comparison.
What does Stripe do?
Stripe covers: Payment gateway, Card issuing software, Agentic payments & commerce, Click to Pay. Verified at source by Fintechnologica.