The world's most popular payment infrastructure for the internet
Stripe is the global standard for online payment processing, covering card payments, subscriptions, invoicing, payouts, and fraud detection. African founders use Stripe primarily for charging international customers. Requires a US or UK entity — pair with Stripe Atlas to incorporate or use Grey/Geegpay to receive Stripe payouts as an African individual.
Best for
Use when
You're selling to international customers (US, EU, UK) and need the most reliable global payment processor with the best developer experience.
Skip when
Your customers are primarily African and pay in local currency — Paystack or Flutterwave handle that far better.
Stripe does not directly support Nigerian or Kenyan businesses as merchants. Use Stripe Atlas ($500) to form a US entity first, or use Lemon Squeezy as a Merchant of Record instead.
Alternatives
Paystack, Flutterwave, Lemon Squeezy