Stripe does not approve a business based only on its incorporation documents. A reviewer may visit your website to confirm what you sell, who operates the business, how much customers pay, and what happens after a purchase. If the site is incomplete, contradictory, or vague, Stripe may pause activation, request more information, or reject the account.
For a non-US founder operating a Delaware LLC or C corporation, this review is especially important. Your website must connect the legal entity, product, pricing, customer support, and billing model into one credible story. Use the following Stripe approval checklist before submitting your account or accepting live payments.
1. Terms of Service: Define the Commercial Relationship
Your Terms of Service should identify the company accepting payments and explain the rules governing each transaction. Display the exact legal name registered with Stripe, such as “Northstar Labs LLC,” rather than only a product brand. If your website says “Northstar AI” but Stripe knows the business as Northstar Labs LLC, state that Northstar AI is operated by Northstar Labs LLC.
The page should include:
- Legal entity name, business address, and a support email on your domain.
- Eligibility rules, including minimum age and prohibited uses.
- Payment terms, billing frequency, applicable taxes, and accepted currencies.
- Subscription terms, including automatic renewal and cancellation timing.
- Service limitations, intellectual property rules, and account termination conditions.
- Governing law, commonly Delaware law for a Delaware company.
For example: “The Pro Plan costs $49 per month and renews automatically every 30 days until canceled. Cancellation prevents future renewals but does not retroactively refund the current billing period.”
Rejection triggers: copied terms naming another company, no legal entity, claims that all sales are final when refunds are advertised elsewhere, or subscription language that hides recurring charges.
2. Privacy Policy: Explain Data Collection and Sharing
A Privacy Policy is essential when you collect names, email addresses, payment details, analytics, cookies, or user-generated content. It should reflect your actual technology stack rather than functioning as a generic template.
Explain what information you collect, why you process it, how long you retain it, and which providers receive it. Name relevant categories and tools where appropriate: Stripe for payments, Amazon Web Services for hosting, Google Analytics for traffic measurement, Intercom for support, or Zapier for automation. Clarify that Stripe processes card data and that your servers do not store complete card numbers if that is true.
Include a contact method for access, correction, or deletion requests. If you sell to customers in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, address GDPR rights and your lawful bases for processing. California-facing businesses may also need disclosures covering applicable CCPA or CPRA rights.
Rejection triggers: a missing policy, placeholder text such as “[Company Name],” links to a policy belonging to another domain, or claims that no data is shared while the site uses multiple third-party services.
3. Refund and Cancellation Policy: Set Precise Expectations
Stripe evaluates refund clarity because unclear fulfillment and cancellation rules increase disputes. Your policy should answer four questions: who qualifies, how to request a refund, how long requests are accepted, and when approved funds return.
A software business might state: “Customers may request a refund within 14 calendar days of the initial purchase by emailing support@yourdomain.com. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5–10 business days. Renewal payments are non-refundable unless required by law.”
For physical products, specify processing and delivery windows, return conditions, return shipping responsibility, and any excluded items. For consulting, explain rescheduling and cancellation deadlines—for example, a full refund when canceled at least 48 hours before a session and no refund after delivery begins.
A strict no-refund policy is not automatically prohibited, but it must be prominent before checkout and consistent with consumer law. Do not promise “30-day refunds” on your pricing page and “all payments are final” in your terms.
Rejection triggers: no cancellation mechanism for subscriptions, vague wording such as “refunds may be considered,” impossible contact instructions, or delivery timelines that appear unrealistic.
4. Contact and About Pages: Prove Who Operates the Site
Your Contact page should provide a working email address on your domain, such as help@yourdomain.com. Add a support response target—“within 2 business days,” for example—and list business hours or a time zone where relevant. A contact form is useful, but it should not be the only method if it regularly fails or provides no confirmation.
The About page should explain the business, founders, location, and customer problem being solved. You do not need to publish your home address. However, the company identity must be verifiable and consistent with Stripe’s records. A concise statement can work: “Acme Automation LLC is a Delaware limited liability company building workflow software for independent logistics teams. The company is operated remotely by founders based in Portugal.”
Use genuine founder names, LinkedIn profiles, company registration details where appropriate, and a real business address or registered mailing address. Avoid presenting a registered agent’s address as an operational office if no team works there.
Rejection triggers: only a Gmail or WhatsApp contact, fabricated team photos, no company name, a disconnected phone number, or conflicting locations across the footer, policies, and Stripe application.
5. Pricing Page: Show Exactly What Customers Pay
Among all Stripe website requirements, transparent pricing is one of the most practical. Reviewers should be able to understand the transaction without creating an account or booking a sales call.
For each plan, show:
- The exact amount and currency, such as $29 USD per month.
- Whether billing is monthly, annual, one-time, usage-based, or automatically renewed.
- What the customer receives, including usage limits or service hours.
- Trial length and the amount charged after the trial—for example, “7 days free, then $29/month.”
- Setup fees, taxes, overage charges, and cancellation rules.
If prices are customized, publish a realistic range, such as “Implementation projects start at $2,000; most engagements cost $2,000–$8,000.” For usage pricing, provide a formula and example: “$0.05 per processed document; 10,000 documents cost $500.”
Rejection triggers: hidden prices, misleading “free” claims that require a card, checkout totals that differ from the pricing page, unexplained high-ticket charges, or cryptocurrency-only price references while Stripe is expected to process fiat payments.
6. Product or Service Description: Make Fulfillment Verifiable
Stripe needs to understand what customers buy and when they receive it. A polished homepage that only says “transform your future with AI” is not enough. Describe the product’s features, target customer, delivery method, and fulfillment timeline.
For SaaS, include screenshots, a demo, supported integrations, and the point at which access begins. For example: “After payment, users receive dashboard access immediately and can connect Gmail, Slack, and Zapier within approximately 10 minutes.” For services, list deliverables, project stages, and expected duration: “A $1,500 package includes one 60-minute discovery call, three automation workflows, documentation, and delivery within 15 business days.”
For e-commerce, publish shipping regions, processing time, carrier estimates, and tracking rules. If orders take 3–5 business days to process and 7–14 days to arrive internationally, say so before payment.
Do not disguise regulated or restricted activity with broad wording. Stripe may perform additional review for financial services, supplements, travel, ticketing, marketplaces, content platforms, or businesses with delayed fulfillment.
Rejection triggers: no working product, stock images without evidence of inventory, an unclear service scope, missing delivery dates, prohibited products, or a business model that differs from the one declared in Stripe.
7. Final Stripe-Ready Website Check
Before applying, review the site as if you knew nothing about the company. A Stripe-ready website should let a reviewer identify the merchant, product, price, delivery method, refund process, and support channel in less than 5 minutes.
- Place links to all seven pages in the footer and ensure they work on mobile.
- Use HTTPS and remove “coming soon,” lorem ipsum, broken images, and empty social links.
- Keep the legal name, address, domain, product, and billing descriptor consistent with the Stripe application.
- Complete at least one test checkout and verify the amount, currency, renewal disclosure, receipt, and confirmation email.
- Check that support messages receive a reply and refund instructions are operational.
- Use your own domain; a complete Webflow, WordPress, Shopify, or Framer site is more credible than an unfinished subdomain.
- Prepare supporting evidence such as supplier invoices, customer contracts, fulfillment records, or product screenshots in case Stripe requests it.
Approval is never guaranteed, and Stripe can review an account again after activation. Accurate pages also reduce chargebacks, customer confusion, and future reserve risk, so keep them updated whenever pricing or fulfillment changes.
When Founder Portal Can Help
Consider working with Founder Portal when your US company, Stripe application, banking setup, and website disclosures need to align before launch—especially if you operate from outside the United States.