German businesses using Stripe pay 1.5% + €0.25 for European cards (EEA-issued Visa and Mastercard). For cards issued outside the EEA (US, UK, international), the rate rises to 2.5% + €0.25. These are among the lowest Stripe rates globally due to EU interchange fee regulation (capped at 0.2–0.3% for consumer cards).
Stripe Germany fee examples (EUR)
| Charge | EEA card | Non-EEA card |
|---|---|---|
| €25 | €0.63 (2.5%) | €0.88 (3.5%) |
| €100 | €1.75 (1.75%) | €2.75 (2.75%) |
| €500 | €7.75 (1.55%) | €12.75 (2.55%) |
VAT (Umsatzsteuer) on Stripe fees
Stripe applies German VAT (19%) to its fees for German businesses. VAT-registered businesses (Umsatzsteuer-ID required) can recover this as input tax. Stripe issues a monthly VAT invoice in EUR.
SEPA Direct Debit as an alternative
For German customers, SEPA Direct Debit is a popular payment method. Stripe supports SEPA and charges only 0.8% (capped at €5) per transaction — significantly cheaper for large B2B invoices. For recurring subscriptions with German enterprise customers, SEPA is worth enabling.
Use the calculator above with custom rate 1.5% and €0.25 for EEA-issued card transactions.