[HK2]

I was really looking forward to Stripe implementing SEPA Direct Debit and moving away from my current provider, but at the moment the offering has 2 serious flaws compared to other services:

1) Pricing. Direct Debit usually has the advantage of being cheaper than cards, usually a small percentage with no fixed fee. I was expecting something like the US ACH fee (0.8%) or a fixed 1% maybe. 1.4% + €0.25 is pretty expensive compared to your main SEPA competitor (GoCardless is just 1% up to €2). The fixed fee makes it less competitive for smaller payment amounts, which is usually one of the SEPA DD advantages.

2) Own Creditor Identifier requirement. GoCardless allows using your own identifier under their Pro offering, but you can also use their own shared identifier as an individual or small business. One of the main advantages of using Stripe is avoiding traditional banks, but getting an ID requires dealing with them and is pretty cumbersome or even not possible in some banks, specially for non-business accounts (and they also expect to handle your direct debits, not just provide you with an ID).

Any plans to change these soon?

[gabhubert]

Hey HK2! Sorry for the delay.

1/ On pricing, get in touch for volume-based pricing: https://stripe.com/contact/sales

2/ On creditor identifiers: having your own creditor identifier makes your business more visible to customers on their bank statement, and can reduce the risk of chargebacks which are inherent to SEPA Direct Debit. True, you need to get one—possibly something we hope to help with in the future—but banks cannot force you to process SEPA debits with them. It is their duty to provide one to you. If you're not a business, there can be reasons to proceed with caution on SEPA Direct Debit, not least of which is the risk of chargebacks. I'd love to hear more about your case to see how Stripe can improve: my company email is just gabriel@.