[frank086]

My expectation has long been for Stripe to bring in more and higher fees. They offer a lot of top shelf free tooling that either brings their models into your code or moves the bookkeeping up to their system entirely, ex subscriptions.

Smart companies have their own bookkeeping system in house and thus can potentially negotiate better terms with Stripe, assuming they are big enough Stripe cares to retain them. Plenty of other places are looking at massive costs to move off Stripe and I am sure someone at Stripe is aware of that.

The first hit is always free.

[droopyEyelids]

You're right about everything, but I disagree with your characterization of 'the first hit is always free'.

The lock-in features you describe are Stripe doing development work for your business.

With an addictive substance, the addiction gains control orthogonally to the 'benefit' it provides. When Stripe writes your recurring billing and bookkeeping system, they're straight up doing your work for you. Thats the desired effect– not a side-effect!