"1% to Stripe and 2% to card companies" is the grandparent estimating how the Stripe fees that you're quoting are divided up.
Stripe isn't keeping all of that "1.5% - 3.25% + 20p", they're paying the network some portion.
Additionally, instead of using the blended pricing model you quote, they do offer IC+ pricing to (at least some) businesses. I don't know the criteria. On IC+, you're explicitly paying "whatever the network costs" + "fixed Stripe fees"
> Larger and fast-growing businesses often choose interchange plus pricing because it passes through the true cost of each transaction. At high volumes, its net cost is often lower than that of blended pricing. It also gives finance teams true oversight because it shows where all the money goes. That makes it easier to forecast costs, spot inefficiencies, and negotiate or shop around for the processor markup.
Nope, I’ve never needed to know, sorry. AFAIK the amount of the “+” is dependent on payment volume, which is why the quoted page says that it can be lower cost for merchants with higher volume. It might even be possible that every business is eligible, but that IC+ is more expensive than the blended rate at very low volumes. I don’t know.
>Privately held Stripe is among the industry's most valuable companies. It was valued at $159 billion in a tender offer for employees and shareholders in February, a more than 70% jump from a similar share sale a year earlier.