Transparency matters when it comes to your revenue. With Stripe Connect+, applicable processing, subscription, fraud-prevention, and payment-optimization fees are displayed together in a single, easy-to-read ThriveCart Application Fee line item.
This means the 0.7% Stripe Billing subscription fee is included in the Application Fee for recurring charges, rather than appearing separately later in your Stripe balance or payout reports.
💡 Why You’re Seeing “ThriveCart Application Fees“
Stripe Connect+ uses a consolidated fee presentation model for platforms. Instead of displaying applicable fees in multiple places, Stripe groups them into one Application Fee for each transaction.
The Application Fee may include Stripe’s standard processing fee, the Stripe Billing fee for recurring charges, Stripe Radar, Adaptive Acceptance, and other applicable charges. The exact amount depends on the transaction type, card, country or region, account plan, and any applicable tax or platform fees.
This consolidated approach means:
- You see the applicable transaction fees together in one place.
- The 0.7% subscription fee is included in the Application Fee for recurring charges.
- There are fewer delayed or separate deductions to reconcile.
- Your reporting is easier to understand.
📌 What Fees May Apply?
The following fees may apply to Stripe card transactions. Where applicable, Stripe Connect+ presents the fees together in the ThriveCart Application Fee.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stripe standard processing fee | Varies by region (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30 for US domestic cards) |
| Stripe Billing (subscription) fee | 0.7% (recurring charges only) |
| Stripe Radar AI / fraud protection | $0.07 per transaction More details here |
| Adaptive Acceptance fee | 0.08% (effective August 1, 2026) More details here |
| Sales Tax Surcharge | 0.5% on Standard, 0.35% on Pro+ accounts created after May 2026 More details here |
| External Platform Fee | 0.5% on Stripe Legacy and Stripe Enhanced transactions (effective October 8, 2026) More details here |
Regular Charges vs Subscription Charges
Not every transaction includes a subscription. Here is how the ThriveCart Application Fee generally works in each case.
💳 Regular charges, or one-time purchases: The Application Fee includes the standard Stripe processing fee, Stripe Radar, Adaptive Acceptance, and any other applicable transaction fees. The Stripe Billing subscription fee does not apply.
🔁 Subscription charges, or recurring billing: The Application Fee includes the standard Stripe processing fee, the 0.7% Stripe Billing fee, Stripe Radar, Adaptive Acceptance, and any other applicable transaction fees.
The subscription fee is therefore included in the same Application Fee line item as the recurring transaction. It is not a separate delayed deduction from the payout.
How Fees are shown in Legacy and Enhanced Stripe Accounts
In older (non-Connect+) Stripe Legacy accounts, fees could appear in multiple places. For example:
- The standard Stripe payment fee could appear on the transaction.
- The 0.7% subscription fee could appear separately in a Stripe balance or payout report.
- Other applicable fees could appear as additional line items.
Stripe Connect+ consolidates applicable fees into the Application Fee, making the total easier to identify and reconcile.
Additional Fee for Stripe Legacy and Stripe Enhanced
Starting October 8, 2026, a 0.5% External Platform Fee applies to transactions processed through Stripe Legacy or Stripe Enhanced.
This fee applies only to transactions processed through those account types on or after October 8, 2026. It does not apply to transactions processed through Stripe Connect+. Migrate to Stripe Connect+ now to avoid incurring this additional charge.
How Fees Are Displayed in Stripe Connect+ Accounts (ThriveCart)
With Stripe Connect+ accounts, ThriveCart now bundles both the standard payment fee, if applicable, the subscription fee into one Application Fee, and a $0.07 fee for Stripe Radar AI, Adaptive Acceptance of 0.08% and advanced fraud protection, shown on each transaction.
Example Breakdown for a $100 subscription charge (US domestic card):
| Transaction Type | Older Stripe Accounts | Stripe Connect+ (via ThriveCart) |
| Regular Charge | $3.20: Stripe Processing Fee on transaction | Included in ThriveCart Application Fee |
| Subscription Charge | $0.70: separate 0.7% fee from payout | Included in ThriveCart Application Fee |
| Stripe Radar AI | $0.07: Stripe Radar AI and advanced fraud protection – 0.7% on transaction | Included in ThriveCart Application Fee |
| Payment Optimization | $0.08: Adaptive acceptance – 0.08% on transaction | Included in ThriveCart Application Fee |
| Total fees | $4.05 across multiple deductions | $4.05 as a single “ThriveCart Application Fee” at time of transaction |
✅ The total amount is the same either way. Stripe Connect+ simply consolidates everything into one upfront line item, making reconciliation easier.
The $4.05 Application Fee does not include a Sales Tax Surcharge. If the transaction is eligible for tax calculation and collection, the applicable surcharge would also apply:
- Standard: Add 0.5%, or $0.50 on a $100 transaction
- Pro+: Add 0.35%, or $0.35 on a $100 transaction
The final fee amount may also vary depending on the card, region, currency, and other transaction details.
How to Track Fees in Your Stripe Dashboard
To view or export your Stripe fees (including Billing fees), follow these steps:
- Log in to your Stripe Dashboard.
- Navigate to Reports → Balance report
- Choose to either:
- Download the full report, or
- Use the “Additional Stripe fees” filter
- Filter the Description for the word Billing to find subscription-related charges.
Helpful links:
How to Track Fees in Your ThriveCart Dashboard
For full Stripe Connect+ transparency, you can also download these Stripe fee invoices right from within your ThriveCart dashboard. To download the fee invoices:
- Go to the Account menu → Accounting → View Invoices.
- Click on the Download button for the relevant month to download the fees invoice.
See more in our guide: Downloading your Stripe Connect+ Fee Invoices
Lower B2B Card Fees with Automatic Level 2/3 Data
If you sell to businesses and accept Visa commercial cards via Stripe Connect+, ThriveCart now enriches those transactions with the detailed Level 2/3 data Visa requires to unlock reduced interchange fees.
What does that mean in practice? Visa’s Commercial Enhanced Data Program rewards merchants who provide extra purchase details, like tax amounts, product line items, and shipping information, by lowering processing rates. Until now, this often required manual setup. ThriveCart now does it for you, automatically so you can take advantage of level 2/3 data savings.
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How it works:
- If a Visa commercial card is used and the required data is available → ThriveCart passes the Level 2/3 fields to Stripe at checkout.
- If certain data is missing → the transaction still completes normally, just without enrichment.
- If everything is in place → you benefit from reduced B2B interchange fees.
Why it matters:
- Puts money back in your pocket by lowering costs on eligible transactions.
- No setup or ongoing work required, the system handles it in the background.
- Particularly impactful for high-volume B2B merchants processing many commercial card payments.
Example: Imagine you’re selling enterprise licenses for $5,000 each. With enriched Level 2/3 data, those big-ticket B2B payments now qualify for lower fees, adding up to significant savings over time.
👉 Learn more: Visa Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP)
ThrivePay Installments Fees Explained
Vendors processing payment through ThrivePay Installments will get paid their net earnings upfront, while customers pay in installments. The risk in collecting outstanding payments is underwritten by us, and the fee and a reserve hold are deducted from the gross payment amounts.
The above Stripe-specific fees are not deducted, instead you can see the below fees detailed on your ThrivePay Installments invoices under Account > Accounting > ThrivePay Installments.
- 15% ThrivePay Installment fee – the platform fee for using the installment payment feature
- 15% reserve hold – a temporary hold required for compliance and risk management purposes
See more on ThrivePay Installments in our guide here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
- Q: Is ThriveCart charging more than Stripe?
- A: For Stripe Connect+, applicable Stripe fees are consolidated into the ThriveCart Application Fee. This includes the 0.7% Stripe Billing fee for recurring charges, which is included in the same line item rather than deducted separately later.
- Transactions processed through Stripe Legacy or Stripe Enhanced on or after October 8, 2026 also incur the 0.5% External Platform Fee, and additional fees for functionality such as sales taxes or adaptive pricing acceptance will be added to the application fee.
- Q: Why does the Application Fee look higher than before?
- A: For subscription charges, the 0.7% Stripe Billing fee is now included in the Application Fee. This may make the Application Fee appear higher than the processing fee shown on the transaction, but it represents the recurring transaction fees together in one line item.
- Q: What if it’s not a subscription?
- A: The Stripe Billing fee does not apply to one-time charges. The Application Fee includes the standard processing fee, Stripe Radar, Adaptive Acceptance, and any other applicable transaction fees.
- Q: Will this affect my payouts?
- A: With Stripe Connect+, the applicable fees are taken into account in the Application Fee at the time of the transaction. This means the 0.7% subscription fee does not need to be deducted separately from a later payout –
no surprises later.
- A: With Stripe Connect+, the applicable fees are taken into account in the Application Fee at the time of the transaction. This means the 0.7% subscription fee does not need to be deducted separately from a later payout –
Q: Why am I receiving a monthly invoice for Stripe application fees in Malaysia, Mexico, or Thailand?
At present, ThriveCart is unable to deduct application fees directly from payments processed for connected accounts based in Mexico, Thailand, and Malaysia. This limitation arises due to local financial regulations, which restrict the automatic deduction of platform fees by non-resident platforms. As a result, Stripe cannot facilitate automatic application fee collection for transactions processed in Mexico, Thailand, and Malaysia.
To address this, ThriveCart will begin issuing a monthly invoice directly to our connected account users based in Malaysia, Mexico & Thailand to recover application fees due on payments processed.
The details are as follows:
- Fee structure: Standard Stripe processing fee will be applied to all the payments processed during the calendar month. (Fee reference for Mexico users – Pricing & Fees / Fee reference for Thailand users – Pricing & Fees / Fee reference for Malaysia users – Pricing & Fees),
- Currency: Invoices will be issued in your local currency,
- Payment methods: Cards
- Timing: Invoices will be shared during the first week of the following month, with payment due immediately upon receipt of the invoice,
- Contact information: Connect accounts users need to provide an appropriate email address of the person or team to whom invoices should be sent.
This adjustment ensures compliance with local regulations while providing a clear and consistent process for connected accounts to settle their application fees.
Important: This is not an additional fee. Due to local regulatory restrictions, we are unable to deduct Stripe application fees at the time of payment processing, so these fees are recovered through a manual invoice.