Is Stripe safe in Australia? What you need to know

Managing your business can be tough at the best of times, so finding services that make it a tad easier can be a huge help. However, handing over access to your businesses financial details to a third party can be daunting due to safety and security concerns.

In this article, we’ll delve into Stripe Payments, a large US company and the level of safety that comes with their software and services for Australian businesses.

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Who is Stripe in Australia

Stripe began in 2011 as a US financial technology company that provides business customers with software that allows them to facilitate payments through various mediums and manage their businesses online.¹ Stripe has expanded to over 45 countries since its inception and has dual headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin.² Stripe launched its services to Australian business customers in 2014.¹

Is Stripe safe in Australia?

Yes, Stripe is safe to use in Australia. As a multinational company that facilitates payments for millions of businesses globally, Stripe has incorporated numerous safeguards and security features throughout their software to keep their customers money and personal data safe.

However, Stripe does recognise that not all systems are foolproof and that each customer needs to use their own due diligence in keeping their accounts secure.

How is Stripe regulated in Australia?

Stripe operates in Australia under the name Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd. The company holds an Australia Financial Services Licence (AFSL) which is 500105.³

All AFSL holders are regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commision (ASIC).

How is your money kept safe at Stripe?

Stripe is a PCI level 1 service provider which means it has the highest level of security certification in the payments industry.⁴ However, Stripe can only protect your financial account information inputted into their systems.

To protect this information from unauthorised access, Stripe encrypts all financial data, while integrating access control and fraud monitoring measures.⁵ Some measures include⁶:

• Physical access controls within Stripe premises
• Virtual access controls
• Data access controls which include authorisations and disclosure controls
• Undertaking audit logs of security systems
• Isolated infrastructure for data control

Stripes third party service providers also use encryption technology and their own security measures to protect your financial data and account.⁵

Holding large amounts with Stripe

Unfortunately, you cannot add or hold money in a Stripe account in Australia yet. However, you will need to have a verified bank account linked to be able to use the funds to make payments, transfers or receive funds.

This feature is available in the US, but Stripe does recommend not holding money in the Stripe account arbitrarily and to transfer funds directly to a linked bank account or debit card.⁷

What about scam protection at Stripe?

Stripe aids users to be protected from scams in several ways including giving strategic guidance to minimise their scamming risk profile and through in-built technical risk detection tools.⁸ We’ll briefly touch on these now.

1. Strategic guidance

Stripe offers their users ways to prevent fraudulent transactions and disputes of their accounts. They also provide an abundance of information about how to maximise the security of accounts and red flags to look out for from scammers.

2. Opt in to Stripe Radar API

Customers can opt in to Stripe Radar on their dashboard to manage and customise fraud detection while gaining greater insight into their overall financial activity.

Stripe is also obligated under Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-money Laundering (AML) laws to verify that each customer is who they say they are and operating from a verifiable business address. On sign up, customers will need to provide Stripe with a range of identification documents.⁹

Data protection at Stripe

Stripe collects and processes data from anyone who is directly using the Stripe service for their business, has purchased from a business that uses Stripe or has in some way directly or indirectly interacted with a Stripe service. This means that Stripe collates billions of data points that need protecting. Stripe safeguards the data in their systems through a variety of technical features, while implementing the relevant international data protection laws in how data is collected, used and handled.⁶

How long is your data kept at Stripe

Stripe holds on to your personal or business data for as long as their services are utilised.⁶ However in Australia, and under their AFS licence conditions, Stripe must keep your personal data on record for at least 7 years.¹⁰

Requesting deletion of your data at Stripe

Unfortunately, due to legal obligations, your data is kept for a minimum of 7 years.¹⁰ If you would like to consult Stripe about your personal data, you should contact the Stripe team at privacy (at) stripe.com

What are the protection systems in place for your Stripe account in Australia

When it comes to protecting your account, Stripe uses a mix of organisational, technical and administrative measures. This includes security tools such as⁶:

• Forced HTTPS and HSTS connections
• Password controls
• Two factor authentication and backup code for login
• Ongoing fraud and suspicious activity monitoring

Transferring money with Stripe and security measures

When your business makes a payment using the Stripe system, you can set up your account to¹¹:

• Receive email notifications for unauthorised access attempts
• Real time payment notifications for sending and receiving transfers
• Ability to review your past active Stripe sessions
• Opt in to Stripe Chargeback Protection to be protected by eligible payment disputes¹²

Although Stripe has all these tools to safeguard your business from suspicious transactions, you should always make timely cross-checks for each transfer or activity manually on your account.

Tips to help you keep your account safe at Stripe

You can strengthen the security of your Stripe account by following these actions as mentioned by Stripe themselves.¹³

1. Add multiple authentication factors, such as a security key to ensure access to your account.
2. Keep your backup codes in a secure location. These codes can help you regain access to your account if you lose all the two-step authentication devices.
3. Never share your Stripe credentials with anyone
4. Set up Touch ID or Windows Hello on compatible devices for faster and more secure access to your Stripe account.
5. If you manage a team, enforce two-step authentication for all team members on the team settings. .
6. Use a bookmark to sign in to Stripe instead of clicking on links in suspicious emails.
7. Always sign out of shared computers or devices to prevent unauthorised access to your account.
8. Check the URL to confirm you are signing in to the legitimate Stripe website

Be aware that these are only a few ways to strengthen your Stripe account and you should always do your own research for current ways to keep your online accounts safe.

Contacting Stripe

If you need to contact Stripe, you can visit their help centre here

Wise Business

If you’re curious about what you’ve read about the Wise Business account, why not give it a trial for yourself? For the small cost of opening an account, you can test to see whether it’s right for you and not have to worry about any subscription fees being applied.

The Wise Business account lets you make international transfers in over 40 currencies to 80 countries. Each transfer has a small upfront fee and is made using the transparent mid-market rate.

You also get local account details in 10 major currencies, including AUD.

In Australia, Wise is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL number 513764). On top of this, Wise has dedicated compliance teams and systems working around the clock to keep our customers’ money safe.

Find out if Wise can help your business save money today.

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