Stripe Unsupported Countries: What to do if Stripe is not supported in your country of residence

Stripe is an international payment company that can accept money from different countries around the globe. However, despite the company’s global reach, most business owners from certain countries are not supported by Stripe, while some other countries are blocked from using the global payment gateway giant.

This blog explains the countries supported by Stripe, Stripe unsupported countries and countries that have been blocked by Stripe.

First of all, what is Stripe?

Stripe is a company that allows businesses to receive and send money on the Internet. Stripe offers a technology that accepts payment through banking institutions online and prevents credit card fraud techniques. This payment gateway system is one of the most secure payment options with easy integration. Currently, Stripe supports 46 countries, as listed in the table below.

What are Stripe Unsupported Countries?

Stripe-unsupported countries simply mean countries in which you cannot currently open a Stripe account if you reside in them.

The term "Stripe unsupported countries" has been in existence since the inception of Stripe in 2010. When Stripe launched, they started offering their products to residents of a select few countries and kept expanding to more territories over time.

Right now Stripe is currently supported in less than 50 countries. This means that if you reside in a country where Stripe is currently not supported you will have to register your company in the US or the UK before you can open a Stripe account.

This shows there are still a lot of countries that Stripe does not support. Does it mean if you’re in an unsupported country, you can bind Stripe with a local bank to accept payments? We’ll cover that below.

List of Stripe Unsupported Countries

You cannot directly open a Stripe account in the following countries because they are currently part of Stripe unsupported countries

List of Stripe Unsupported Countries in Africa

While Stripe listed Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa as countries of the extended network where they are available, in reality, Stripe.com does not currently support these countries. Residents of all African countries cannot open Stripe accounts except if they form a company in the UK or a company in the US.

Here is a list of countries in Africa where Stripe is not currently Supported. 

1. Algeria

2. Angola

3. Benin

4. Botswana

5. Burkina Faso

6. Burundi

7. Cabo Verde

8. Cameroon

9. Central African Republic

10. Chad

11. Comoros

12. Democratic Republic of the Congo

13. Djibouti

14. Egypt

15. Equatorial Guinea

16. Eritrea

17. Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)

18. Ethiopia

19. Gabon

20. The Gambia

21. Ghana

22. Guinea

23. Guinea-Bissau

24. Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

25. Kenya

26. Lesotho

27. Liberia

28. Libya

29. Madagascar

30. Malawi

31. Mali

32. Mauritania

33. Mauritius

34. Morocco

35. Mozambique

36. Namibia

37. Niger

38. Nigeria

39. Rwanda

40. Sao Tome and Principe

41. Senegal

42. Seychelles

43. Sierra Leone

44. Somalia

45. South Africa

46. South Sudan

47. Sudan

48. Tanzania

49. Togo

50. Tunisia

51. Uganda

52. Zambia

53. Zimbabwe

List of Countries not Supported by Stripe in Asia

Stripe is available in a few countries in Asia. This means that residents of these countries do not need to incorporate a company in the UK or the US to apply for a Stripe account. These countries include Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, India, 

1. Afghanistan

2. Armenia

3. Azerbaijan

4. Bahrain

5. Bangladesh

6. Bhutan

7. Brunei

8. Cambodia

9. China

10. Cyprus

11. Georgia

12. India

14. Iran

15. Iraq

16. Israel

17. Japan

18. Jordan

19. Kazakhstan

20. Kuwait

21. Kyrgyzstan

22. Laos

23. Lebanon

24. Malaysia

25. Maldives

26. Mongolia

27. Myanmar (Burma)

28. Nepal

29. North Korea

30. Oman

31. Pakistan

32. Palestine

33. Philippines

34. Qatar

35. Russia

36. Saudi Arabia

37. South Korea

38. Sri Lanka

39. Syria

40. Taiwan

41. Tajikistan

42. Thailand

43. Timor-Leste (East Timor)

44. Turkey

45. Turkmenistan

47. Uzbekistan

48. Vietnam

49. Yemen

List of Stripe Unsupported Countries in South America

Brazil is the only country in South America where Stripe is supported.

Here is a list of countries in South America where Stripe is not directly supported except if you incorporate a company in the US or the UK.

1. Argentina

2. Bolivia

4. Chile

5. Colombia

6. Ecuador

7. Guyana

8. Paraguay

9. Peru

10. Suriname

11. Uruguay

12. Venezuela

List of Stripe Unsupported countries in The Caribbean

1. Antigua and Barbuda

2. The Bahamas

3. Barbados

4. Cuba

5. Dominica

6. Dominican Republic

7. Grenada

8. Haiti

9. Jamaica

10. Saint Kitts and Nevis

11. Saint Lucia

12. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

13. Trinidad and Tobago

Central America

1. Belize

2. Costa Rica

3. El Salvador

4. Guatemala

5. Honduras

6. Nicaragua

7. Panama

Stripe Blocked Countries

You cannot use Stripe payment services directly or indirectly in countries that Stripe has flagged as high-risk jurisdictions. These countries include:

• Iran
• Cuba
• Crimea
• North Korea
• Donetsk
• Syria
• Luhansk regions

Additionally, it has prohibited its services to companies or individuals considered a high risk as listed in the restricted party list of the USA, United Nations, European Union, or United Kingdom. This also includes the sanctions list maintained by

• Denied person lists
• US office of foreign assets control
• Entity list maintained by the US Department of Commerce

It is prohibited to use services selling, exporting, reexporting, or providing consulting services to people in Russia or to use stripe services on goods prohibited by law, for example, luxury goods from Russia.

How to Register on Stripe

Registering on Stripe is easy; follow these steps

1. On your internet browser, go to Stripe registration dashboard here.
2. Fill out the form to create a stripe account: in this form, you will fill in all information for the account user. You will enter a company email address that can be used only by financial officials. This is the same email address that you will use to receive payment notifications and other vital messages about your Stripe account. When selecting your account, ensure it's strong, and it contains one lower, one upper case letter, one special character, and one number.Follow these steps

• Enter email address
• Password
• Re-enter password
• Check “I am not a robot.”
• Tap “Create stripe account”

3. Confirm you’re the company representative: Stripe will require additional information for identity verification. You may use your Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook account to fill in the information. You need to provide

• Legal name
• Date of birth
• Your social security number last 4 numbers

4. Enter your bank details

In this step, you will fill in your account number and routing number, then tap the activate account button. If the account application is successful, you can start making transactions.

5. How to connect Stripe to your website

Connecting Stripe to your website is easy

Go stripe or API keys

To ensure your Stripe account will connect with your website, send your web developer test keys for testing. The web developer will need a secret key and a publishable key, which you will find once you click the reveal test key token. To avoid errors, copy and paste the keys.

After configuration and integration, your web developer will also need live keys. Use the toogler slider on top of your screen to switch from test to live keys and trap the relieve live key to show the secret key and copy-paste.

6. Get webhooks

For effective background communication, get webhooks

Go to  Dashboard > Developers > Webhooks. Then add webhook  https://yoursite.com/?callback=gravityformsstripe

At this stage, your web developer will change your website to a secure socket layer and get an HTTPS server.

Can I Use Stripe in a Blocked Country?

Fortunately, you can still use Stripe in unsupported countries in Asia,  Israel, Germany, Panama, etc. However, you must open a US limited liability company (LLC). You must provide an employer identification number (EIN), a US physical address, a US phone number, or a Tax ID. Getting these documents can be complicated, but I will guide you through and help you get Stripe in blocked countries.

How to Acquire a US Physical Address

You can acquire a US physical address at no cost. You can start by contacting someone you know in the US to help you out. However, you can visit USadress.com or shopito.com to create a US address.

How to acquire a US Phone Number

Acquiring a US phone number is not free unless you have someone in the US to help you. However, you can secure a functional US phone number from an app like the Dingtone app. Download this app and create a US phone number that you can use on Stripe.

After securing your US phone number and address, register for an LLC. Here are states with a budget-friendly cost for forming an LLC in the US and low annual tax expenses.

The filing fee covers the fee you pay to the state for your company registration. Meanwhile, the annual tax fee is the tax payment you owe the government on a yearly basis. Your exact tax obligation depends on your business type and other factors such as company profits and the number of members. However, if you want to minimize your tax liabilities, consider filing your business entity in states like New Mexico, Mississippi, or Missouri.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to set up a Stripe account?

Setting up a stripe account is free, and you can hold it for any time you want without any penalty.

Which is better, Stripe or PayPal?

Stripe is a better option if your business involves a high level of sales, and you want to accept diverse forms of payments; however, you may use PayPal if you use it to send invoices and receive money for a small business. PayPal is also slightly expensive compared to Stripe.

How much does Stripe take per payment?

It's free to create a Stripe account since it doesn’t require a monthly or yearly fee. You only need to pay 2.9% and 30 cents for every transaction. You will pay an additional 1% fee for international transactions and currency conversion transactions.

Who pays the Stripe fee?

Stripe has a pay-as-you-go plan, meaning you will only pay the Stripe card processing fee once you use their services to accept money from your clients or deposits. Remember, accepting payments via Stripe is not free, and you will cater for the processing rates.

Winding Up

Stripe is an ideal platform for ecommerce transactions. Take advantage of its advanced features, and you can transact huge payments at a cheaper rate thanks to its transparent pricing structure. Even if you are in a blocked country with a VPN and a US LLC, you can operate Stripe from any part of the world. Need help opening a Stripe account? Kindly contact us here here for help o how to achieve this.