Stripe, or your own merchant account?
Stripe is excellent and, for a lot of stores, the right answer. This page is about the cases where holding your own merchant account on NMI works out better, and the cases where it does not.
The fair summary
If you are doing modest volume, selling to consumers, and value setup speed over rate negotiation, Stripe is probably better for you and we would rather you knew that now. The argument for NMI starts at higher volume, in higher risk categories, with B2B card mix, or where an ISO has quoted you a materially better rate.
Side by side
Written to be accurate rather than flattering. Tell us if something here has changed.
| Consideration | Stripe | NMIWP |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | ||
| Time to first paymentSign up versus underwriting | Minutes | Days, via a processor |
| UnderwritingWhether a human reviews your business | Automated | Full application |
| Account stabilityRisk of sudden termination | Platform decides | Contractual, with a named rep |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | Published flat rate | Negotiated, often interchange plus |
| Rate negotiation | No | Yes |
| Platform fee on top | Included in the rate | None from this plugin |
| Plugin cost | Free | From $49 a year |
| Capability | ||
| ACH at a flat fee | Yes | Yes |
| Level III interchange data | No | Yes |
| Multiple merchant accounts | Multiple accounts needed | Yes |
| High risk categories | Often refused | Depends on your ISO |
| Card data off your server | Yes | Yes |
| Running it | ||
| Dashboard quality | Excellent | Varies by reseller |
| Support for the payments side | Platform support | Your processor |
| Developer documentation | Excellent | Adequate |
Stay where you are if
- You are under roughly twenty thousand a month and rates are not the bottleneck
- You want to start taking payments this afternoon
- You value one dashboard and one support line over a negotiated rate
- Your category is low risk and mainstream consumer retail
Move to NMIWP if
- An ISO has quoted you a rate that beats your effective Stripe rate
- You sell to businesses and can qualify for Level III interchange
- Your category struggles to keep a platform account open
- You want a contractual merchant relationship rather than a platform account
- Average order value is high enough that ACH changes the maths
Questions
Compare your own numbers before deciding anything. If the maths does not favour switching, we will tell you so.
Ask us directlyCan I run both?
Is my effective rate really higher on Stripe?
Which is more work to maintain?
Will migrating break my subscriptions?
Related
Other comparisons and guides.
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