Understanding Fee Implications with Stripe Express: Refunds and Disputes

What happens to fees when a donation is refunded?

When a donation is refunded, the donor receives their full payment back — including any processing fee they covered. However, Stripe's processing fee is not returned to your organization; it is debited from your Stripe merchant account. If this results in a negative balance, Stripe will cover the shortfall by transferring funds from your connected bank account.

For example, if a donor contributes a given amount and pays the processing fee (see Stripe's current fee schedule for the applicable rate), their total payment will reflect the donation amount plus that fee — but the processing fee portion is non-refundable to your organization.

How are disputes handled and what fees apply?

If a donor disputes a payment through their bank or card issuer, it triggers a dispute process with Stripe and BetterUnite.

1. The disputed payment is immediately held by Stripe from the platform account, BetterUnite.
2. The disputed payment is then reversed out of your connected Stripe account until the dispute is resolved.
3. A dispute fee set by Stripe is charged to the connected Stripe account (see Stripe's current fee schedule for the applicable rate).
4. BetterUnite submits evidence of purchase to the financial institution that facilitated the dispute. There is a waiting period for a resolution of up to several weeks.
5. If the dispute is won, the payment is added back to your Stripe account.
6. If the dispute is lost, the payment is refunded in full; the Stripe dispute fee is retained (non-refundable), and the original processing fee is also non-refundable — consistent with the refund policy described above.

If the dispute results in a refund, it follows the same process described above, including the non-refundable nature of the processing fees.

For a full walkthrough of the refund and dispute process, visit the Stripe Express Guide.

Need additional help?

We're here to assist you in any way we can. Don't hesitate to reach out to support@betterunite.com

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