Summary: Stripe restricts payment processing that supports activities in countries subject to comprehensive sanctions enforced by the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These countries typically include Cuba, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (a region of Ukraine), among others. These restrictions are due to legal and regulatory obligations under U.S. law, which prohibit transactions with individuals, entities, or governments in these sanctioned countries. Stripe complies with these regulations to ensure they do not facilitate prohibited transactions.
Stripe uses tools to identify and flag website and social media content that relate to activities in restricted countries. Here are a couple of steps we recommend you take to ensure that Stripe does not restrict your account
Before You Begin
Stripe is legally required to restrict transactions involving countries sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Review the list of restricted regions: These typically include Cuba, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Assess your activities: Determine if you currently support, plan to support, or have historically supported mission work in these areas.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Create an alternative donation method for restricted regions. If you actively support activities in a sanctioned country, you must not use Stripe for these specific funds.
Setup a process to accept these donations via Cash or Check only.
Add disclaimer language to your Donation Page. Stripe flags content that implies online support for these regions. Clearly direct donors to offline methods.
Example text: “If you wish to support our efforts in Cuba, you can do so by donating by cash or check.”
Audit your Website and Social Media. If you do not actively support these activities but have in the past, Stripe's tools may still flag your account based on old content.
Search your site for keywords related to the restricted countries listed above.
Remove outdated Content. Delete or unpublish any mentions of past activities in these regions to prevent flagging.
This includes saved Newsletters, Bulletins, or blog posts that remain accessible to the public.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Why is Stripe restricting my account? Stripe must comply with U.S. laws prohibiting transactions with individuals, entities, or governments in OFAC-sanctioned countries. They use tools to scan for content (website text, social media) that suggests a connection to these prohibited activities.