What Is Stripe Checkout, and Why Should Michigan Business Owners Care?

Big Enough for Amazon, Small Enough for Startups — Here’s Why “Stripe” Checks Out.

The checkout line at Meijer is long again. You told yourself you’d never use self-checkout. After all, you don’t work here. But look at those lines, look at those overflowing carts, and with only a few items of your own, you find yourself turning the cart toward the rows of automated cashiers so you can simply get in, get out, and be on your way.

It’s okay. It’s not a crime to crave speed and convenience. Ten years ago, many of us never thought self-checkout would really catch on. But today, some stores have done away with human cashiers altogether!

Why? Because in this internet age, everyone craves that feeling of speed and convenience. It’s not just a luxury anymore — it’s expected. And the expectation of convenience is even higher for online shopping. About 1.5x more expected, according to an online study of shopping habits conducted by PYMNTS.

If you’re a Michigan business owner selling products, offering services, or selling memberships, you need a simple checkout method to keep customers engaged through the end of the sale. That’s why so many businesses turn to Stripe Checkout.

If you’ve ever bought from Amazon, paid for a Lyft, or used Shopify or Substack, you’ve used Stripe. Not only can this checkout system create a sense of familiarity among your customers, but it has many benefits you probably don’t know about that can help you grow and expand your reach.

Let’s look together at what Stripe Checkout is, its affordability, and why it might be the smartest way to handle your payments.

What is Stripe Checkout?

Stripe Checkout is a ready-made, secure online payment page that makes it easy for your customers to pay you. It’s built and hosted by Stripe, one of the most trusted payment platforms in the world. (Did I mention Amazon uses it?)

Think of it like this:

Instead of building your own checkout form from scratch (and worrying about security, credit card regulations, or mobile responsiveness), Stripe gives you a polished checkout page that just works, right from the start.

Not only is it secure — it’s fast. Really fast.

At checkout, the average customer spends less than two-minutes filling out their information to make a purchase. Stripe supports multiple payment options, autofill, real-time validation, and card scanning on mobile, making you look high-tech with a smoother and smarter experience than most custom-built forms.

Once a purchase is made, Stripe can even send professional, branded receipts automatically, saving you time and giving your customers peace of mind.

What Can You Do with Stripe?

Stripe Checkout can be plugged right into your site or app to start collecting payments for a myriad of payment options: one-time purchases, subscriptions and memberships, donations or event registrations, digital products and downloads.

It’s all baked into this humble, yet hefty pie.

Stripe supports credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even buy-now-pay-later options — all optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile.

Trying to connect with overseas customers? Stripe can do that too, with 30+ languages and the ability to accept more than 125 different currencies.

Don’t Want to Look “Cookie-Cutter?” No Problem.

While its functionality might maintain the same standard across the board, not all Stripe Checkouts are made to look equal. Stripe offers multiple customization options to give your checkout a unique appearance that looks like it belongs to your business.

Customization options include the ability to add your:

• Logo
• Business name
• Brand colors
• Product details
• Confirmation page (where customers land after payment)

Why Do Business Owners Love It?

Here’s what makes Stripe Checkout such a smart choice for small and mid-size businesses in Michigan and beyond:

#1. Security is handled for you. You can stop worrying about PCI compliance or protecting your customers from hackers. Stripe is an API model (a communication software) that allows your site to handle payments without ever needing to collect or store credit card/personal data yourself.

#2. It’s mobile optimized. 60% of online shoppers complete purchases using their phone. As for the other 40%? Stripe easily translates to fit any screen, whether that’s a tablet, laptop, desktop, or even a smart refrigerator. (It was hard to imagine that ten years ago too.)

#3. It’s conversion focused. Stripe is built to reduce cart abandonment and help people complete their purchase. The easier it is to pay, the more likely a customer will.

#4. Stripe is global-ready. Not only can Stripe speak to customers in 30+ languages, but it will automatically adjust based on the region in which someone is visiting your site. Currencies are automatically corrected too!

#5 It’s subscription friendly. If you want to help your customers automatically re-order the things they’ll need again and again, you can establish recurring payments for easier business that you can plan for.

How Much Does It Cost?

With all its features, you might be worried it costs a fortune. You’re trying to generate subscriptions, not pay for another one. The good news is, it doesn’t cost a dime to install or keep on your website.

I’ll say that again. It’s free to keep on your site.

Stripe’s business model is built on your success — not draining your resources.

When you make money, it makes money. Stripe charges a percentage and a small fee per successful transaction. If a cart is abandoned or a payment fails, you won’t be charged at all.

Of course, it’s up to you whether the fees are fair, so let’s break down the numbers:

·     One-time payments: 2.9% + 30¢

·     Subscriptions: Same rate per recurring payment

·     International cards: Add 1%

·     Currency conversion / tax tools: Add 0.5%–0.8%

Here’s how that shakes out:

Say you have a customer in the U.S. who makes a one-time purchase of $100. Stripe would charge $3.20, leaving you with $96.80 from the sale. That’s the same as most standard card processing fees.

If that same customer comes back and decides to subscribe to recurring orders every three months, Stripe only charges the same amount, and offers support with billing tools, such as:

·     automatic invoicing

·     the ability to create coupons

·     offer trial periods

How To Get Started.

If you work with a web developer like Queue Development, it’s quick to integrate. They can set it up using Stripe’s simple tools and documentation — or even through plugins if you're already using something like WordPress or Shopify.

Once integrated, your developer can tailor the checkout to match your site’s design — building trust and making the checkout experience so easy, customers are less likely to click away.

Perhaps best of all, you can finally put the ibuprofen away. No more headaches from managing code, updating payment forms, or chasing down compliance issues. Stripe handles it.

Stripe Checkout is a simple, secure, and flexible way to start collecting payments online without having to reinvent the wheel. If you want to focus on running your business (and not becoming a coding or payment expert), this might be one of the easiest decisions you can make.