How to switch from Stripe without losing customers or cards

To switch from Stripe, you request a card data migration from Stripe to your new processor, which transfers stored card details directly between the two PCI-compliant providers. Your team then updates the payment integration and maps subscriptions, tests everything on the new processor, and moves live traffic once it's signed off, all at once or in stages.

How Stripe card data migration works

Stripe supports exporting stored card data to another PCI DSS compliant payment processor. The card numbers never pass through you or through us.

1. The new processor confirms it can receive the data and provides its PCI compliance details and a secure transfer key.
2. You request the export from Stripe through Stripe support, from your account, naming the receiving processor.
3. Stripe transfers the encrypted data directly to the processor, which imports it and returns a mapping from old card references to new ones.
4. Your team updates customer records with the new references, so stored cards keep working.

We coordinate each step with Stripe, the processor and your engineers. New cards saved during the migration window are handled with a final delta export before cutover.

Subscriptions and recurring billing

If you bill subscriptions through Stripe Billing, the plans, customers, billing dates and proration rules need a home on the new setup: either the processor's billing tools, a billing platform, or your own logic. We map each plan and customer before anything moves, run a test cycle in sandbox, then schedule the switch between billing runs so no renewal is missed or charged twice.

Some merchants keep Stripe Billing for subscription logic and move only card processing. Whether that works depends on your setup; we check it in the analysis.

Integrations and checkout

Your engineering team will need to:

• Update checkout and payment calls to the new processor's API or hosted fields.
• Rebuild webhooks your systems rely on (payment succeeded, refunded, disputed).
• Update refund, dispute and reporting workflows used by finance and support.
• Test against sandbox accounts the processor provides, including failure cases.

We scope this with your team before you decide, so the engineering cost is part of the business case, not a surprise after signing.

Switch timeline

1. Proposal accepted. Underwriting application prepared and submitted to the processing partner.
2. Approval and setup. Account approved, sandbox and production credentials issued, integration scoped with your team.
3. Build and test. Checkout, webhooks and billing mapped and tested in sandbox. Card data migration requested from Stripe.
4. Migration. Stored cards imported and references updated. Final delta export before cutover.
5. Cutover. Live traffic moves, all at once or in stages, after your team signs off. Statements reviewed together after the first month.

Every timeline is agreed in writing with your team. Large or complex integrations take longer; simple ones can be faster.

Run Stripe and the new processor side by side

You don't have to move everything at once. Common staged approaches:

• By share of traffic: route a small percentage of new payments to the new processor, then increase it.
• By product or region: move one business line or market first.
• New customers first: new sign-ups go to the new processor while existing subscriptions migrate later.

Running both for a period lowers risk and lets your finance team compare statements on real volume before committing fully.

Pre-switch checklist

• Written proposal accepted, with every fee and the contract terms.
• Processing account approved, with sandbox and production credentials.
• Every Stripe product you use listed, with its replacement or a decision to keep it.
• Webhooks and downstream systems (ERP, accounting, CRM, support tools) mapped to new events.
• Card data migration requested from Stripe, and the import confirmed by the new processor.
• Refund and dispute workflows documented for finance and support.
• Test plan run in sandbox, including declines, refunds, 3D Secure and subscription renewals.
• Rollback plan agreed: how traffic returns to Stripe if something unexpected happens.
• Cutover date set between billing runs, with your team on hand.

After cutover: the first 90 days

The switch isn't finished when traffic moves. In the first three months we:

• Watch authorization rates daily against your Stripe baseline, and investigate any dip quickly.
• Reconcile the first settlements with your finance team so deposits match expectations.
• Review the first full monthly statement line by line against the proposal.
• Confirm the effective rate you're actually paying, and compare it with what you paid on Stripe.

If anything doesn't match the proposal, we take it up with the processor on your behalf.

Who does what

We're an independent agent. Processing is provided by a licensed partner. Here is the split.

Processing is provided by a licensed processing partner, named in your proposal before you sign anything.