How to Set Up Payment Processing Fees

Updated 3 min read

Payment processing fees — charged by Stripe for handling credit and debit card transactions — can either be absorbed by your organization or passed on to students at checkout. CPR Enroll+ lets you configure a surcharge that is automatically added to student payments, keeping your advertised course prices clean while covering your processing costs.

This article walks you through configuring the account-level surcharge and assigning the fee on a per-course basis.

Before You Begin

  • Decide whether you want to absorb processing fees as a cost of doing business, or pass them on to students at checkout.
  • Check your Stripe dashboard for your account's specific processing rates, especially if you accept international cards.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Configure a Payment Processing Surcharge

  1. From the sidebar, go to Payments > Payment Settings > Payment Processing.
  2. Enter a Label for the fee — this is the name students see on the checkout page (e.g., "Processing Fee" or "Convenience Fee").
  3. Toggle the surcharge ON.
  4. Enter the Percentage portion of the fee (e.g., 2.9 for 2.9%).
  5. Enter the Fixed Amount portion of the fee (e.g., 0.30 for $0.30).
  6. Click Save.

ℹ Standard Stripe fees: Stripe's standard processing fee for US cards is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge. If you want to fully offset this, enter 2.9 in the Percentage field and 0.30 in the Fixed Amount field. International cards may have higher fees — check your Stripe dashboard for your account's specific rates.

Step 2: Assign the Fee Per Course

In addition to the account-level surcharge, you can control whether the platform fee is charged to the student or absorbed by your account on a course-by-course basis:

  1. Go to Course Builder > Courses.
  2. Click ⋮ > Edit on a course.
  3. In the course form, find the Platform Fee toggle.
  4. Set to Student Paid to add the fee to the student's checkout total for this course.
  5. Set to Account Paid (default) to absorb the fee for this course.
  6. Click Save.

✔ Consider your pricing strategy: Some organizations keep prices clean (e.g., $60.00) and absorb fees, treating them as a cost of doing business. Others prefer to list $60.00 and add a small processing fee at checkout. Whichever you choose, be consistent across your courses so students are not surprised.

Best Practices

  • Match your Percentage and Fixed Amount fields to your actual Stripe rate if your goal is to fully offset processing costs.
  • Use a clear, honest Label like "Processing Fee" so students understand what the charge is for.
  • Apply the Platform Fee setting consistently across similar courses to avoid confusing pricing inconsistencies.
  • Recheck your Stripe dashboard periodically, since international card fees can differ from your standard domestic rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

QuestionAnswer
What's the standard Stripe processing fee for US cards?2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge. Enter 2.9 in the Percentage field and 0.30 in the Fixed Amount field to fully offset it.
Can I choose to absorb the fee for some courses and pass it on for others?Yes. The Platform Fee toggle on each course lets you set it to Student Paid or Account Paid individually.
What is the default Platform Fee setting for a new course?Account Paid — meaning your account absorbs the fee unless you switch it to Student Paid.

✔ You're all set. Your payment processing fee is configured, and each course is set to either absorb or pass on the cost according to your pricing strategy.

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