Not as an Armenian business. Stripe doesn't open accounts for companies registered in Armenia, so local businesses either set up a company abroad or use a payment provider that works here.
Armenia isn't on Stripe's list of supported countries, so an Armenian company can't open a Stripe account.
Stripe pays out to a bank account in the country of your Stripe account, so the money doesn't land in your Armenian bank.
Stripe doesn't process ArCa, Armenia's domestic card scheme, or Idram.
The usual workarounds.
A US company through Stripe Atlas
Atlas forms a Delaware company for $500, then $100 a year for the registered agent. A Delaware LLC also owes $400 in tax every year, and a foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 with the IRS, with a $25,000 penalty for missing it.
A company in another supported country
Agencies set up a UK or other foreign company for you. You then run that company's accounting, taxes and bank account abroad, and payouts arrive there, not in Armenia.
A merchant of record
Services like Paddle sell on your behalf and pay you out. Paddle's standard rate is 5% + 50¢ per transaction, and it sells software and digital products, not every kind of business.
What Stripe charges on each payment.
US cards
2.9% + 30¢ on each successful payment. This is Stripe's standard rate for cards issued in the US.
Cards from other countries
A further 1.5%. To a US Stripe account, a card issued in Armenia is an international card, so the rate becomes 4.4% + 30¢.
Currency conversion
A further 1% when the payment has to be converted, which brings it to 5.4% + 30¢.
Stripe through a company abroad, or Lynq.
Stripe, via a company abroad
Lynq
Open with an Armenian company
—No
✓Yes
Money settles into your Armenian bank
—No
✓Yes
Visa, Mastercard and American Express
✓Yes
✓Yes
ArCa cards
—No
✓Yes
Idram
—No
✓Yes
Apple Pay
✓Yes
✓Yes
Checkout on your own page, 3D Secure in place
✓Yes
✓Yes
API, test mode and signed webhooks
✓Yes
✓Yes
If you know Stripe, you know Lynq.
Lynq's API follows the same model, so what you know carries over.
Create a payment intent on your server and pass its client secret to the browser.
Mount a JavaScript checkout that handles cards, wallets and 3D Secure.
Fulfil orders from a signed webhook, not from the browser.
Build against test keys, then switch to live keys.
When Stripe is still the better choice.
You already have a company in a country Stripe supports.
Most of your customers are abroad and pay with foreign cards.
You need Stripe products Lynq doesn't offer, such as Billing or Tax.
Start with Lynq.
Sign up
Create an account
Your test keys are ready at once, so you can build before anything else.
Connect
Connect your bank
Add the VPOS credentials from your Armenian bank in the dashboard.
Launch
Go live
Switch to live keys. Payments settle into your bank account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Stripe in Armenia?
Not with an Armenian company. Armenia isn't on Stripe's list of supported countries.
Can I connect an Armenian bank account to Stripe?
No. Stripe pays out to a bank account in the country of your Stripe account.
What about Stripe Atlas?
Atlas forms a US company you can use with Stripe. You then keep that company running: its fees, its US tax filings and a US bank account.
How do Stripe's fees compare with an Armenian bank's?
For a card issued in Armenia, a US Stripe account charges 4.4% + 30¢, or 5.4% + 30¢ with currency conversion. Ameriabank publishes 1.5% for ArCa cards, 2.7% for Visa and Mastercard cards from ArCa member banks, and 3% for those from other banks. A payment provider such as Lynq charges its own fee on top of the bank's. How to accept online payments in Armenia
Does Lynq work like Stripe's API?
Yes. Lynq uses the same payment-intent model, a JavaScript checkout and signed webhooks, so the integration will feel familiar.
