Stripe is a fantastic developer platform — and it stops there. Malum is built for merchants who want Stripe-grade checkout but settle in crypto, refuse to lose money to chargebacks, and don't want to spend months fighting an underwriting team.
Stripe is the right tool when you need a regulated card processor for a low-risk, fiat business with a long compliance runway. Malum is the right tool when you want to get paid in crypto, instantly, with zero chargeback exposure — without explaining your business model to an underwriter every quarter.
Stripe is excellent at what it does — but it's a card processor, not a settlement layer. Malum is built end-to-end for merchants who want crypto in their wallet, not pending fiat in a Stripe balance.
Stripe leaves chargeback exposure on the merchant. Malum's card-to-crypto model converts every card payment into a settled crypto payout, so disputes cannot pull funds back from your balance.
Stripe runs on T+2 to T+7 fiat rails. Malum settles your sales into USDT, USDC, BTC or 30+ other tokens in minutes — directly to your wallet, no banking days, no payout schedule.
With Stripe you remain the seller — meaning sales tax, VAT and global compliance are your problem. Malum can act as the Merchant of Record, taking that obligation off your plate.
Side-by-side breakdown of Malum and Stripe on the dimensions that matter for merchants who actually need to get paid.
| Feature | Malum | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Payout currency | Crypto (USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, LTC and 30+ others) | Fiat only (bank transfer, requires a registered business bank account) |
| Payout speed | Minutes — direct to your wallet | T+2 to T+7 banking days depending on country |
| Chargeback risk | None — funds settled in crypto cannot be clawed back | Full chargeback exposure; merchant pays the loss + a dispute fee |
| Merchant of Record | Yes — Malum can act as MoR for tax + compliance | No — you are the seller of record on every transaction |
| Onboarding | Minutes — open an account and start accepting payments | Activation gated on KYB review, business registration, banking info |
| High-risk verticals | Supported (digital goods, gaming, software, content, services) | Restricted — many categories blocked outright by policy |
| Frozen balances / reserves | Funds settle and leave the platform immediately | Rolling reserves and 90+ day holds are common on flagged accounts |
| Payment methods | Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SEPA, iDEAL, Bancontact, EPS, Faster Payments, Interac, bank transfer in 25+ currencies, and direct crypto — 70+ in total | Cards, Apple/Google Pay, ACH, SEPA, regional APMs (no native crypto checkout) |
| Hosted checkout | Multiple customisable templates, white-label and custom-domain ready | Stripe Checkout + Payment Element |
| Hosted storefront | Built-in storefront with products, reviews, custom domain | Not included — needs Stripe Payment Links or external platform |
| Plugin coverage | Shopify, WooCommerce, SellAuth, custom-domain proxy, REST API | Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, custom integrations |
| Fees | Flat, published merchant discount — no surprise reserves or interchange-plus games | 2.9% + $0.30 baseline, plus international, currency conversion and dispute fees |
| Real human support | Telegram, email and live chat — staffed by humans | Tiered support, mostly self-service unless on a paid plan |
Five things worth understanding before you decide.
Stripe holds your balance as fiat in a Stripe-controlled account until your payout schedule fires. That is the same balance the bank can be ordered to reverse from when a buyer files a chargeback, even months after the fact.
Malum runs the opposite model. As soon as a card transaction clears, Malum converts the proceeds into the crypto you've nominated and ships them to the wallet you control. Once settled, those funds are yours — not pending, not held, not reversible from the issuing bank.
Stripe's chargeback liability sits squarely on the merchant. A successful dispute pulls the original sale plus a $15 dispute fee from your balance. Repeat disputes push you toward the Visa / Mastercard monitoring programs and ultimately account closure.
Because Malum has already shipped your settlement to a wallet you control, there is nothing for an issuer to claw back. Disputes that hit the card side are absorbed by Malum — not deducted from your earnings.
Stripe is a regulated card acquirer, which means activation is gated on KYB, beneficial owner identification, business registration, bank statements and an evolving risk score. Even after activation, accounts can be flagged for re-review and have payouts paused.
Malum operates as a payments platform with light onboarding for new merchants. You can sign up, configure a checkout and start taking real payments without surrendering months of compliance documentation up front.
Stripe's restricted businesses list is long: gaming, gambling, certain digital content, IPTV, financial services, supplements, ticketing resale, and many others.
Malum supports a much wider range of legitimate verticals, including digital products, software licenses, server access, content subscriptions, gaming top-ups and most service businesses — without "high-risk" surcharges or per-merchant rate negotiations.
Stripe sets the bar for developer experience and Malum doesn't try to outdo it on every primitive. What Malum does match is the surface area that matters for an actual checkout integration:
Spin up a Malum account, drop the embed onto your site or storefront, and take your first chargeback-free, crypto-settled payment today.
Comparisons are based on publicly available information from each provider's website and product documentation at the time of writing and are provided for informational purposes only. Trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective owners; their use here is purely descriptive and does not imply endorsement, affiliation, or partnership. Pricing, fees, payout times, supported regions and product features change frequently — always verify directly with each provider before making a decision.