Identify the fee trigger when charge and settlement currencies match
Start with the fee description and the written term that defines when it applies. Then match that term to the actual payment, its presentment and settlement currencies, and whichever geography fields the term names. Equal currencies do not establish that every fee must disappear: a geography-based condition and a conversion condition answer different questions. If the contract or transaction record does not establish the trigger, keep the fee unresolved and request that exact missing explanation instead of relabeling it as FX.
For: An owner or finance contact at a research-only business reconciling a fee described as international against an actual payment record.
Identify whether the amount is on the merchant’s processing statement, a platform invoice or a buyer’s report about their own bank statement. Those records do not automatically describe the same charge. This comparison concerns the fee charged to the merchant. A buyer’s separate reported amount cannot be used to explain the merchant’s line without a matching provider record.
Keep the exact fee label, charged amount, currency, account and relevant payment reference together. Do not replace a label such as international with conversion in the worksheet. Labels can point toward a question, but the actual written definition supplies the condition you need to verify.
For a Stripe account, the Fees report separates amount, tax and currency from product, feature and fee description. The incurred_by field can link a fee to the object that incurred it, and one transaction can have several fee rows. Follow that reference before adding rows together or assuming that the entire difference between a payment and a payout is the international fee.
Compare currencies without treating them as countries
Stripe distinguishes the currency of the customer’s payment method, the charge’s presentment currency and settlement currency. Record charge and settlement currencies from the same payment journey, using the provider’s records rather than the currency symbol displayed on the storefront. Keep a later payout record separate if it describes another stage.
If presentment and settlement currencies match, that comparison alone does not identify a conversion between those two currencies. It also does not establish the customer’s payment-method currency, the geography used for pricing or the absence of every other fee. Do not infer a card’s country or a merchant-account country from the currency used.
The geographic comparison must come from the term you are investigating. If it names payment-method issuance country and merchant-account country, those are the facts to locate. If it names a different geography or does not define international at all, preserve that wording and request the missing definition. A shipping address or website language is not a substitute for a different field named in the agreement.
Match the written trigger before checking the amount
Use the fee schedule and amendments applicable to this account and the transaction date. Stripe’s general terms allow written fee agreements to differ from public pricing, and regional terms depend on account country. Its public pricing or another merchant’s schedule therefore cannot supply a missing rate for this reconciliation. For another provider, use that provider’s own agreement and definitions.
Where the written term defines a fee by a geographic condition, compare the actual provider-recorded geography with that condition independently of whether the two currencies match. Where the term defines a conversion fee, locate the documented conversion event. This is a method for reading the term you hold; it does not assert that any particular geographic condition or conversion fee applies to your account.
Once the trigger is supported, compare the amount with the stated rate or fixed charge, calculation base, currency and any separately reported tax. If the trigger matches but the amount does not, the remaining question is the calculation. If the trigger itself cannot be matched, arithmetic alone will not establish why the fee was charged. Do not invent a rate by dividing the fee by the payment amount and treating the result as a contractual term.
Close only the part the documents explain
Record one of three findings: the written trigger and amount match the records; the trigger matches but the amount needs explanation; or the trigger is not yet established. For the last two, identify the precise missing term, geography field, conversion entry or calculation input. An unresolved row is not a finding that the charge is unlawful or a promise that a credit is due.
If using Stripe’s Fees report, allow for its documented coverage and timing. It covers most fees paid from the balance, has specified exclusions including after-use invoiced fees, and data can take up to 96 hours after the balance effect. A missing recent row is not proof that the fee did not occur. A fee report also does not establish the correct price or the legal effect of the agreement.
For a Prism processing consultation, summarize the fee label, whether currencies match and which contractual condition remains unexplained. Ask for the specific records-review help you need; scope, responsibilities, fees and terms must be confirmed. The relevant provider explains its fee and decides account eligibility. Stripe’s reporting features do not establish that Stripe or any other provider has approved a research-only business.
International fee basis record
Use one fee row and its linked payment at a time. Fill the final column from existing documents, keeping private references inside authorized systems. First establish the fee’s trigger, then its calculation. Mark missing definitions or unavailable fields unresolved rather than assigning a country or rate.
Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.
International fee basis record. The last column is for temporary notes.
Fact to match
Evidence to use
Interpretation
Your comparison
Fee label
Evidence to useExact statement or invoice description, amount and fee currency; for Stripe, product, feature and fee_description.
InterpretationIdentify the line being explained without renaming an international fee as conversion.
Contract charge basis
Evidence to useApplicable written fee schedule, amendments and the term defining the trigger.
InterpretationRecord the effective version and whether the condition concerns geography, conversion or something else.
Linked payment
Evidence to useProvider’s fee-to-payment reference; on Stripe, incurred_by where provided.
InterpretationConfirm the row belongs to the payment under review. Several rows may legitimately point to one object without sharing the same trigger.
Presentment currency
Evidence to useThe actual charge record.
InterpretationUse the charge currency, not a storefront display symbol or a country inferred from it.
Settlement currency
Evidence to useThe matching settlement record.
InterpretationCompare the same transaction stage; do not silently substitute a later bank-credit currency.
Relevant transaction geography
Evidence to useProvider-recorded fields named by the written fee condition.
InterpretationRecord the country comparison only at the level needed by that condition. If a required field is missing, leave the trigger unresolved.
Amount calculation
Evidence to useWritten rate or fixed amount, calculation base and any separate tax row.
InterpretationAfter matching the trigger, identify whether the stated inputs reproduce the charge; do not derive a supposed agreed rate from the result.
Unresolved question
Evidence to useThe specific missing definition, record field or calculation input.
InterpretationAsk which documented event and term produced this row. Matching currencies alone does not settle the question.
These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.
Limits
No fee rate, universal international classification, tax conclusion or entitlement to a credit is established here. Use the exact provider, country, method and agreement applicable to the real transaction.
Stripe’s currency terminology and reporting fields describe Stripe; they do not determine another provider’s pricing or research-only merchant eligibility.
Do not copy card numbers, private payment links, account credentials, full bank details or customer statements into this worksheet or a public inquiry.
Stripe supported currencies — checked 2026-09-29. Payment-method currency, presentment currency and settlement currency are distinct concepts. Currency documentation alone does not establish an account’s geographic fee classification or eligibility.
Stripe Services Agreement general terms — checked 2026-09-29. Written fee agreements can differ from public pricing. Regional terms depend on account country, and the actual agreement and fee terms must be read for the merchant; no legal outcome is inferred.
Stripe Fees report — checked 2026-09-29. The report separates product, feature, fee description, amount, tax and currency; incurred_by supports transaction reconciliation and multiple rows can relate to one transaction. Coverage exclusions and up-to-96-hour availability limit conclusions from missing rows. The report does not establish prices or the cause of a fee.
Prism solutions — checked 2026-09-21. Processing preparation and requested consultation work require agreed scope, fees and terms. The relevant provider decides eligibility and account terms.
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