September 30, 2026 · Muhammad Umar · More by Muhammad Umar
Stripe Now Lets Platforms Shift Express Account Losses
Stripe unblocked a configuration letting Express connected accounts shift both pricing and negative-balance liability to Stripe.
What Changed on June 24, 2026
As of API version 2026-06-24, Stripe unblocked a configuration for Express connected accounts that previously wasn't available outside private preview. On the legacy Accounts v1 controller model, you can now set fees[payer] to account alongside losses[payments] set to stripe — pricing ownership moves to the connected account while Stripe absorbs any negative balance the account can't cover. On the newer Accounts v2 API, the same release unblocks two combinations of defaults.responsibilities for accounts with dashboard set to express: fees_collector "stripe" with losses_collector "stripe", and fees_collector "application" with losses_collector "stripe". No new parameters were introduced — these are existing fields that previously rejected these value combinations.
The Restriction That Didn't Change
Stripe kept one rule in place on both APIs: if losses stay with the platform (losses[payments] or losses_collector set to application), fees must also stay with the platform. You can't collect platform-controlled fees while pushing negative-balance risk onto Stripe — that combination has never been supported. The valid loss-liability configurations for Express accounts are effectively: the platform owns both fees and losses, the long-standing default, or Stripe owns losses with fees on either side, account-owned or Stripe-owned. Picking a loss-liability model before onboarding your first seller matters more than most integration decisions, because Accounts v2 responsibilities are set when you add the Merchant configuration and can't be changed later.
What Comes Bundled With losses_collector: "stripe"
Shifting loss liability to Stripe also shifts KYC-requirement collection in most cases. Per Stripe's own configuration documentation, your platform is responsible for collecting KYC information itself only when losses_collector is application and dashboard is none — every other combination, including the newly unblocked ones, defaults KYC collection to Stripe. Accounts v2 also picked up the ability to close Express accounts programmatically, via POST /v2/core/accounts/:id/close, in the same release.
Fraud Vetting Doesn't Go Away
Handing Stripe the negative-balance liability doesn't remove your platform's obligation to vet accounts. Stripe's Express account documentation is unambiguous that your platform is responsible for losses incurred by Express connected accounts and instructs platforms to closely examine all accounts that sign up through your platform for potential fraud — language that predates this change and isn't scoped to any particular losses_collector setting. Treat losses_collector: "stripe" as a change in who pays when something slips through, not a reason to stop screening for fraud at signup.