Which activity does NOT incur scheme fees?

• A. Initiating a payout
• B. Setting up a recurring payment
• C. Issuing refunds
• D. Completing transactions

Answer: (A)

Initiating a payout does not incur scheme fees because this process involves transferring funds from your Stripe account to a bank account, rather than processing a payment transaction. Scheme fees are typically associated with payment transactions that utilize payment networks, such as credit and debit card processing, where a business incurs costs from the card networks (like Visa or Mastercard) when customers make payments.

The other activities mentioned, such as setting up a recurring payment, issuing refunds, and completing transactions, usually involve processing payments that lead to fees being charged by the payment schemes, as they require network resources to handle the financial transactions. In contrast, payouts are merely movement of funds already in your Stripe balance and do not involve additional processing fees associated with payment networks, which is why initiating a payout stands out as the activity that does not incur these fees.