How to Pledge with Stripe (Credit or Debit Card)

Step-by-step guide to backing a BlockReel Fund campaign using a credit or debit card via Stripe.

How to Pledge with Stripe

The credit and debit card path to backing a campaign.

If a campaign has the Stripe rail enabled, you can pledge with any Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, or UnionPay card, or with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and most local payment methods Stripe supports. This guide walks through the flow and what to expect after pledging.

Before you pledge

You need:

A BlockReel account (free signup with email or Google takes under a minute)
A valid payment method
A delivery address if the reward tier you choose requires physical shipping
Your country of residence (used for OFAC sanctions screening and shipping cost calculation)

If you do not have a BlockReel account, the pledge flow will prompt you to create one. Your pledge persists across the signup so you do not lose your tier selection.

The pledge flow

1. Open the campaign page at /fund/[campaign-slug]. 2. Select a reward tier in the sidebar. Click "Back this project" on your chosen tier. 3. Select Stripe as your payment method in the pledge dialog. 4. Confirm your country. A dropdown defaults to your account country; correct it if traveling. 5. Check the geo-attestation box. This confirms you are not in or controlled by a sanctioned party. See Country Selection and OFAC Attestation. 6. Enter shipping address if the tier requires physical shipping. Shipping cost auto-calculates by region. 7. Optionally add a tip for BlockReel to support the platform. This is voluntary and does not go to the creator. 8. Enter card details in the Stripe-hosted card form. We never see or store your card number; Stripe handles tokenization. 9. Confirm your pledge. The dialog shows the total (pledge + shipping + optional tip). 10. Receive confirmation. Email and in-app notification within seconds.

The entire flow takes 60-120 seconds for first-time backers, 20-30 seconds for return backers with a saved card.

When your card is charged

This is the most important thing to understand about the 80% funding threshold:

Your card is NOT charged at the moment of pledging. It is charged only if the campaign reaches 80% of its funding goal by the deadline.

The pledge creates a Stripe SetupIntent (and an authorization where applicable). Stripe verifies the card and reserves your right to be charged later. At campaign close:

If the 80% threshold is reached: Stripe captures all pledges within 24 hours. You see the charge on your card statement at that time.
If the threshold is not reached: No charges are made. No record appears on your statement.

The same 80% threshold applies to card pledges on Fund.

Pledge confirmation

After pledging, you receive:

An email confirmation with pledge details, reward tier, expected delivery date, and the campaign deadline
An in-app notification
An entry in your backer dashboard at /fund/dashboard

The campaign page sidebar updates to show you have backed at your tier (badge visible only to you).

Editing or canceling your pledge

Up until 48 hours before campaign close, you can:

Increase your pledge (move to a higher tier or add an add-on)
Decrease your pledge (move to a lower tier, subject to tier availability)
Change shipping address (if applicable)
Cancel the pledge entirely

Open your backer dashboard at /fund/dashboard, find the campaign, and click "Edit pledge" or "Cancel pledge."

Within the final 48 hours before close, pledge cancellation is restricted because the creator is finalizing budget projections. You can still cancel by contacting support but it requires manual review.

International pledges and currency

If your card is issued outside the US (or outside Canada for Canadian campaigns):

The campaign price is displayed in USD (or CAD)
Stripe charges your card in the original currency and converts at the day's interbank rate
Your card issuer may charge an additional foreign transaction fee (typically 1-3%) - this is between you and your bank, not us
Stripe adds a 1% conversion margin on top of the interbank rate

Total international cost: pledge + ~1% Stripe conversion + 1-3% issuer foreign transaction fee. For a $50 pledge from a EU card with a 2% foreign transaction fee, the total cost in EUR is approximately the EUR equivalent of $51.50.

If you want to avoid these fees, consider pledging on the Solana rail with USDC instead. No conversion fees, no foreign transaction fees.

What happens if the campaign ends below 80%

No charge is made to your card
You receive an email confirming the campaign did not fund and no payment was taken
Your pledge dashboard shows the campaign with status "Did not fund"
The creator may post a wrap-up message explaining next steps

If the creator relaunches the campaign with a new deadline, your previous pledge does not carry over. You would re-pledge if you want to support the relaunch.

Failed payments at close

A small percentage of pledges fail at capture for reasons like:

Card expired between pledge and close
Insufficient funds at the moment of capture
Bank flagged the charge as fraud (common for first-time international charges)
Card issuer rejected for any other reason

When your payment fails:

You receive an email asking you to update your payment method within 7 days
A link in the email takes you to a Stripe-hosted page where you can enter a new card or fix the existing one
If you do not update within 7 days, the pledge is canceled and the campaign total adjusts downward

Update promptly. The campaign relies on the funds you committed.

Refunds

You can request a refund at any time before the campaign closes (covered above). After the campaign closes and your card is charged:

Within 14 days of close: Contact support to request a refund review under the campaign terms. Processing times depend on your card issuer and payment provider.
15-90 days after close: Refunds require justification. Open a support case. We review with the creator.
More than 90 days after close: Refunds are at the creator's discretion. Most are declined because the funds have been spent on production. We can mediate a dispute if you feel the creator has materially failed to deliver.

See Backer Rights for the full refund and dispute policy.

Privacy and security

Your card number is never seen or stored by BlockReel. Stripe tokenizes the card and we only ever see a token that lets us charge later. The token is useless outside Stripe.
Your personal information (name, address, email) is stored by BlockReel and shared with the creator only after a successful campaign and only if needed for reward fulfillment.
Public credit on the campaign page uses your BlockReel display name. You can opt out of public credit during the pledge flow (the tier description will note this).
Backer count is public; individual pledge amounts are private.

We do not sell your data, do not run ad tracking on pledge flows, and do not share data with third parties beyond what is required to process payments and fulfill rewards.

---

Next: How to Pledge with Solana covers the on-chain payment path.