Monetization

Steno lets you charge users for access to your Twin. Payments, checkout, and tax compliance are handled through Stripe Connect — you don’t need to build or manage your own payment infrastructure.

There are two paths depending on your needs:

• Managed App (default) — Steno handles checkout, payments, and tax compliance. This is how most customers operate.
• SDK — You bring your own authentication, payment processing, and checkout flows. See Using Your Own Payment Rails below.

The rest of this page covers the managed app experience.

How Payments Work

Steno uses Stripe Connect to process payments. Your Stripe account is set up as a connected account under Steno’s platform. When your users make a purchase, the transaction flows through Steno’s payment system, powered by Stripe.

This means:

• Steno manages the checkout experience, product configuration, and tax calculation
• You receive payouts to your connected Stripe account
• You retain access to your Stripe dashboard for reporting and transaction history

Checkout, Pricing & Tax

Checkout Experience

Your users are directed to a Stripe-hosted checkout page when they make a purchase. This is Stripe’s native, PCI-compliant checkout UI. You do not need to build, configure, or host your own checkout page.

Products & Pricing

Products and pricing are created and managed at the platform level by Steno, not in your individual Stripe dashboard. You do not need to create or configure products in your own Stripe account.

Tax Compliance

Steno uses Stripe Tax at the platform level to automatically calculate and apply the correct taxes based on your buyer’s location. This includes sales tax, VAT, and GST where applicable. No tax configuration is needed on your end.

Multi-Currency Support

Your buyers can pay in their local currency. Payouts are made to your connected account in your configured currency.

Payouts, Reporting & Refunds

Payouts & Reporting

As a connected account, you have access to your Stripe dashboard for:

• Viewing transaction history and payout records
• Downloading financial reports
• Monitoring your balance and payout schedule

Payouts flow from Steno’s platform to your connected Stripe account based on your payout schedule.

Refunds

Refunds are processed through Steno’s platform. Contact your Steno AI Success Specialist at support@steno.ai to initiate a refund.

Your Stripe Connected Account

When you onboard with Steno, your Stripe account is set up as a connected account under the platform. Here’s what that means in practice:

All transactions flow through Steno’s managed checkout experience. You cannot process charges via direct API calls outside of the platform.

If your finance or legal team has questions about how transactions are processed, tax compliance, or data handling, contact your Steno AI Success Specialist at support@steno.ai.

Monetization Fees

A percentage fee applies to transactions processed through the platform:

For full plan details and pricing, see Pricing & Plans.

Setting Up Monetization

Prerequisites

Before enabling monetization:

• ✓ Custom domain verified (see Deploy)
• ✓ Stripe account connected
• ✓ Access mode set to Paid (see Configuration)
• ✓ Legal URLs configured — Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (see Settings)

Connecting Stripe

Connect your Stripe account from the Configuration tab in your dashboard. The dashboard guides you through the connection process and displays your revenue share percentage once connected.

Per-Twin Settings

If you have multiple Twins, configure monetization settings individually for each one. This allows different pricing or access rules for different products.

Using Your Own Payment Rails

If you want full control over your own monetization and authentication, the Steno SDK is the right path. With the SDK, you can use your own Stripe account (or another payment provider), build your own checkout experience, and manage your own tax compliance and user authentication.

This is the right fit if your organization needs to integrate with existing billing systems or requires direct control over payment processing.

For details, see Steno SDK.

Questions? Contact your Steno AI Success Specialist at support@steno.ai.