How to Avoid PMPro’s New forced 2% Fee by Switching from Stripe Connect

If you’re running a membership site with Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro), you may have received their recent notice: sites using Stripe Connect will soon be charged a 2% fee on all subscription payments processed through their plugin.

This is a major change, especially considering PMPro has offered a free filter to disable this fee for over four years. That filter has now been removed, and affected sites have just two options:

• Accept the 2% platform fee, which is automatically added to renewals.
• Switch to using your own Stripe API keys instead of Stripe Connect.

Unfortunately, there’s no workaround from our end – PMPro has enforced this update, and we’re at the mercy of their decision.

But the good news is: you can still avoid the fee by switching to your own Stripe Restricted API keys. It’s a simple, one-time change – usually completed within an hour – and once set up, your site will continue running as normal without paying Stranger Studios a cut of your revenue.

How to Switch to Your Own Stripe API Keys

To avoid the 2% fee, you’ll need to stop using Stripe Connect and switch to using your own Restricted API Keys instead.

Follow these steps to create your keys and enter them into PMPro:

1. Create a Restricted Key in Stripe

1. Log in to your Stripe Dashboard
2. Go to Developers > API Keys
3. Click Create restricted key
4. Click Providing this key to another website
5. Enter:
   • Name: Paid Memberships Pro
   • Website: https://www.paidmembershipspro.com
6. Ensure “Customize permissions for this key” is unchecked
7. Click Create restricted key

⚠️ Important: Make sure to copy and save the key immediately – it will not be shown again.

2. Enter the Key in WordPress

In your WordPress admin:

1. Go to Memberships > Settings > Payment Gateway
2. For Publishable Key, enter the value from your Stripe Standard Keys section
3. For Restricted Key, enter the key you just created
4. Click Save Settings

That’s it – you’re now using your API keys and will no longer be charged the 2% fee.

Need Help Switching?

If you’re not confident making the change yourself, I offer a quick and affordable service to help WordPress site owners make the switch away from Stripe Connect.

In most cases, it can be done in under an hour, with no disruption to your membership site.

Get in touch if you’d like assistance. This is a simple, set-and-forget task that ensures you keep 100% of your revenue and avoid unnecessary platform fees.