For your client
Stripe-secured payments. Draftli isn’t the payment processor — your card is charged on Stripe.
Draftli is the workflow you used to review and approve the work. Stripe is the payment processor. The two are not the same company. This page explains why Stripe-secured payments on Draftli are safe — and why Draftli isn’t the payment processor and never sees or stores your card.
The route, in four stops.
Where the card goes when you tap Approve. Each stop is its own company.
Your card
Entered on a stripe.com page
Stripe
PCI-DSS Level 1
Your freelancer's connected Stripe
Direct charge, their account
Your freelancer's bank
Payout on their schedule
Draftli is not at any of these stops.
Five things that are true.
Specifics, not vibes. Each one is verifiable from public Stripe documentation.
Draftli isn't the payment processor. We use Stripe Connect Standard with direct charges: your payment goes from your card to the freelancer’s Stripe balance, then to their bank. The only money Draftli ever receives is its own platform fee on Free-plan projects, paid out by Stripe — never your card and never the freelancer’s invoice amount.
Draftli never sees or stores the card. Card details are entered on a Stripe-hosted page on a stripe.com domain. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified, the highest level the standard defines. Draftli’s database has no card field.
The charge appears under the freelancer's business name. Stripe’s statement descriptor for the connected account — set by the freelancer in their Stripe Dashboard — is what shows up on your card statement. Not “Draftli”.
If something is wrong, the freelancer refunds you from Stripe. Refunds are issued from the freelancer’s Stripe Dashboard, not from Draftli. The funds return to the original card. Draftli’s only role is to update the project record so both sides see the refunded state.
If your card is declined, nothing happens. Stripe Checkout shows you the decline reason. The project stays exactly where it was. No files change hands. You can come back to the same review link and try a different card.
Deposits work the same way.
Some creators ask for a deposit before they begin work. When that happens, the deposit goes through the same path as any other Draftli payment: your card → Stripe → the creator’s connected Stripe account → the creator’s bank. Draftli is not at any of those stops.
Same processor (Stripe). Same direct-charge route. Same merchant of record (the creator). The only difference is timing — the deposit is charged before files are released for review; the balance is charged when you approve the final work. Both charges appear on your statement under the creator’s business name. Both refunds are issued by the creator from their Stripe Dashboard.