How to Give Read-Only Access to Stripe
Stripe lets you invite someone to your account and assign them a built-in "View only" role. This is Stripe's genuine read-only Dashboard role: it grants read access to payments, customers, and basic financial data, with no ability to issue refunds, move money, change settings, view API keys, or manage the team. It is the safe choice when you want a bookkeeper, accountant, or stakeholder to see your numbers without being able to change anything. Access is self-serve, so any Owner or Administrator can set it up directly in the Dashboard with no app review or approval gate. The person you invite signs in with their own Stripe login, so you never share credentials, and you can remove their access instantly at any time. This guide covers how to open Team settings, send an invite, assign the "View only" role, and verify or revoke access later. One role to be careful of is Support Specialist: it looks like a support role but can issue refunds, so do not use it for view-only access. The Analyst role is also read-only for money movement (it cannot refund), but unlike View only it can export data and download reports, so choose it only if the person genuinely needs to pull reports.
Access to grant
View only role (Stripe's built-in read-only Dashboard role)
Who you're granting access to
- Your bookkeeper, accountant, or another adviser you want to give view-only access.
Before you start
- An Owner or Administrator role on the Stripe account (View only, Analyst, Developer and Support Specialist users cannot manage the team)
- The email address of the person you want to give read-only access to
- The person should have, or be willing to create, their own Stripe login to accept the invite
Step by step
- 1
Sign in as Owner or Administrator
Sign in to the Stripe Dashboard with an account that holds the Owner or Administrator role. Only these roles can invite members and assign roles, so if you cannot see Team settings you do not have the right permissions.
- 2
Open Team settings
Click the Settings gear icon at the top right, then open the Team and security section, or go straight to https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/team. You will see the list of current team members and any pending invites. (Stripe's docs refer to this area as the Team tab under Settings; some Dashboard builds label the section Team and security.)
- 3
Start a new invite
Click the button to add a member. Stripe's documentation labels this 'Add member'; some Dashboard builds show 'Invite team member' or '+ New member'. They all open the same invite panel.
- 4
Enter the person's email
Type the email address of the person you want to give access to. You can add several addresses at once, separated by a space or comma, but everyone added together is assigned the same role, so invite people needing different roles separately.
- 5
Select the View only role
In the role list, choose 'View only'. This is the genuine read-only role. Do not pick Support Specialist, because that role can issue refunds, and do not pick Administrator or Developer. Analyst is also read-only and cannot refund, but it can export data and download reports, so only choose it if the person needs reporting access rather than pure view-only access.
- 6
Send the invitation
Click 'Send invites' (some Dashboard builds show 'Invite' or 'Send invitation'). Stripe emails the person an invite link that expires after about 10 days; they accept it and sign in with their own Stripe login, and their access is read-only the moment they accept.
- 7
Verify the assigned role
Back on Settings > Team, confirm the new member appears with the 'View only' role. To change a role later, open the overflow menu (the three dots) next to their name and choose Edit.
Removing access afterwards
- Sign in to the Stripe Dashboard as an Owner or Administrator.
- Go to Settings > Team (https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/team).
- Find the person in the team member list.
- Click the overflow menu (the three dots) next to their name, or open their profile.
- Choose 'Remove member' and confirm; their Dashboard access is revoked immediately.
- There is nothing to rotate: a View only user can never create or see API keys, so removing them leaves no residual access (key rotation under Developers > API keys only matters if you had granted an Administrator or Developer role).
If that option is not available
If you cannot see Team settings or the invite button, you are signed in with a role that cannot manage the team (only Owner or Administrator can). Ask an Owner or Administrator on the account to send the invite, or have them upgrade your role. If your account uses Stripe's Organisations feature, an Administrator manages members from the Team and security settings and can invite up to ten users per role.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. View only is the safest built-in Stripe role for pure read access. It can view payments, customers, and basic financial data but cannot issue refunds, edit settings, view or create API keys, initiate payouts, change Radar rules, or manage the team. Unlike the Analyst role, it also cannot export data.
The Support Specialist role can refund charges and resolve disputes, so it is not read-only despite the 'support' label. If you want genuine view-only access for an auditor, accountant, or stakeholder, choose 'View only'. The Analyst role does not refund either, but it can export data and download reports, so use it only if the person needs reporting rather than pure view access.
No. The person you invite accepts the invite and signs in with their own Stripe login. Credentials are never shared, and you can remove their access instantly from Team settings at any time.
The invite link Stripe emails expires after about 10 days. If it lapses before the person accepts, simply send a new invite from Settings > Team.
No. A View only user never has access to API keys, so there is nothing to rotate when you remove them. Key rotation only matters if you had previously granted a role such as Administrator or Developer that exposes keys.
Yes. You can add several email addresses together, but everyone added in that step receives the same role. To assign different roles, invite people separately. On Organisations accounts you can invite up to ten users per role.
Related guides
Steps last checked against Stripe on 2026-06-15.
Based on official Stripe documentation: Stripe Docs - User roles (built-in roles incl. View only and Analyst), Stripe Support - Invite team members or developers to access your Stripe account, Stripe Docs - Manage your team (Settings > Team, invite/edit roles), Stripe Docs - Manage access to your organization (Add member, Send invites, Remove member, ten users per role), Stripe Blog - New roles and permissions in the Dashboard (Analyst was formerly Read and Write; Support Specialist can refund). Stripe is a trademark of its respective owner; this guide is independent and for instruction only.
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