[npollock]

doesn't Stripe have an interest in maximizing this revenue recovery? they earn a percentage of successful charges

[JakeVacovec]

It's a diminishing returns problem... If they charge 2.9% + $.30 as their standard pricing, they are only keeping a small % of that as the issuer (Chase) gets the largest piece of the pie and the network (Visa) takes their cut too. If each declined authorization costs Stripe $.25, each attempt chips away at their margin.