Stripe describes itself as, “a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet”. A recent report from Forbes states that Stripe is now valued at $35billion and will continue to grow in this booming market and expanding industry. Stripe’s mission is to grow the GDP of the internet, making it easy for companies everywhere to start, run and scale their business.
The company has made some market leading announcements this year via continued expansion across the globe, the launch of chargeback protection, Stripe Corporate Card, Stripe Capital and Stripe Billing in Europe. They have supported many businesses in the implementation of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) protocols and donated money to support money management programs.
Stripe has officially launched into 10 countries in 2019. These expansions will empower businesses from these regions to export their creativity and ambition globally and will bring the total to 120 countries covering 70% of the global economy. The new countries include Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia, Mexico and Malaysia. Stripe has plans to continue its global expansion throughout 2020.
2019 kicked off for Stripe with the addition of Diane Greene to the Board of Directors. Greene is described as one of the industry’s most influential figures in the shift to cloud computing and enterprise software. She becomes the fourth outside director on Stripe’s board which is part of Stripe’s strategy to build the team for the long-term.
The Stripe Billing product was launched in Europe which simplifies the recurring billing process for Software as a Service (SaaS) and subscription-based companies. This product allows European businesses of all sizes to have access to enterprise-grade tools to implement subscription models quickly and at scale. Stripe Billing also provides the easiest path to SCA compliance for online subscriptions collected by European companies.
Mid-year Stripe announced the introduction of Chargeback Protection. This new service provides a safeguard for businesses against fraudulent charges and reimburses for the cost of a disputed charge. The service is built on Stripes fraud tool, Radar, which utilises machine learning to stop suspect transactions.
Stripe Capital was launched in September and paves the way for internet businesses running on Stripe to access capital. Online businesses find it hard to access the funding needed in todays financial markets and often spend in excess of 25 hours on paperwork and applications. Stripe’s program ensure access is quick and eligibility is determined based on a business’s history on Stripe. Repayments are based on a fixed percentage of daily sales and there are no interest costs.
The Stripe Corporate Card was also rolled out in September which enables payouts to dozens of countries, making it easier to run an internet business and create revenue with global access. As with Stripe Capital, the focus is on a quick application process and zero fees and the ability to show real time spending while integrating with accounting software packages.
As 2019 has come to an end Stripe has raised $250m in additional funding which it will use to accelerate its international expansion, grow its product suite and extend its enterprise capabilities. We look forward to what Stripe will bring to the market in 2020!
Jo Coveney is a passionate photographer and online marketing content creator. She loves following the latest developments in technology and design trends across the globe.