Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today launched new payment tools and funding options in the UK aimed at improving access to capital and accelerating growth for hundreds of thousands of UK businesses.
New product features include business financing through Stripe Capital, lower cost payments based on Open Banking and faster payments. The announcements were made at Stripe Tour London, the company’s annual internet economy conference in the UK, attended by founders, developers and business leaders.
“UK businesses are inventing and building, but getting access to capital at the right time is a rate-limiting factor in their growth. The payment tools and financing options we’re launching today will help money move faster in the economy and make it easier for businesses to invest when they see an opportunity to grow,” said John Collison, co-founder of Stripe.
With the launch of Stripe Capital in the UK, small businesses can access flexible funding to invest in their own expansion—whether it’s buying new equipment, increasing their staff or upgrading their customer experience. Stripe Capital uses a company’s transaction and business history on Stripe to secure businesses for funding. Funds arrive in approved accounts the next business day and businesses repay the amount as they earn.
Stripe Capital is now available to UK businesses that operate directly on Stripe. Later this year, UK marketplaces and platforms using Stripe Connect will also be able to use Stripe Capital to offer funding to their own users.
Platforms are an important part of the UK small business economy, with more than half (55%) of online payments to small businesses in the UK today handled by platforms such as Shopify (for retailers) or Treatwell (for salons) . Small businesses use these platforms on a daily basis to handle sales, bookings and other functions. They will soon be able to access near-instant funding on the platforms they already use, powered by Stripe Connect. This is useful both for small businesses, which can grow faster, and for platforms, which can open up a new revenue stream.
Today, Stripe launched the first payment method supported by Open-Banking, Pay by Bank, in the UK. Pay by Bank is a low-cost, real-time payment method that allows consumers to pay directly from their bank account.
Online car market Cinch and insurance brokerage AJ Gallagher are among the major companies already using Pay by Bank to reduce their payment costs and improve their cash flow. Businesses selling high value goods and services could save tens of thousands of pounds in payment fees every month.
Alongside its growing product suite, Stripe is also expanding its footprint in the UK. The company’s new London flagship office, which opens today at 201 Bishopsgate, will house expanding engineering, sales, partnerships and operations teams.
Located between the global financial center in the City of London and the tech hub around Old Street, the space will enable Stripe’s teams to deepen relationships with a range of partners, from innovative technology companies to leading financial institutions.
Stripe launched in the UK in 2013 and opened its first office in Shoreditch, London in 2014.