Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today launched new payments tools and financing options in the UK that aim to improve access to capital and accelerate the growth of hundreds of thousands of UK businesses.
The new product features include business financing through Stripe Capital, lower-cost Open Banking-powered payments, and faster payouts. The announcements took place at Stripe Tour London, the company’s annual internet economy conference in the UK, attended by founders, developers, and enterprise leaders.
“UK businesses are inventing and building, but getting access to capital at the right time is a rate limiter on their growth. The payments tools and financing options we’re launching today will help money move around the economy faster and make it easier for businesses to invest when they see an opportunity to grow,” said John Collison, cofounder of Stripe.
With the launch of Stripe Capital in the UK, small businesses can access flexible financing to invest in their own expansion—whether that’s buying new equipment, growing their staff, or upgrading their customer experience. Stripe Capital uses a company’s transaction and business history on Stripe to proactively qualify businesses for financing. Funds hit approved accounts the next business day, and businesses repay the amount as they earn.
Stripe Capital is now available to UK businesses that run directly on Stripe. Later this year, UK marketplaces and platforms that use Stripe Connect will also be able to use Stripe Capital to offer financing to their own users.
Platforms are an important part of the UK’s small business economy, with more than half (55%) of online payments to small businesses in the UK today being handled by platforms like Shopify (for retailers) or Treatwell (for salons). Small businesses use these platforms on a daily basis to handle sales, bookings, and other operations. They’ll soon be able to access near-instant financing on the platforms they’re already using, powered by Stripe Connect. This is helpful both for the small businesses, who can grow faster, and for the platforms, who can open a new revenue stream.
Today, Stripe launched its first Open-Banking-powered payment method, 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 marketplace Cinch and insurance brokerage AJ Gallagher are among the large companies that are 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 flagship London office, which opens today at 201 Bishopsgate, will house expanding teams in engineering, sales, partnerships and operations.
Positioned between the global financial center in the City of London and the technology hub around Old Street, the space will allow Stripe teams to deepen relationships with a range of partners, from innovative tech companies to leading financial institutions.
Stripe launched in the UK in 2013 and opened its first office in Shoreditch, London in 2014.