Stripe has introduced a new tool called Stripe Pay, designed to facilitate instant business-to-business (B2B) transfers. The company announced the launch in a post on LinkedIn on Tuesday, October 27. The plugin allows users to find companies using their Stripe profile handle and send funds without fees.
How Stripe Pay Works
The new feature is available within the Stripe Dashboard and the Command Line Interface (CLI). To use the service, the sender must have a funded financial account. The recipient is required to have a financial account linked to their Stripe profile. This setup enables direct account-to-account (A2A) transactions, bypassing traditional card networks.
Stripe described the functionality in its announcement, stating that users can “find companies using their Stripe profile handle and send funds for free.” The move positions the payment processor to capture a larger share of the B2B market, which has historically relied on slower, more expensive methods like checks or wire transfers.
Shift Toward Account-to-Account Payments
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison highlighted the strategic importance of this shift in a post on X. He wrote, “A2A payments will be more important than P2P payments.” This statement underscores a broader industry trend where financial institutions and technology firms are prioritizing direct bank transfers over card-based payments to reduce costs and improve speed.
Industry research supports this direction. A PYMNTS Intelligence report from October 2023, titled “Accelerating Account-to-Account Transfers via Real-Time Payments,” noted that A2A payments offer a fast and easy transaction method but had not yet reached their full potential. The report suggested that implementing real-time rails could make payments more convenient for both consumers and businesses.
The report further indicated that businesses aiming to reduce credit card fees could benefit significantly from switching to A2A payments. It noted that such a shift could reward companies with increased customer loyalty. Another PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Ready and Willing: B2B Payments Are Headed for Real-Time Rails,” found that businesses using real-time payment rails rate them higher than traditional methods. Faster settlement, better cash flow control, and ERP integration are cited as key drivers for this adoption.
Stripe has been actively expanding its capabilities in the B2B sector through various recent initiatives. The company recently teamed with Plasma to introduce multi-currency stablecoin cards, designed to simplify spending across different currencies and markets. It also announced plans to collaborate with FedEx Dataworks to expand access to financing for small and medium-sized businesses.
Additionally, Stripe acquired Parafin, an embedded financial products platform that provides credit offerings for small business customers. These moves, combined with the launch of Stripe Pay, signal a comprehensive strategy to dominate the evolving landscape of digital B2B commerce.
Source: PYMNTS
