Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, marked its 10th anniversary serving Australian businesses, marking the rapid growth in the country’s internet economy.
At its annual conference, Stripe Tour Sydney, Stripe reinforced its commitment “to Australia by launching new solutions to support businesses’ growth, including support for PayTo and Instant Payouts.”
In New Zealand, Stripe also “launched Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) direct debit payments for businesses.”
Patrick Collison, cofounder and CEO of Stripe said:
“In a decade, we’ve grown from a handful of Australian businesses on Stripe to hundreds joining daily. The tools we’re launching today will reduce their costs, improve cash flow, and improve their ability to serve their customers. We are thrilled to continue to support our Australian users in adapting to the ever-changing payments landscape.”
In 2014, only a few dozen Australian businesses used Stripe. Now, over 500,000 businesses do, and hundreds more—”from century-old enterprises to solopreneurs—join the Stripe network every day.”
These include technology companies such “as Canva that built on Stripe early in their journeys, as well as large enterprises like Westfield that are reinventing themselves for the digital age.”
In total, businesses in Australia have processed “over A$200 billion on Stripe over the last decade.”
The platform economy has also expanded rapidly on Stripe. Platform solutions from me&u, MYOB, Rezdy, and Xero have “lowered the barriers to running a business online.”
In 2023, the number of Australian businesses using “a platform on Stripe increased by nearly 20%.”
Building on this momentum, Stripe announced support “for PayTo, a low-cost, real-time payment method that enables businesses to initiate recurring and one-off payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts.”
This allows for real-time payment status verification, 24/7 processing (including weekends and public holidays), and better “mandate management, all without businesses having to change their Stripe integration.”
Stripe also now offers Instant Payouts to “all businesses in Australia to support their cash flow needs.”
Users can request payouts from their Stripe balances “instantly, anytime, including holidays and weekends.”
Platforms and marketplaces on Stripe can also “enable their own customers to receive instant payouts, and monetize this service by charging a fee.”
Businesses can transfer up to A$9,999 in funds to “an eligible account within minutes of a card transaction. Funds typically settle in the associated bank account within 30 minutes.”
In New Zealand, the rise of subscription services “such as streaming platforms, meal kits, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, has fueled demand for Stripe to launch BECS direct debit.”
This speeds up the payments process by “debiting customers’ bank accounts directly, lowering transaction costs and avoiding churn caused by failed payment cards.”
It’s the first time that BECS will be available as “a payment method on Stripe for subscriptions in the country.”
Bharathi Ramavarjula, SVP, payments and ecosystem at Xero:
“Xero’s decade-long partnership with Stripe is built on a foundation of helping small businesses get paid faster and maintain a healthy cash flow. Stripe’s extensive payment method support allows us to cater to the diverse needs of our customers in Australia and New Zealand and grow our subscription-based services with confidence by offering platform billing methods like NZ BECS direct debit,”
