Stripe launches new funding line

Stripe has launched Stripe Capital, an easier way for internet businesses running on Stripe to access capital.

Access to capital remains a challenge for most companies, especially online businesses. Banks have cut their lending to small businesses almost in half over the last decade, and 70% of businesses say they don’t have access to the level of funding they need. Those who succeed at getting loans report spending more than 25 hours on applications and paperwork, and then waiting weeks or months for approved funds to actually become available to them. Startups and small businesses create a disproportionate number of jobs, yet these are the very companies whose access to capital has been most curtailed.

As a result, easier access to capital has been one of the top requests from Stripe users over the past two years.

“Stripe Capital makes it easy for internet businesses to get the funds they need, when they need them,” said Will Gaybrick, Stripe’s Chief Product Officer. “It’s important to think about financial inclusion not just in terms of consumers, but also in terms of businesses. Businesses, especially small businesses and startups, are the engines for job creation in our economy. It should be trivially simple and lightning fast for them to access the capital they need to smooth their cash flow and invest in their own growth.”

Xirsys provides server infrastructure for powering WebRTC applications and services. When Xirsys needed more server capacity to meet the demand of its users, Xirsys turned to Stripe. “Stripe Capital helped us expand our global footprint,” said Richard Blakely, Xirsys CEO and co-founder. “We used the funding to set up servers in China, India, and Japan, allowing us to reach customers all over the world. Since then, we’ve seen our annual revenue more than double.”

“Traditional funding sources have not adapted well to the internet or the new business models it has enabled,” said Jordan McKee, research director at 451 Research. “Stripe Capital is designed for modern internet businesses seeking help with their cash flow who need quickly accessible and easy-to-manage funding. With Stripe Capital, Stripe has removed significant complexity that previously barred many smaller companies and startups from access to the funds they need to grow.

“The platform use case represents a powerful distribution model for small business lending built entirely for the internet commerce era,” McKee continued. “It allows capital to travel across an extensive network to reach a huge long tail of small businesses that have been starved of funds.”

Stripe will facilitate access to the loans, handling the servicing and collection process on behalf of its bank partner, by whom the loans will be issued.

Source: Stripe press release