Financial infrastructure platform for businesses, Stripe has marked its 10th anniversary serving Australian businesses and celebrating rapid growth. At its annual conference, Stripe Tour Sydney, the company reinforced its commitment to Australia by including support for PayTo and Instant Payouts. In New Zealand, Stripe also launched Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) direct debit payments for businesses.
“In a decade, we’ve grown from a handful of Australian businesses on Stripe to hundreds joining daily. The tools we’re launching reduce costs, improve cash flow, and improve the ability to serve customers. We are thrilled to continue to support our Australian users in adapting to the ever-changing payments landscape,” Stripe co-founder and CEO, Patrick Collison said.
In 2014, only a few dozen Australian businesses used Stripe. Now, over 500,000 businesses do, and hundreds more join the Stripe network every day. In total, businesses in Australia have processed over $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 dramatically 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 and better mandate management.
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 at anytime. Platforms and marketplaces on Stripe can also enable their own customers to receive instant payouts and monetise this service by charging a fee. Businesses can transfer up to $9,999 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.