Stripe Enjoys Success As Some FinTechs Struggle During Pandemic

Many FinTechs have had a trying time during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some startups seeing their stocks fall over 50 percent since the virus outbreak, as well as a loss in funding, a drop in usage, and a slash in valuations.

Although some have struggled, one FinTech is definitely thriving – San Francisco-based Stripe, which builds economic infrastructure for the Internet, has spent the majority of 2020 making deals and expanding its offerings.

The company actually cites COVID-19 as a catalyst for its growth, as Stripe provides the critical infrastructure for platforms such as Amazon, DoorDash, Instacart, Shopify and Slack to meet surging demand during these past few months.

“People who never dreamt of using the internet to see the doctor or buy groceries are now doing so out of necessity. And businesses that deferred moving online or had no reason to operate online have made the leap practically overnight,” said John Collison, President and Co-founder of Stripe. “We believe now is not the time to pull back, but to invest even more heavily in Stripe’s platform.”

So far this year, Stripe has added industry-leading firms such as Caviar, Coupa, Just Eat, Keap, Lightspeed, Mattel, NBC, Zoom, and Paid as customers. In April, the company announced an extension of its Series G round, raising an additional $600 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, GV, and Sequoia.

The following month, Stripe expanded into five more European countries: the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta. The company is now present in 39 countries, 28 of which are in Europe.

In late June, the company revealed the launch of a series of products to help platforms and their business customers adapt as the economy recovers from the pandemic. It will first roll out a “customer portal” feature for Stripe Billing. In addition, it is moving to enable platforms with recurring revenue streams to accept various payment forms, including “Bacs Direct Debit in the U.K., BECS Direct Debit in Australia, FPX bank debits in Malaysia and pre-authorized debits (PADs) in Canada.”

This continued growth has led BusinessWorld to rank Stripe as the most highly valued startup in the U.S., with a $35.25 billion valuation. It also took the top spot on CNBC’s 2020 Disruptor 50 list.

As for the future, the company has no plans for an IPO right now, with Collison saying they are “very happy as a private company.”