Payments Giant Stripe Launches Corporate Card to Help Fashion Startups Tap Into Credit

Madeleine Streets

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Payments giant Stripe said it would move into the financing fray with a corporate credit card program. The move comes a week after the company debuted Stripe Capital.

The aptly named Stripe Corporate Card is aimed at helping early-stage companies acquire a line of credit; many of these smaller firms and startups lack a track record of producing reliable revenue.

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The digital payments company said the Stripe Corporate Card is a no-fee credit card that looks at a company’s Stripe payments and history to help determine credit limits. Bank history is also looked at. Any company that has an account with Stripe is eligible for the card, including businesses that don’t process their payments on the platform. Other competitive features include realtime transaction reporting and the ability to brand both virtual and physical cards with a company logo.

In the competitive payments market, Stripe joins Brex in targeting digitally-native, e-commerce and early-stage companies that are looking for credit lines. The credit market has long been dominated by legacy players such as American Express and Mastercard, but the approval process for businesses has often meant looking at previous credit history.

“Larger banks and traditional channels are focused on their existing markets and customers,” said Michael Tennenbaum, CTO at financial technology provider Brex. “Meanwhile, online retail emerged as a new opportunity — and that is being captured largely by new fintech entrants.”

Both companies offer tailored rewards programs as an additional incentive. Stripe gives users 2% cashback on their two highest-spend categories, such as advertising or transportation, while Brex has a points system that rewards rideshare use and travel. Brex and Stripe also provide free subscriptions to useful services, such as Amazon Web Services and Google Ads.

The Stripe Corporate Card is the latest addition to Stripe Capital, a fully-integrated Stripe resource for businesses seeking capital. Both Stripe Capital and the Corporate Card are only available to U.S. businesses, with international rollout to come.

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