Stripe launches new charge card program

Stripe, a global financial services platform, has launched a new charge card program for its commercial card issuing product - Stripe Issuing. The charge cards will allow platforms to offer their users access to credit. Subsequently, a cardholder will have the opportunity to spend up to their credit limit and pay the amount at the end of the month. This move is set to ease one of the merchants’ major challenges - capital.

Stripe’s charge card program

In a press release on 1st June, Stripe’s head of product in the Banking -as-a-Service (BaaS) division, Denise Ho stated, “Whether a small business is just starting out or looking to expand, access to capital can make all the difference. Our new charge card allows FinTechs and (Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)) platforms to provide access to a reliable source of credit for the many small businesses they work with.”

Stripe first introduced its Issuing product in 2018. It has since partnered with the likes of Ramp and Shopify in the issuance of over 100 million cards within the European Union, UK, and US. Five years later, Ho identifies it as one of the company’s fastest-growing offerings.

For the original card program, the users could only spend funds from a pre-funded account. However, the new cards will allow companies to create and distribute physical or virtual cards to customers who can then spend on credit as opposed to the amount in their accounts.

In addition to availing additional financing capabilities to their customers, it is another revenue stream for Stripe. As of now, the program is available in the US. Among the users of the new charge card program are Karat, Coast, Emburse, and Ramp. Stripe seeks to expand it to the UK and EU in the coming months.