The Collison brothers’ Silicon Valley start-up Stripe has created a new product called Stripe Connect that allows new marketplaces to be created in minutes, linking sellers, vendors and contractors.
First users of the platform include Kickstarter, Squarespace, Instacart, DoorDash, Lyft and others.
For example, Lyft uses the platform to ensure drivers are paid on time while Kickstarter uses the platform to ensure crowdfunding campaigns get paid.
Stripe Connect lets brands create marketplaces and manage payments via the API.
Sensitive data, such as bank account details, can be kept from hitting servers by using OAuth and Stripe.js.
The platform also lets sellers accept payments in more than 100 currencies, including bitcoin.
Sellers can also process multiple card payments and enable one-tap payments, including Apple Pay.
Heavy lifting
The new platform can support sellers in 18 countries where Stripe currently operates with more coming on stream this year.
“Stripe does the heavy lifting while giving you control of everything from the user interface to the timing of transfers,” according to Stripe.
In December, it emerged that John and Patrick Collison’s company raised US$70m in an investment round that values Stripe at US$3.5bn.
The Limerick brothers’ company raised the investment from new investor Thrive Capital along with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures
The Collison brothers formed a start-up called Shuppa in 2007, which later became known as Auctomatic, attracted funding from Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Y Combinator, and was acquired just a year later by Canadian firm Live Current Media for $5m (€3.2m) when the brothers were just 17 and 19, respectively.
Online marketplace image via Shutterstock
