Analysis of Stripe’s development strategy

Today, our research includes Stripe, an American technology company. Its core product is an API that web developers can use to integrate payment processing into their sites and mobile apps.


The company’s valuation is $95 billion. Over the past 2 years, Stripe has entered dozens of strategic partnerships and invested in 20+ companies. Today we will talk about acquisitions in various niches!


  • Accounting and invoicing

Stripe is implementing a niche strategy by investing in self-service accounting software and outsourcing businesses providing such services.

— Pilot.com is a provider of software and services for accounting, taxation and monitoring.

— Codat is an API for connecting to accounting and banking software for clients from small and medium-sized businesses.


  • B2B payments and sales

Stripe’s strategy is based on building a vertical structure: the company enters the markets of B2B payments and data exchange, without which such payments cannot be made. In 2021, Stripe invested twice in Balance, a B2B checkout and payment platform. In February, a $5.5 million seed venture capital round and a $25 million Series A in August. The company also invested in Stedi’s, an electronic data interchange platform.


  • Banking

In order to expand its influence in banking, Stripe is investing in consumer payment apps and challenger banks (small tech retail banks competing with large classic banks). To date, the company has invested in 3 mobile payment/challenger banks apps: Cuenca, Monzo and Step Mobile. Cuenca is a Mexican company that offers users a mobile app for sending and receiving bank transfers, online shopping, and paying rent or electricity bills. British Monzo and American Step Mobile are challenger banks.


  • Buy now pay later (BNPL) and credit cards

Stripe’s strategy at BNPL is to partner with key market players. They enable the company’s customers to buy goods in installments. Stripe has partnered with several BNPL companies including Afterpay, Alchemy Technologies, Four, Quadpay and SplitIt.


  • E-commerce and Point of Sale (POS)

Stripe’s investment and partnership activities within its core business of e-commerce payment processing and POS systems reveal a key focus of the company’s growth strategy: international expansion. In October 2020, the company earned Nigerian-based Paystack, which provides online and offline payment acceptance for businesses in Africa. Stripe has also invested in payment infrastructure startups, including Safepay in Pakistan and PayMongo in the Philippines.


Besides these 5 key strategic areas, Stripe has invested in several other niches: carbon mining and storage, payroll, human resources, security.


Thus, Stripe is growing horizontally (going beyond the traditional B2B direction for the company) and widens its geographical representation through the purchase of Fintech solutions in developing countries.