Brilliant timing: Stripe dives deeper into Web3 - launches crypto payouts 💸; Coinbase’s rapid global expansion gathers more pace 🇹🇷🚀; FinTech Bank of the Future from ex-Plaid CTO 📲
Good Morning FinTech, 25 April
Good day Everyone,
And happy Monday! I hope you had some time off during the weekend to recharge and get ready for new challenges. It will be much needed as today’s 3 FinTech stories are super hot - from crypto to the BaaS shake-up in the US. Let’s dive into the good stuff:
Brilliant timing: Stripe dives deeper into digital currencies as it launches crypto payouts 💸
The news & partnership 🗞🤝 $95 billion FinTech giant Stripe is piloting a new crypto payouts feature with Twitter as their first customer, letting creators on the social media app collect their earnings in the USDC stablecoin.
More on this 👉 The payments giant has added crypto payouts to Connect, its programmatic (API-based) payouts platform. Companies like Twitter already use Connect to power various monetization services aimed at creators which include things like Tips, Super Follows, and ticketed Spaces events. Connect is available in local currencies already in 70 countries.
Here’s what crypto twist will add to Stripe’s Connect suite:
Eligible users of Twitter's Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows monetization products will be able to receive their earnings in USDC, the stablecoin issued by Circle.
Payouts will take place over the Polygon network, which Stripe reportedly chose for its low fees, speed, integration with Ethereum, and wallet compatibility with the likes of MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Rainbow.
Once creators receive their earnings, they can hold their balance on Polygon, or choose to bridge to Ethereum and exchange it into another currency.
Stripe says it plans to add support for additional rails and payout currencies over time and to bring the service to other businesses.
The crypto pivot 👀 We can remember that just last month Stripe released a series of APIs and other tools for developers to start integrating Stripe’s crypto features. It includes support to use fiat to buy more than 135 crypto tokens, cash-out facilities (=payouts), NFT trading, and compliance features like Know Your Customer (KYC) (crypto exchange FTX was onboarded as the first customer), among other things.
What does it mean? 🤔 Stripe was one of the first payments companies to support cryptos back in 2014, but the firm stopped 4 years later due to limited merchant and user adoption. Now it’s reentering the space big time, and both the timing & Stripe’s position are brilliant. Here’s the takeaway: