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US-based online payments gateway Stripe announced a full launch in France on Wednesday.
During its beta test in France, which lasted for over a year, the gateway saw “thousands” of businesses test the platform, including large companies, software firms, and online marketplaces, according to a company blog post. The launch marks Stripe’s tenth overall fully live market, according to Fortune.
For context, Stripe allows users to integrate code into their websites in order to more easily accept card and other electronic payments for digital transactions. The firm was most recently valued at $5 billion after a large investment from Visa last summer.
The launch indicates the growing popularity of gateways as digital commerce becomes more common.
- Stripe’s peers are seeing quick growth. PayPal-owned gateway Braintree counted 219 million cards on file in Q4 2015, marking 111% growth over the 104 million it held in the same period a year earlier.
- Stripe is trying to become more competitive by adding more markets and additional features. Stripe is rapidly expanding — the firm is currently beta testing in 15 countries on top of its fully live markets, according to Fortune. And the firm continues to add e-commerce features, like Alipay integration and a new suite of buy buttons, in order to entice merchants.
Stripe's expansion overseas is evidence of the ongoing evolution of the payments ecosystem, which continues to evolve seemingly every day.
Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.
- Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.
- Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.
In full, the report:
- Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.
- Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.
- Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.
- Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more.
- Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
- Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.
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