

Inside Stripe - px
http://www.fastcompany.com/1813087/stripe-startup-paypal-google-checkout-peter-thiel-elon-musk?partner=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company+Headlines%29

======
PStamatiou
Stripe has been amazing for us. We've even gotten emails from them (most
recently Saikat!) about how we were accidentally hitting their API twice. They
helped us find a bug. No other company I've integrated with us paid that close
attention to such matters. We've changed our internal usage of Stripe many
times (from doing lots of recurring work with various plans and invoice item
adding) to just doing simple charges and it's worked great every time.

We're quite proud of our Stripe-powered CC form on Picplum!
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/186198/Screenshots/t26p.png>

------
scott_s
I have always attributed PayPal's problems to having to perform fraud
prevention on a massive scale. That's where I understand most of the initial
difficulty comes from in getting a PayPal account setup: they have to weed out
scams and money laundering. Same with the horror stories I read: most of those
people have circumstances that would also preclude them from a standard
merchant account.

So is Stripe doing fraud prevention differently? Put another way, are they an
entirely different animal from PayPal and Google Checkout, or are they betting
that they can do a better job at what PayPal and Google Checkout already do?

~~~
davidpoarch
You are absolutely correct. That's one of PayPal's main weaknesses. I am not
sure how Stripe is dealing with it; though they probably have to go through a
similar screening process, which isn't foolproof.

I am a co-founder of a nascent third party payments aggregator (TPPA) called
PayGuard (currently in stealth mode - Beta version is being built), and our
system inherently includes automatic fraud prevention; so we not only save
money by eliminating the screening process, but we also save by virtually
eliminating all 'dispute resolution'-leading scenarios.

As far as a comparison for Stripe, they seem to be similar to Braintree, but
geared more towards early stage online merchants. The following link may
answer some of your other questions:

[http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-of-using-
Stripe...](http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-of-using-Stripe-for-
in-app-transactions-instead-of-Paypal-or-Braintree-are-the-costs-much-lower-
how-good-is-the-security)

~~~
scott_s
_our system inherently includes automatic fraud prevention_

If you're willing to share more, I'm listening. PayPal has "automatic fraud
prevention" in the sense that, if you do something that deviates from what
they expect, they suspend your account. I assume you mean something different.

Also, I followed the Quora question to this related one:
[http://www.quora.com/How-are-Square-and-Stripe-able-to-
accep...](http://www.quora.com/How-are-Square-and-Stripe-able-to-accept-
payments-on-merchants-behalf-without-requiring-them-to-hold-their-own-
merchant-accounts-with-a-banking-financial-institution) I'm still confused
about one thing, though. I understand that PayPal is both an aggregator and
the merchant of record. It sounds like Braintree is not and aggregator and not
the merchant of record. But this poster claims that Stripe is an aggregator,
but not the merchant of record, and I don't understand what that means.

~~~
EREFUNDO
No we won't freeze, close, or withdraw money from people's accounts. Once it's
open, it's open. Once the money is cleared, it doesn't go back. This is an
ironclad promise we can make to users because of the unique way we process
payments. Right now the model for peer-to-peer transactions is that after one
party gets paid the other waits for his merchandise or services to be
delivered (eWork projects). We solved this problem by creating a system that
will give equal distribution of control to both parties during the entire
process, disincentivising fraud on both sides. The system is specifically
designed for people who outsource projects, freelance workers, and cross
border peer-to-peer e-commerce. It would simulate the benefits of a face-to-
face interaction by solving the problems created by the distance and time
usually involved in these types of exchanges.

~~~
scott_s
Is "we" PayGuard? And are you saying you _won't_ "freeze, close or withdraw",
or that you _can't_? One is a promise. The other is a fact. See Colin
Percival's post on the distinction:
[http://www.daemonology.net/blog/2012-01-19-playing-
chicken-w...](http://www.daemonology.net/blog/2012-01-19-playing-chicken-with-
cat-jpg.html)

It's also not clear to me how what you describe prevents scams and money
laundering. Note that in the case of money laundering, it's the same party on
both sides of the transaction.

~~~
EREFUNDO
You are absolutely correct, it is a promise. But it is also a guarantee. There
are regulations regarding money laundering that we will have to comply with of
course. Users are required to fill out certain forms if the the amount of a
transaction exceed 3,000 for individuals and 20,000 for businesses. And these
are not just "per transaction", it is per month. As with scams our system is
specifically designed to prevent users from falling into the trap scam sellers
or buyers. Of course it will never be absolutely fool-proof, but it does
significantly reduce the incentive for fraudulent activities on both sides.
Unfortunately, I cannot give out too much detail on how we do it. We are
launching our beta system sometime around March and you will be more than
welcome to try it out as a beta tester.

------
thematt
I love Stripe and it's been awesome to use, but must repeat a question I asked
in another thread. I wonder if that level of simplicity is sustainable for
them going forward. The reason other payment providers have paperwork and
approval processes is because of liability and the reality that there are
unscrupulous merchants out there. Is Stripe assuming an increased liability
because of the ease at which anybody can just sign up?

~~~
collision
We think a lot about risk, and actually do more verification than traditional
merchant-account providers. We just don't make you do busywork like mailing us
a voided check or a utility bill.

We certainly believe that the approach is sustainable, and the data so far
strongly supports this.

~~~
thematt
Awesome, glad to hear it! Thanks for the disrupting the space, I know I'm not
the only one who appreciates it.

------
old-gregg
Stripe has been fantastic for us at <http://mailgun.net>

Aside from solving the problem of dealing with recurring payments, they bring
some unexpected benefits to the table. Their reporting (and the overall
dashboard design) is so good that we canceled our original plans for building
our own reporting completely - we just link directly to Stripe reports and
customer pages from our own backoffice admin portal.

~~~
iseff
Agreed. Stripe is working wonders for us at: <http://www.mobiledevhq.com>

We tried to integrate with PayPal's recurring APIs for three weeks, scrapped
it when we found Stripe, and had it completely ready to go in 24hrs.

Not to mention their customer support is absolutely fantastic. I get responses
within seconds in their Campfire chat room and hours if I send an email,
anytime of day.

------
rgrieselhuber
We were lucky in that Stripe was made available right as we were starting
<http://www.ginzametrics.com>. We never had to deal with the painful issues
that we've seen other companies go through with their billing systems.

Their dashboard has also come a long way so that many of the back office
management things I thought I was going to have to build have been taken care
of. You can create / manage plans, customers and more. It's hard to believe
nobody has solved this problem until now but I'm glad that somebody finally
did.

------
jc123
What is it about Stripe that is taking Google and Paypal a long time to
imitate? Article mentioned api took tons iterations and stringent auditing,
but the api is now known and auditing established companies should be
relatively faster. It seems unlikely that the first mover advantage will allow
enough time for Stripe to make a dent in the market. Flying under the radar
longer might be better, but congrats to the team for all the accomplishments.

------
davecap1
I wish it worked in Canada... Any other Canadians out there wishing the same
thing?

~~~
pc
We're working on this right now.

~~~
whatusername
And Please Please look at Australia as well

------
miles_matthias
Stripe looks so awesome that it's got me thinking about charging for things
that I might not have bothered charging for in the past. I think that's one of
the unseen benefits. I'm looking forward to using Stripe.

~~~
fbuilesv
A lot of people doesn't notice this, but when all you have to do to start
charging people is include a couple lines of Javascript then the game totally
changes. Imagine being able to charge (or just put a donation button) on all
those weekend projects you see advertised in HN!

I think that as soon as they start expanding outside the US the market for web
applications will radically change.

------
frankdenbow
Been very pleased working with Stripe for one of my projects. It just feels
like it was very carefully thought out. Hope they continue to make strides in
the developer community.

------
gtaylor
We're loving it over at <http://coursebookapp.com>. We've been happily humming
along for a few months, PayPal-free.

------
plasma
Please come to Australia!

I can't confirm or deny I'm working on a direct competitor.

Am I serious? Or joking, just to light a fire under you?

Please hurry! :)

~~~
ajtaylor
Seconded! The Australian market is ripe for a company like Stripe. People are
just now getting happy with buying things online, so hurry!

------
siavosh
Can someone explain how stripe/square can get around the merchant account
requirement?

~~~
lbotos
As far as I understand it, Stripe IS your merchant account. They are similar
to a Paypal type service. Does that help?

------
humbyvaldes
Stripe is great, simple and awesome support. Once I got past the super simple
first charge, I had some technical questions. I jumped into their support chat
and had my question answered, plus some helpful php links.

------
dedene
If only they would come to Europe (or any European alternative would rise and
stand up against Paypal).

They're an amazing and promising startup and I do hope they succeed soon in
expanding across the ocean.

~~~
pc
We're working on doing exactly this.

~~~
metadata
I would love to know expected timeframe. Being in Europe and not part of EU
(yet), handling payments is a major pain. Waiting for years to be able to
complete charge on my own site instead of redirecting to a payment processing
company. All that easy analytics and A/B testing opportunities....

------
rosstamicah
Here's how my startup ended up using Stripe: After being told by Paypal I
couldnt use Paypal at all (due to my business model being a violation of their
Acceptable Use Policy) and then more recently Braintree telling me I could
only process low number transactions (less than $250), Im happy to say that
<http://www.sponsorist.com> now processes payments with Stripe.

------
john_p_wood
I just finished using these guys for a product I'm launching next week. Great
service and great support. Highly recommended.

------
sailfast
Seems like a great service. Thanks for the article.

How does Stripe line up in terms of services compared to GoCardless which was
up here the other day: <https://gocardless.com/>

Differences in the agreement / metrics / UI / API? Seems like the 1.9% fee
difference could add up.

~~~
lfittl
This comes up again and again, unfortunately. Its Apples and Oranges - and I
get the feeling GoCardless don't say this clearly enough:

GoCardless does not process credit card transactions. They process bank debits
(= low fees, different system), and are UK only.

Stripe does process credit card transactions, and doesn't do bank debit.

------
djtriptych
Hehe the desk shown there is exactly the same setup at
<http://stripe.com/jobs> page. And yet none of the other workstations come
with $1500 Herman Miller Embodys...

I can also identify a pair of grados in the far right. Aging SR60s if I had to
guess...

~~~
jonah
The 'phones ont the desk behind the Embody appear to be Sennheiser HD 202.

[http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/privat...](http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/private_headphones_hifi_wired-
headphones_504291)

~~~
pc
They're actually just Bose QC15s.

~~~
jonah
Nice.

(I was looking at the ones in the Fast Co. photo.)

A lot of sweet bikes too!

------
neovive
Great product! Looking forward to trying it out very soon. Anyone know the
ergo keyboard being used?

~~~
patricklynch
Kinesis Advantage - <http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/>

~~~
chaz
Great keyboard ... have 3 of them. Really wish they would make a Bluetooth
one.

------
whyleyc
Can any of the Stripe team comment on when you'll be launching support for UK
businesses ?

~~~
pc
Sorry, we can't give a timeline. I wish we could.

~~~
westiseast
I wish you could too! What's stopping you right now?

~~~
patrickk
There's undoubtably tons of red tape for them to navigate whenever they enter
a new territory. See the linked article for the hassle they had in the States.

They also tried setting up in Ireland originally but some Irish banker pretty
much laughed them out of the room by the sound of things when they had a
meeting. Is there any wonder why the US is a more fertile environment for
entrepreneurship?

~~~
ajtaylor
Given what Irish bankers did to the country, I wouldn't give much credence to
their opinion. Unfortunately they still pull the strings and have incredible
political clout. I'm not even Irish (though I lived there a few years) and it
makes me sick thinking what the banks did, and then to foist it off onto the
Irish taxpayers. Ireland's loss is the US' gain!

------
kingnothing
This is completely off topic for the business model, but how do you like the
orange Embody chair in the last picture? It looks like the fabric is getting
dyed from jeans, but other than that, how is the actual chair?

~~~
richardw
I absolutely love mine. Love it. Had one for about 2 years and it fits like no
other chair I've tried. Only problem is that I have to remember to keep a
towel on it when I'm not here because one of our cats loves it. That's
unnecessary hassle for what is essentially a work tool, but if I didn't the
seat would be clawed up within months.

------
taurussai
AS businesses scale, is it fair to assume they would want to start accepting
and storing credit card information - basically the costs would be much lower?
If so how do they meet security requirements/compliance?

------
monsterix
We're using Stripe and it's been awesome right from day-1.

------
moses1400
Stripe has been awesome for us at CloudContacts!

------
plusbryan
Micropayments support would be wonderful

~~~
9999
I think it's essential for their success too. I can't use them without
micropayment support.

~~~
porterhaney
I'll second this notion. Even if there is a way to collect micropayments, but
not process them until they are large enough to process efficiently with the
current credit card framework.

~~~
mrkurt
It's reasonably easy to do this with Stripe today, there's no reason you have
to send a "charge" their way until it's accumulated enough to be worthwhile.

------
outside1234
does anyone know if there is a way to transfer credit cards from Stripe to
another 3rd party if they raise their rates? (I'm worried about this being a
"low introductory offer")

Or do you have to solicit credit card info from all your customers again?

~~~
aaronblohowiak
From their FAQ:

>Tell me about data portability. >That's not a question. We feel pretty
strongly about data portability. We'll try to keep you with us by offering a
better product than all of our competitors, but we won't keep you by locking
you in. If you want to leave us for somebody else, we'll help you migrate your
credit card data in a secure and PCI-compliant way. We're programmers at
heart, and we strongly believe in open systems and a level playing field.

------
_pius
Such a great service.

------
kenrik
If you read about the early founding of PayPal you will find one of the big
issues they faced was fraud. I hope they give that angle enough thought
otherwise they are going to start leaking cash like the Costa Concordia took
on water.

~~~
rogerbinns
On reading the article you would note in the second paragraph that two of the
backers are Paypal cofounders. That would lead us to expect Stripe do have a
big clue about the fraud issues.

It will only be later that we'll find out what happens behind the scenes. For
example Paypal works wonderfully right up until they decide to hold your funds
while they investigate. Stripe will probably end up doing something similar
and also have similar collateral damage (false positives).

The Stripe FAQ includes a chargeback section which would cover the other
likely scenario - people claiming not to have received the item/never made the
transaction/it wasn't what they ordered etc.

