Online payments firm Stripe has taken its first steps into new global markets, announcing that it has begun operating in Canada.
Stripe, set up by brothers Patrick and John Collison in 2011 and backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, aims to make accepting online payments easier in a market where options for online sellers are limited.
Prior to this, many Canadian sellers who wanted to accept credit cards would have to deal with banks, which could prove time consuming and problematic to set up.
Stripe offers instant approval for sellers, and allows them to accept credit cards from around the world. It charges 30 US cents per successful charge plus a 2.9 per cent commission, eliminating monthly fees.
“We really want to make Stripe available worldwide,” said Patrick Collison . “The jump to Canada is a bigger deal than just going to Canada. It’s the first step on this global arc.”