Stripe Unveils Stablecoin Payment Accounts, AI Features During Annual User Event

Stripe is making a renewed push into crypto and artificial intelligence, unveiling a slate of new features at its annual user event on Wednesday in San Francisco. Two major updates include the rollout of Stablecoin Financial Accounts, which will allow businesses in 101 countries to hold balances in dollar-backed stablecoins, receive funds via crypto or traditional rails, and send stablecoins globally. It also rolled out a new Payments Foundation Model, an AI system trained on tens of billions of transactions to better detect fraud and improve authorization rates. "There are not one, but two, gale-force tailwinds, well off the Beaufort scale, dramatically reshaping the economic landscape around us: AI and stablecoins," Patrick Collison, Stripe’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. "Our job is to pull these technologies forward so businesses on Stripe can benefit from them right away." Stripe joins a growing list of major firms re-engaging with crypto, alongside companies like PayPal, Visa, and Robinhood, as institutional momentum builds and regulation coalesces around solid frameworks. Stripe is riding a wave of strong growth. In 2024, the company processed $1.4 trillion in total payment volume, up 38% from the previous year—a figure roughly equivalent to 1.3% of global GDP. It's also on a pivot back toward crypto after it shelved earlier efforts in 2018, citing high costs and slow transaction speeds. The company has since warmed to the sector, launching a "Pay with Crypto" option in late 2024 in partnership with Paxos. Three months ago, it finalized a deal to acquire Bridge, a stablecoin payments platform, for a reported $1.1 billion. Bridge, founded by Coinbase alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, previously claimed $5 billion in processed volume and counted SpaceX among its clients. Its software enables businesses to accept and manage stablecoin payments. Stripe's new stablecoin accounts will initially support USDC and USDB. Stripe also announced new multi-currency accounts, allowing businesses to hold, convert, and spend in USD, EUR, and GBP without incurring unnecessary foreign exchange fees. The move aims to simplify financial operations for multinational companies operating across borders. Edited by Sebastian Sinclair