No, stripes aren’t becoming banks

Details were revealed last week about AN application That fintech giant stripe I submitted it for a US bank license.

There was a lot of chatter in X about whether this means stripes or not – already The biggest and most important fintech In the world, now banks add to the list of explanations of what it is doing.

The short answer is: no

The truth is, this is the first time Stripe has applied a banking license. But what may not be very clear is that the licensing range is very narrow. This license does not mean that a fintech company will accept deposits. What that means is that if approved, Stripe will be allowed to process its own payments, in addition to having a partner representing payments for that process.

A Stripe spokesman told TechCrunch: “Over the past few years, we have grown our business, which has significantly expanded our banking and other partners. This application will help ensure that we have a wider range of options to support our users, complementing the work we do directly with our US bank partners. Stripe ensures we are a direct network member of multiple markets that includes this step that follows this strategic direction.”

A source familiar with why movements become their own bins gives stripes a direct “a bit of resilience to process payments.” Currently, Vin Sponsor (or sponsored banks) vary depending on geography.

In 2024, Wells Fargo (a former partner of Stripe) suddenly ended its Bin sponsorship business. There, banks support Fintechs access payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard. If banks do this, companies like Stripe are at risk of service disruption.

By being able to process your own payments, Stripe is less dependent on partners.

If approved, Stripe may have this banking license by the third quarter of 2025.