Stripe announces new solutions for the French market

Starting this summer, Alma, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider in France with over 4 million active users, will be integrated as a payment option for all Stripe users. Alma joins the 100 payment methods available in Stripe’s Optimized Checkout Suite (OCS), which includes Apple Pay, PayPal, and Alipay. 

Stripe is also enhancing the deployment of Stripe Terminal's unified commerce capabilities in France. Companies such as Planity, Frichti, and Hertz are already using Terminal to integrate their online and offline revenue streams. Some of the most important updates include: 

• The introduction of Stripe Reader S700, a customisable smart reader now available in France. This device supports customised commerce experiences such as order processing, loyalty programmes, and customer information collection. For example, restaurants can use the S700 for tableside orders and payments, while fitness studios can handle payments for classes and memberships. 
• A new pre-built integration with Cegid, a leading retail unified commerce point-of-sale solution, allows businesses to collect in-person payments via Terminal without requiring any code. 
• Later this year, Stripe will add CB support to Terminal, enabling seamless transactions via Visa, Mastercard, and CB, whether customers use Apple Pay, credit cards, or other payment methods. 

Stripe is also expanding its partnership with CB, France’s primary payment system, which processes 15 billion transactions annually. Stripe supports CB on Apple Pay, aiding French businesses in maximizing payment acceptance and conversion rates with an efficient integration. Stripe users can also capture funds multiple times on CB with a single authentication, allowing for flexible payment handling such as partial refunds and order fulfilment. In the upcoming months, Stripe will offer extended authorisation on CB, useful for businesses such as hotels and car rental companies that require longer periods between order placement and payment collection.

A closer look at Stripe's recent developments

According to Stripe, since its launch in 2016, the company has supported over 100,000 French businesses in their growth efforts. Notable French companies such as Accor, TF1, La Redoute, and RMC Sport have recently adopted Stripe, along with AI leader Mistral. Early adopters include Photoroom, Nabla, Hugging Face, and Dust. 

In June 2024, Stripe announced a global partnership with hospitality company Accor to streamline the latter’s payment processes. 

Through this partnership, Accor aimed to improve its ecommerce platform by offering a range of services beyond accommodation, including spa services, restaurants, and unique experiences. In essence, the company wanted to streamline its payment processes and reallocate funds based on guest selections.