Stripe has begun piloting a beta version of its Treasury platform with a select group of Australian startup founders, ahead of a broader rollout in the country. The move forms part of the company's efforts to expand beyond its core payments business into business banking and treasury services.
Expanding into business banking
The Australian pilot positions Stripe more directly alongside providers such as Airwallex and Wise in the business banking and cross-border payments space. Through the beta, selected businesses gain access to local business accounts, corporate virtual cards, and treasury tools within a single platform. Stripe also supports multiple currencies and stablecoins for eligible businesses, intended to allow companies to avoid establishing separate banking relationships in each market where they operate.
Australia and Canada are the next markets planned for the Treasury launch, following earlier releases in the US and the UK. The expansion reflects Stripe's broader strategy of moving beyond payments processing into financial services, as companies operating internationally increasingly seek platforms that combine business accounts, payments, expense management, and cross-border money movement.
Overlap with existing competitors
Stripe's new offering overlaps with services already provided by Airwallex, a Melbourne-based fintech focused on global accounts, cross-border payments, expense management, and foreign exchange. Airwallex holds financial licences in more than 85 countries and regions and serves customers across more than 150 countries and regions.
Scale and market context
In 2025, businesses processed a total of USD 1.9 trillion through Stripe, an increase of 34% year-on-year. In February 2025, a secondary sale of Stripe shares valued the company at USD 91.5 billion. Airwallex, meanwhile, raised an additional USD 300 million in funding last year, lifting its valuation to USD 6.2 billion. According to the company, that funding is intended to support international expansion into Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Latin America.
The broader market continues to shift toward digital business finance tools. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2025 Consumer Payments Survey, 73% of transactions in the country were made by card, reflecting continued demand for digital payment infrastructure.
Implications for Australia's business banking sector
While Stripe's beta trial currently remains limited to a small number of startup founders, its entry signals increasing competition among financial providers operating in Australia, as companies move beyond payment processing to offer treasury services, multicurrency accounts, and corporate spending tools. As more global payments and fintech companies pursue expansion into adjacent business banking services, competition in this space is likely to intensify across markets where cross-border payment volumes continue to grow.
