For some time now Twitter has also shown interest in the race towards digital payment. And, at this point, its intentions seem to be real: rumor has it that Twitter has reached an agreement with the startup Stripe that will allow users of the social network to acquire goods and services directly on its platform between one tweet and another.
The agreement should be finalized within a matter of days (though Twitter’s spokesperson Will Stickney has made no comments on the matter) and would make it very easy for retailers to sell their products on the social network, using it as a virtual display window.
As was noted above, Twitter’s interest in this business is not new and proof of this is the agreement that still exists with American Express whose cardholders in the U.S. can insert their card information directly onto their Twitter account in order to make acquisitions, as well as Starbucks, retail leader in the digital and mobile payments sector, who has already made it possible to connect one’s Starbuck’s account to their Twitter profile in order to buy products and gift cards with a simple tweet.
And word is that the microblog is also interested in peer-to-peer payments and the existence of a tried and true plan (tweet to send money) in order to send money via Twitter.
So, now, thanks to Stripe, the dream of “A Tweet To Buy” could become reality.
The startup has received 40 million dollars in investments from Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst and it allows platforms that integrate its software to accept card payments on their sites and on their mobile apps (both for iOs and Android) with minimum effort for integration and rapid transaction times. Among the clients already using it are Lyft, the car and bike-sharing service, the e-commerce platform Shopify, and Instacart, a home delivery site in the food and beverage sector. The simplicity of its integration with so many different platforms is the true competitive advantage of a model that is also advantageous from an economic point of view. In the U.S., Stripe does not have setup costs or monthly fees. It takes a 2.9% commission on each transaction.
It is still not clear whether the offer proposed by the microblog and the startup will go immediately in the direction of offering all types of products or if an initial-phase test will concentrate on digital products like on demand TV programs, concert and sports events tickets, etc. It is easy to imagine a near future in which retailers will be able to accept payment for their products with a tweet: simple, fast and with no hassle. And Twitter has already assured that it won’t even take 140 characters to make a payment.
