No, Stripe is not becoming a bank

Last week, details emerged about an application that fintech giant Stripe had submitted for a U.S. banking license. There was a lot of chatter on X about whether this meant Stripe – already the largest privately valued fintech in the world – would now be adding bank to the list of descriptions of what it does. The short answer is: No. What is true is that this marks the first time that Stripe has applied for a banking license. But what may not be as clear is that the scope of the license is a very narrow one. This license does not mean that the fintech company will be accepting deposits. What it does mean is that if approved, Stripe will be allowed to process its own payments in addition to having partners that process payments on its behalf. A Stripe spokesperson told TechCrunch: “Over the past few years, as Stripe’s business has grown, we’ve significantly expanded the number of banking and other partners we work with. This application helps us ensure we have an even broader range ... Read full article.