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Stripe Capital

stripe.com

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Re: Stripe Capital

#271

Post by aeorgnoieang »

sudhirj wrote: post #245
a13n wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if you can make your model work with a competitive APR then you'll take over the world. At 20% APR I would guess it's just not worth it for the majority of businesses (ourselves included).

It’s a 20% APR only if you’re paying it back really quickly - and if you’re generating so much revenue that you’re going to pay it back quickly why would you need the money at all? For businesses that expect a slow payback, the APR isn’t nearly that much. I’d use it to reserve EC2 instances, for example. I get a 40% cost reduction on AWS over 3 years, and I’d expect to take that long to pay back the capital. The APR…

> I’d use it to reserve EC2 instances, for example.

That's a great idea!

Re: Stripe Capital

#272

Post by davidpolberger »

softawre wrote: post #263
davidpolberger wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I created a version with sliders, making it easier to experiment: https://connect.calcapp.net/?app=atzggn Also, you don't have to duplicate the spreadsheet to make it editable, you can just use it straight away. (Disclaimer: I created it with Calcapp, which is a SaaS product I built.)

Cool experiment. I don't agree with how you say that 10% is the Quoted Interest Rate, because Stripe isn't doing that. They are saying they have a fixed fee. "Interest rate" means it compounds.

If the HN hive mind can agree on better terminology, I'd be happy to update the calculator.

Re: Stripe Capital

#273

Post by abalone »

hobofan wrote: post #250
abalone wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't answer the question. That is exactly what Square Capital does (perhaps PayPal too).

I think it answers the question pretty well. They said it doesn't do anything different, and it was a missing product in their lineup that customers were expecting. Since that product is bundled to your payment processor, if you were with Stripe instead of Square or PayPal you didn't have access to those kinds of loans/cash advances.

They edited their comment to a completely different answer, without noting so. The original was just a marketing blurb.

Re: Stripe Capital

#274

Post by hammock »

mod wrote: post #237
hammock wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's stopping a business from getting a loan and then transferring the funds - and directing part/most of their future receivables - to another entity, in order to drag out the loan term?

There's a minimum amount due.

A minimum payment would set a floor on the effective interest Stripe earns, but still doesn't seem to solve adverse selection entirely if they are expecting the average payment to be much higher.

Re: Stripe Capital

#275

Post by i_cant_speel »

softawre wrote: post #265
i_cant_speel wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused on why everyone is focusing on this so much. It matters on interest-based loans because a higher APR means you are going to pay more in X amount of time. But here you are paying a flat fee, regardless of the amount of time it takes to repay. Why does the APR matter?

Because if you have the option of getting the loan through Stripe or a bank that offers a loan with a regular APR, you may want to compare which is a "better deal".

Ah that makes sense.

Re: Stripe Capital

#276

Post by skrebbel »

onion2k wrote: post #239
skrebbel wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that pretty common on HN? I've read similarly great comments from sytse (gitlab), eastdakota (cloudflare) and a bunch more I can't drum up right now.

It's certainly a lot more common on HN than other forums but that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile pointing out when it happens. Positive feedback from readers is great.

Good point!

Re: Stripe Capital

#278

Post by edwinwee »

stephen82 wrote: post #277

My country (Cyprus) is not yet supported by Stripe. Is Stripe Capital restricted to countries that are not yet supported? How does this work?

It’s only available for businesses that use Stripe in the US (for now). After we look at their histories with Stripe, we send personalized offers to businesses that we think could benefit from Capital.

We do want to be available for businesses in Cyprus (Stripe itself and Capital), but we don't have a timeline yet. You can sign up for updates at https://stripe.com/global#CY!

Re: Stripe Capital

#279

Post by stephen82 »

edwinwee wrote: post #278
stephen82 wrote: post #277

My country (Cyprus) is not yet supported by Stripe. Is Stripe Capital restricted to countries that are not yet supported? How does this work?

It’s only available for businesses that use Stripe in the US (for now). After we look at their histories with Stripe, we send personalized offers to businesses that we think could benefit from Capital. We do want to be available for businesses in Cyprus (Stripe itself and Capital), but we don't have a timeline yet. You can sign up for updates at https://stripe.com/global#CY !

Thank you very much.

Re: Stripe Capital

#280

Post by mootrichard »

abalone wrote: post #215
haven wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to nitpick, but a quick check shows Square has way more stars overall. (233,343 stars for Square repos and 30,982 stars for Stripe repos.) If you’re talking about Square’s brand new SDKs, they of course start with zero stars and some are just weeks old.

Wow, looks like Square is updating its github repository in response to this thread! Just saw they pinned their SDKs. Good job Square, that helps. Square if you're listening, also work on the docs and dev experience. For example I noticed that Stripe's docs immediately show you how to work with charges. Whereas with Square the first step is... setting a location. It's just another little dev experience hurdle. What i…

[Square employee, on Developer Relations team]

We are most definitely listening. We appreciate the feedback and are always looking to improve our developer experience. Stripe has done an excellent job in that regard.

If you would be open to it, we'd really like to chat with you on your thoughts about our SDKs & documentation. Feel free to shoot an email to moot@squareup.com or message our Twitter @SquareDev.

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