Ford has entered into a five-year contract with e-commerce payment processing company Stripe, the automaker announced on January 17, 2022.

Through this partnership, Ford’s financial arm, Ford Motor Credit Company, will use Stripe’s technology to process digital payments in markets across North America and Europe. Ford hopes to roll out Stripe’s platform in the second half of 2022, starting with North America.

Ford looks to strengthen its e-commerce strategy

Ford plans to use products like Stripe Connect to coordinate payments and purchases between dealerships and buyers as well as route customers’ payment information to the correct local Ford or Lincoln dealer. Stripe will help dealers process customer payments for vehicle orders and electric car charging as part of Ford’s tech stack. 

For commercial vehicle customers, Stripe will be used to bundle financial options, such as combined billing, financing upfits, commercial lines of credit, and the option to work with a finance expert within Ford’s new standalone company for business buyers, called Ford Pro. 

In regards to its new partnership with Stripe, Marion Harris, CEO of Ford Motor Credit, said: “We are making strategic decisions about where to bring in providers with robust expertise and where to build the differentiated always-on experiences our customers will value.”

A big win for Stripe

Signing Ford as a long-term customer is one of the biggest wins yet for Stripe. With several acquisitions and multiple rounds of funding under its belt, Stripe is one of the most valuable start-ups with a valuation of over $95 billion. Its software offers features for payments, such as invoicing, billing, and online payments, as well as financial services for spend management and business financing.

On G2, Stripe Connect is positioned as a leader in the Payment Gateways Grid®, in a very crowded space of over 200 different products. The solutions in this category are essential for businesses like Ford that need to shift to a more e-commerce focused selling strategy to securely submit payment information to payment processors, encrypt sensitive customer information, and accept different forms of payment.

Edited by Shanti S Nair