Payments firm Stripe is launching a new product aimed at start-up online marketplaces hoping to be the next Airbnb or Uber. The new product, Stripe Connect, will allow start-ups to access more than one billion potential sellers globally.

The sharing and collaborative economy is growing rapidly as companies such as Airbnb, Uber and Deliveroo gain ground. However, the size of Ireland’s population means it has a limited market for newcomers to tap into, leaving entrepreneurs having to target overseas markets if they want to get any significant growth.

Previously, this meant setting up merchant accounts in each country into which they were expanding, but now Stripe Connect will allow businesses a path for international expansion. Firms can sign up and verify service providers – such as drivers or sellers – in each of the 25 countries in which Stripe operates.

"Going international is a big challenge for any start-up in Ireland today, and doing that is a question of building on the right infrastructure from an early stage, especially for the most tech-forward platforms," said Don O'Leary, Stripe's country lead for Ireland said. "Stripe Connect gives Irish businesses instant access to a global market of over a billion potential buyers and sellers, helping a new generation of marketplaces and sharing economy achieve international scale faster than ever before."

New business models

Marketplaces will also be able to accept payments in any currency, pay sellers internationally and customise payments. Stripe Connect will also facilitate the addition of new business models and even a complete shift in business model without any significant work needed on their own financial back-end systems.

The San Francisco-based Stripe was set up by Limerick brothers Patrick and John Collison in 2009, offering payment processing services for online and mobile transactions. It supports credit card payments in 139 different currencies, bank transfers, bitcoin and Alipay.