Stripe Helps Microsoft Bring Payments to Outlook

Amid all the announcements from Microsoft’s developer conference this week came a bit of payments integration news.

Leading online payments provider Stripe is among the partners helping the company introduce payments within its ubiquitous Outlook email client.

Microsoft is also working with payments provider Braintree and subscription management technology provider Zuora, it said. The functionality will allow businesses invoicing through companies such as Wave and Xero to embed the ability to accept payments within emails they send to clients. Outlook users at the other end will be able to pay the invoice through Microsoft Pay without leaving Outlook.

Like other e-wallets, Microsoft Pay enables the users to store shipping as well as card or PayPal payment information so it does not have to be entered every time.

“We’re excited to work closely with Microsoft to power payments in Outlook, allowing anyone receiving an email invoice or bill in Outlook to immediately take action and pay that invoice with a few simple clicks. By removing the friction and time needed to complete a payment, Stripe and Microsoft can help businesses around the world reduce missed or late payments, ultimately increasing their revenue,” TechCrunch quoted Richard Alfonsi, head of global revenue and growth for Stripe, as saying.

The article also quoted Microsoft on its relationship with Stripe.

“Our partnership with Stripe opens up new opportunities for developers to monetize on Microsoft platforms” Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development for Microsoft, said. “Starting with payments in Outlook, anyone using Stripe on our platforms can now accept payments with minimal effort, creating a more powerful experience for both our partners and our customers.”

Microsoft introduced the service in the context of several new features designed to increase the interactivity and usefulness of Outlook emails.

“These capabilities allow developers to engage with their users more deeply, right in context within the email, thereby reducing the friction between intent and action,” the company said in its announcement.

Microsoft will roll out the service in phases, beginning with select Outlook.com users in the coming weeks, it said.