Stripe’s OpenChannel Acquisition Facilitates Distribution of Services

Stripe’s series of high-profile acquisitions in 2021—the latest of which, OpenChannel, was announced in December—signal a shift toward operational areas adjacent to and complementary to Stripe’s well-known function as a payment processor. The OpenChannel acquisition, in particular, positions Stripe to directly distribute its entire suite of services to not just OpenChannel customers but also to the third-party developers using the app stores built by OpenChannel. It puts Stripe in the pole position to extend its reach and acquire additional B2B and third-party developers as customers, and it could prompt competitors to reevaluate their approach in going head-to-head with Stripe and partnering with it on its own networks.