Ford selects Stripe to improve payment experience

The car manufacturer Ford has just signed a 5-year partnership with the payment service provider Stripe. The aim of this partnership is both to transform the payment experience around the car and to develop the online sale of vehicles. This is therefore a very important contract for Stripe, which establishes the FinTech as a major player in online payments and will enable the car manufacturer to modernise its approach to online sales.

FACTS

• The new partnership between Ford and Stripe covers all payment services for Ford and its dealerships in the United States and Europe.

• Ford is relying on Stripe to rethink its payment infrastructure for the online channel, within its e-commerce services. This is particularly important as it will optimise the vehicle purchase process, regardless of the channel chosen by a potential customer.

• This new system will concern both private and professional customers.

• Ford will also rely on the Stripe Connect service to facilitate payments between its car buying customers and dealers.

• The rollout of Stripe technology is expected to begin in the second half of 2022, initially in North America.

ISSUES

• Payment support: This is not the first time Ford has teamed up with payment players. In December 2020, the manufacturer chose to equip its commercial vehicles with a SumUp POS terminal. The manufacturer is now looking to support additional services beyond the automotive sector.

• Optimising the customer experience: Ford and Stripe are presenting digital payment and e-commerce experience as two tools capable of improving the customer relationship of car manufacturers. These technologies make the buying process, including the vehicle, more seamless.

• Boosting dealership services: This partnership is ultimately also presented by the stakeholders as a way to strengthen the dealers' offer, this time by improving their payment acceptance system.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Whether it is a question of in-car payment, online vehicle sales (new or used) or even the dematerialisation of service contracts, the automotive sector, like the rest of the economy, is going through a profound phase of digital transformation from which the new players in general and those of payment in particular are taking full advantage.

• Ford has even made this commitment to the digital transformation of its services a central part of its objectives and strategy. This merger with Stripe is part of the wider restructuring and modernisation plan called Ford+. This plan includes electrification and rapid growth of the company through investments of up to 30 billion dollars by 2025.