By Lauren Davidson

3:00PM BST 12 Sep 2015

 

From robot sales staff and drone deliveries to Minority Report-style personalised marketing, the way we shop is drastically changing.

While none of those has yet hit the high street, the revolution is well under way, and one company believes it can become to online payments what Google and Facebook became to information and socialising in the internet age. But you’ve probably never heard of it.

Stripe, a San Francisco-based start-up that was launched four years ago by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison aims to streamline the digital checkout process by allowing businesses to embed a payment form that can be customised and active on its website or app almost immediately.

There is no consumer-facing element, so if you have entered your card details to make an online payment to Deliveroo, the Guardian, Comic Relief, Crowdcube or Bloom & Wild – or used Apple Pay to make a purchase – chances are you’ve unknowingly used Stripe.

Think of it as the invisible company powering the online economy.

 

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