2:00 pm, January 17, 2022
Ford Motor Company has signed a five-year agreement with online payment firm Stripe to speed up and simplify the manufacturer’s e-commerce capabilities across Europe and North America.
It will see Stripe become the premium payment provider for Ford and its dealers in Europe and North America, and will also mean that people using its financial service arm Ford Credit can enjoy what Ford has labelled ‘an always-on experience’.
Ford dealers in the UK are expected to see the rollout of Stripe technology during the second half of 2022, giving them reliable payment acceptance.
Stripe’s service is expected to improve the efficiency of processing e-commerce payments such as vehicle ordering and reservations plus digital and charging services.
Marion Harris, Ford Motor Credit Company chief executive, said: ‘We have been working with Ford to reimagine our e-commerce payment infrastructure.
‘Stripe’s platform will help us deliver simpler, outstanding payment experiences in any channel customers choose and scale improvements faster.’
Mike Clayville, chief revenue officer at Stripe, said: ‘We’re thrilled to be the payments engine under the hood powering the next stage of Ford’s digital transformation.
‘During the pandemic, people got comfortable paying online for groceries, healthcare, even home haircut advice from barbers. Now they expect to be able to buy anything and everything online.
‘Ford is making e-commerce possible, too, and scaling that strategy with Stripe’s help.’
Stripe, which was founded in 2010 by brothers Patrick and John Collison, pictured (with Patrick on the left), will also support Ford Pro FinSimple services for commercial customers.
Products such as Stripe Connect will let Ford offer new services needing a robust, reliable e-commerce backbone, it said.
Connect allows businesses to create a platform to ease purchases and payments between third-party buyers and sellers. Ford will use it to smooth the way for customers’ payments to a local Ford dealer.
Harris added: ‘As part of the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation, we are making strategic decisions about where to bring in providers with robust expertise and where to build the differentiated, always-on experiences our customers will value.
‘Stripe has developed strong expertise in user experiences that will help provide easy, intuitive and secure payment processes for our customers.’
