The founder of payments giant Stripe, Patrick Collison, revealed on Channel X that he had arrived to visit Israel, writing: “Great to be back in Tel Aviv. I missed this tour.” To accompany a photo of Tel Aviv’s waterfront promenade. Stripe is one of the most valuable private technology companies in the world, and is considered a prime candidate to go public. A few days ago, it bought back $70 billion worth of shares on the private market.
Collison’s post on X sparked mixed reactions. He has been welcomed in Israel by Israeli tech investors and founders such as former basketball player Omar Kaspi, now managing partner of Sheva VC; Any.do CEO Omer Percek; Gusto Founder and Chief Product Officer Gusto; and Eran Sher, co-founder and CEO of Nexar. Sequoia Capital partner Sean Maguire, a frequent visitor to Israel, also responded positively. Sequoia Capital is a significant investor in Stripe, having joined the likes of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who are known for their pro-Israel stances, at an early stage.
However, several hundred of the 1,000-plus responses to this post were in an anti-Israel context. Many reminded Collison of his tweet of an excerpt from a Guardian report published in July 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip: “Last night, children were killed while sleeping on the floor of a classroom in a UN school.” Gaza. Children killed in their sleep; “This is an insult to us all, and a source of global shame.” Some speculated on the impact of Collison’s visit and his video post.
Anyway, the question arises, what is Stripe looking for in Israel? It is possible that the company, which has never been officially active in Israel, is planning to apply to the Bank of Israel for a clearing license, which would enable it to operate in the local market. Stripe is not connected to the Israeli financial system, and payments cannot be made through the company to an Israeli bank account. The reason is not the company’s unwillingness, but apparently technological and organizational difficulties in the Israeli market.
Another possibility is a planned acquisition that will provide a research and development center for Stripe in Israel. Tel Aviv-based Israeli company Rapid is a competitor to Stripe, a large digital clearer company in Asian and Middle Eastern countries, generally in countries where Stripe has had difficulties operating as a clearer due to regulatory restrictions. There are two payment clearing fraud prevention technology companies with a significant presence in Israel: Riskified and Forter. Rival PayPal already maintains a development center in Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 28, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
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