Payments giant Stripe founder Patrick Collison revealed on X that he had landed for a visit to Israel, and wrote “Great to be back in Tel Aviv. I missed this run.” to accompany a picture of the Tel Aviv seafront promenade. Stripe is one of the highest valued privately-held technology companies in the world, and considered a leading candidate for an IPO. A few days ago, it bought back shares in the private market at a valuation of $70 billion.
Collison’s post on X attracted a mixed response. He was welcomed to Israel by Israeli tech investors and founders such as former basketballer Omer Casspi, now managing partner of Sheva VC; Any.do CEO Omer Perchik; Gusto founder and chief product officer Gusto; and Eran Shir, co-founder and CEO of Nexar. Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire, a frequent visitor to Israel, also responded positively. Sequoia Capital is an important investor in Stripe, having joined the likes of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, both known for pro-Israel stances, at an early stage.
Several hundred of the more than 1,000 responses to the post were, however, in an anti-Israel vein. Several reminded Collison of his tweeting of an extract from a report in “The Guardian” in July 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip: “Last night, children were killed as they slept on the floor of a classroom in a UN-designated shelter in Gaza. Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced.” Some speculated about the effect of Collison’s visit and his post on Stripe.
At any rate, the question arises, what is Stripe looking for in Israel? It may be that the company, which has never officially been active in Israel, plans to apply to the Bank of Israel for a clearer’s license, which would enable it to operate in the local market. Stripe is not connected to the Israeli financial system, and it is not possible to clear payments via the company to an Israeli bank account. The reason is not unwillingness on the part of the company, but apparently technological and regulatory difficulties in the Israel market.
Another possibility is a planned acquisition that will provide a research and development center for Stripe in Israel. Israeli company Rapyd, based in Tel Aviv, is a competitor of Stripe, and is a large digital clearer in Asian countries, the Middle East, and in general in countries where Stripe has encountered difficulties in operating as a clearer because of regulatory restrictions. Two fraud prevention technology companies in the field of payment clearing have significant presences in Israel: Riskified and Forter. Competitor PayPal already maintains a development center in Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on November 28, 2024.
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