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Businesses grow revenue on Stripe 27 percentage points faster after accepting financing through Stripe Capital (opens in new tab)

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Stripe’s two-year randomized trials found that businesses accepting Stripe Capital financing grew faster than comparable businesses without financing. The 2023–2025 study showed an average 27-percentage-point growth advantage, while the fastest-improving 10% saw an average boost of 211 percentage points. The results suggest that embedded, data-driven financing can help small businesses overcome traditional lending barriers and invest in growth.

Proving Financing Causes Growth

  • Stripe compared businesses that accepted Capital with similar businesses matched on credit, revenue, and longevity.
  • The study was conducted across two periods:
    • 2020–2021: financing was associated with a 114-percentage-point average growth boost, though pandemic-era economic conditions may have influenced results.
    • 2023–2025: financing still produced a strong 27-percentage-point average boost in a different economic environment.
  • Stripe conducted the trial at scale, serving 76,000 financed businesses in 2025 alone.

Strongest Effects Among Small Businesses

  • Businesses processing $3,000–$76,000 annually saw average growth-rate improvements of 33–43 percentage points.
  • Businesses processing less than $52,000 annually with top-tier credit scores saw even larger improvements of 94–106 percentage points.
  • Even businesses with low or unavailable credit scores experienced 11–18 percentage-point growth improvements.
  • Stripe says its data-driven process delivers financing in 1–2 days, compared with roughly 14–40 days at traditional banks.
  • Traditional bank applications are often time-consuming, and rejection rates can approach 50%, including for established businesses.

Growth-Oriented Spending Produces Better Results

  • A survey of approximately 900 participating businesses found that financing use strongly correlated with outcomes.
  • Among businesses with top-tier credit, those using funds to launch products, start projects, or scale operations saw average growth boosts of 70–95 percentage points.
  • Examples included:
    • MyPark used financing to deploy additional revenue-generating machines.
    • Xirsys expanded server infrastructure into China, India, and Japan, more than doubling annual revenue.

Expanding Access Through Embedded Finance

  • The World Bank estimates a $5.7 trillion funding gap for SMBs in developing economies.
  • Platforms that already manage payments or business operations can use transaction data to make proactive financing offers.
  • This model broadens access beyond traditional credit scoring and may encourage owners to pursue investments they would otherwise avoid.
  • Marketplaces and software platforms are positioned to become important channels for closing the global SMB funding gap.

Stripe’s research supports using embedded, data-based financing to provide faster access to capital, particularly for small businesses and owners pursuing concrete expansion plans. However, financing remains subject to approval and may take the form of loans or merchant cash advances depending on the market.