Benzinga | Jan 18, 2022 03:48AM EST

Ford Will Use Stripe's Services To Boost Its E-Commerce Services Like Vehicle Ordering, Reservations, Charging Services

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and privately-held payment processor Stripe have signed a five-year agreement to scale the automaker's e-commerce capabilities.

What Happened: Ford and Stripe will bolster the online payment infrastructure serving customers and dealers across North America and Europe under the deal, the two companies said in a statement released Monday.

The rollout of the Stripe technology, beginning in North America, is expected to commence in the second half of 2022.

Stripe's platform will be a "key part of the tech stack" as Ford develops e-commerce offerings across product and service spectrum, as per the statement.

The service of the payment processor is expected "to drive new efficiency" into e-commerce payments such as vehicle ordering, reservations and digital and charging services.

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Why It Matters: Stripe products, such as Stripe Connect, will allow Ford to scale new services that require a "robust, reliable e-commerce backbone," according to the statement.

"Ford will use Connect to facilitate a customer's payments to a correct local Ford or Lincoln dealer," the statement said.

Last year, Stripe, based in San Francisco, California and Dublin, Ireland, raised $600 million in funding taking its valuation to a whopping $95 billion. It is the most valuable startup in the United States, according to CB Insights data.

Stripe has been a long-rumored initial public offering candidate. There have also been rumors linking it to a special purpose acquisition company of Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Tontine Holdings's (NYSE:PSTH).

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