Shopify expands into credit cards as it pushes further into the fintech space

Shopify has entered the credit card game.

The commerce giant announced today that it is offering Shopify Credit, a business credit card designed exclusively for its merchants.

The new product marks Shopify’s first pay in full business credit card, said Shopify President, Harley Finkelstein. It is powered by Stripe and it is issued by Celtic bank, “and accepted everywhere Visa is,” he added.

“We designed Credit with the reality of an entrepreneur in mind. We recognized that having smooth cash flow is important for business owners, and as a business matures, entrepreneurs may find themselves looking for a credit line to maximize their working capital for expected (and unexpected) expenses,” Finkelstein told TechCrunch via email. 

It’s not the first time Shopify has teamed up with Stripe. The two companies have been partnered for nearly a decade and Shopify also works with the company to power Shopify Payments and Shopify Balance, a money management account.

Notably, merchants are evaluated on a variety of factors in the application process, such as their sales performance, as opposed to credit checks. Specifically, eligibility is also based on the merchant being on Shopify Payments and US-based with sales on Shopify. There is also KYC (know your customer) required, according to the company. Once approved, merchants can start spending immediately with a virtual card and can earn 3% cash back on their “top spend category,” and 1% on remaining categories such as wholesale, marketing and shipping.

Shopify is also emphatic that it won’t charge any fees for the card, including no late or foreign transaction fees.

The move is the latest in Shopify’s efforts to straddle the intersection of fintech and commerce,

In April, Shopify teamed up with Israeli B2B payments startup Melio to launch a new bill pay tool designed to allow U.S.-based merchant customers to manage their expenses and vendors via its platform. 

And in 2016, Shopify launched Shopify Capital, which helps merchants gain access to working capital. Last year, it introduced Shopify Balance, which is aimed at helping merchants manage their money. It also offers loan facilities.

Shopify declined to say how many merchants it has in the U.S., noting only that it works with “millions of merchants” overall.

Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up for The Interchange here.