Stripe launches free instant B2B payments through business handles

Stripe has introduced free instant business-to-business transfers through a new Stripe Pay plug-in, allowing companies to send money using business profile handles as the payments firm develops separate stablecoin and AI-agent payment services.

Summary

• Stripe Pay enables instant business transfers using Stripe profile handles, with no transfer fees advertised.
• Both sender and recipient must have qualifying financial accounts before a transfer can proceed.
• The tool supports Dashboard and command-line payments, including authenticated workflows for software agents.
• Stripe's separate AI-agent products support virtual cards, programmable wallets and stablecoin transactions.
• Stablecoin infrastructure remains a growing part of Stripe's business payments and settlement services.

According to Stripe's October 27 announcement, businesses can identify another company through its Stripe profile and transfer funds without a fee. The service is available through the Stripe Dashboard and command-line interface, providing another way for businesses to move money between accounts without entering conventional bank details for each recipient.

The launch comes as Stripe develops financial accounts, digital wallets and payment tools that can support automated transactions. Its stablecoin products are separate from the new B2B transfer plug-in, although both form part of the company's expanding financial infrastructure.

Stripe Pay introduces free business transfers through profile handles

Under Stripe's official documentation, a sender must have a funded financial account, while the recipient needs a financial account connected to an existing Stripe profile. Businesses can identify recipients using a public handle, such as @recipient, or a unique profile network identifier.

For companies that do not know the recipient's exact details, Stripe directs users to its business directory to locate potential matches. The documentation requires customers to verify the intended business before authorizing payment, reducing the chance of sending money to the wrong account.

The plug-in supports authentication through the Stripe CLI, with users instructed to confirm their active account before transferring funds. Businesses without an existing profile can create one during the setup process, subject to the required account information.

Stripe's payment instructions include a dry-run option for checking transfer details without moving money. The system requires confirmation of the recipient, amount, currency and funding account before an automated workflow proceeds with an actual transfer.

Company CEO Patrick Collison welcomed the launch, writing in an October 27 post that account-to-account payments would become more important than person-to-person transfers.

A2A payments will be more important than P2P payments. https://t.co/AJqNVcpj90 --- Patrick Collison (@patrickc) October 27, 2026

Stripe develops separate payment tools for AI agents

Stripe Pay's support for command-line payments sits alongside the company's work on financial services for AI agents, although its announcement does not say that the plug-in itself settles transfers using stablecoins.

At its 2026 Sessions conference, Stripe introduced agent-ready financial accounts designed to let software agents check balances, pay invoices, issue cards and manage cash. Its product plans include human approval for important transactions and controls over automated spending.

The company has separately introduced Link's wallet for agents, which can provide single-use virtual cards or shared payment tokens backed by a customer's existing cards and bank accounts. Customers retain control over authorized purchases, while agents receive payment credentials limited to approved transactions.

Other services allow developers to create programmable wallets for AI agents through Privy. These wallets can support digital-asset holdings, automated transactions and spending activity, depending on the provider and product configuration.

As crypto.news previously reported on agent payments, Stripe introduced USDC-based payments through Coinbase's x402 protocol in February. The system allows AI software to pay for digital services without relying on conventional checkout processes for each transaction.

Stablecoin infrastructure connects wallets, cards and settlement

Stripe's stablecoin business has developed through its acquisitions of Bridge and Privy, alongside payment products designed to help companies hold and transfer digital dollars.

Its April product announcements included stablecoin-backed cards, expanded support for digital-dollar transactions and tools for issuing custom stablecoins. The company said businesses could make stablecoin payments available in more markets, while eligible cardholders could spend supported balances through conventional merchant networks.

In October, the Open USD stablecoin network added another example of Stripe's participation in payment infrastructure. Bridge acts as the issuer of OUSD, while participating financial institutions and payment companies provide distribution, settlement and related services.

Stripe has placed considerable attention on automated payments through Tempo, the blockchain developed with Paradigm. The network's mainnet launch in March introduced infrastructure for stablecoin transactions and machine payments.

The company's 2025 annual letter estimated that stablecoin payment volume reached approximately $400 billion during the year, with business-to-business transfers accounting for around 60% of that activity. The estimate concerned stablecoin payments across the market, not transactions processed through the newly announced Stripe Pay service.

Banks explore tokenized deposits alongside stablecoins

Traditional banks are developing separate systems for transferring tokenized commercial-bank deposits as payment companies introduce stablecoin services.

Stripe's recent discussion of developments at Money20/20 described how tokenized deposits could allow financial institutions to move funds outside conventional banking hours. Such instruments represent claims on the issuing bank, unlike privately issued stablecoins backed by designated reserve assets.

In July, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were reported to be developing a shared deposit-token network. The initiative concerns bank-issued money and does not establish that Stripe Pay directly supports tokenized deposits.

Stripe has not disclosed transaction volumes for the new profile-based transfer service or announced that its instant B2B payments are settled through the Tempo blockchain.