Stripe’s Challenges With Wells Fargo, Goldman Highlight Payments Risks

Stripe has a tough time keeping tabs on customers—and that’s a worry for some of its banks.

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Last year, staff inside Stripe got some alarming news: The payment giant’s relationship with a key bank partner was about to change—for the worse.

Wells Fargo executives had told Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison they wanted to end a partnership powering Stripe’s payments, according to three former Stripe employees briefed on the conversations. Wells Fargo had been canceling its partnerships with fintechs across the board, according to a person close to the bank, due to the risks of big payments firms and regulatory scrutiny of the arrangements.