Microsoft builds digital wallet service into Outlook

Microsoft has revealed it will soon be introducing payments in Outlook to help users to pay bills or invoices, right in email, without needing to switch to another app or service.  

Powered by Microsoft Pay, the company said enabling payments in Outlook would offer customers a fast and secure way to pay from within email. 

To start, it will be supported by a number of payment processors including Stripe and Braintree, billing services including Zuora, and invoicing services including FreshBooks, Intuit, Invoice2Go, Sage, Wave, and Xero. 

Businesses that send bills or invoice notifications to customers over email can now embed a payment action within Outlook. 

Payments in Outlook will roll out in phases, initially to a limited number of Outlook.com customers over the next few weeks and will be available more broadly in the coming months.

“Stripe’s goal is to increase the GDP of the internet, which we do by providing the tools and infrastructure that make it easier to transact online from anywhere in the world,” said Richard Alfonsi, head of global revenue and growth, Stripe. 

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“We’re excited to work closely with Microsoft to power payments in Outlook, allowing anyone receiving an email invoice or bill in Outlook to immediately take action and pay that invoice with a few simple clicks.

“By removing the friction and time needed to complete a payment, Stripe and Microsoft can help businesses around the world reduce missed or late payments, ultimately increasing their revenue.”

Stripe also announced that it is also now supporting Microsoft Pay so that businesses that use Stripe in other apps can now offer this as an option to users who are using Microsoft Pay, to avoid customers having to key in their card details on multiple occasions.

“Our partnership with Stripe opens up new opportunities for developers to monetize on Microsoft platforms” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development, Microsoft, in a statement.

“Starting with payments in Outlook, anyone using Stripe on our platforms can now accept payments with minimal effort, creating a more powerful experience for both our partners and our customers.”