MYOB turns to Stripe to bill its customers, claiming cashflow benefits for SME users

Australian businesses using MYOB will soon make payments through the Stripe system, a move the accounting software platform says will help its users focus on what actually matters: serving their customers and easing cash-flow constraints.

On Monday, MYOB announced its internal payments infrastructure will move to Stripe Billing, streamlining and automating the way users handle their recurrent and usage-based payments to MYOB.

It may appear as a subtle evolution for the businesses using MYOB, but the platform itself claims the new Stripe functionality and ease of payment will ultimately support small business cashflow.

“One of the biggest headaches for businesses is cash flow,” said Caroline Rawlinson, chief operating officer at MYOB.

“Enabling faster invoice payments helps to alleviate cashflow pressures for customers.”

“We’re proud to enable businesses like MYOB to scale, optimise operations with Billing, and continue to support the small and medium sized businesses of Australia and New Zealand,” said Karl Durrance, Stripe’s managing director for the Australia-New Zealand region.

Updated payment options are not likely to fix all small business cashflow woes, but recent data shows those traders can use all the help they can get.

Business-to-business trade payment defaults were 55% higher in January 2024 than a year prior, according to CreditorWatch, showcasing the payments slowdown across the country.

At the same time, the average Australian business invoice value is down 19% year-on-year, according to CreditorWatch data.

“It is looking increasingly likely that the first half of 2024 will be some of the most challenging operating conditions many businesses will have ever experienced,” CreditorWatch chief economist Anneke Thompson said.

Changing how MYOB customers pay MYOB is unlikely to be the last Stripe-related tweak to the Australian platform.

In 2023, its New Zealand users gained new online invoice payment functionality through the Stripe Connect system, giving Kiwi MYOB users an alternative to the ocean of third-party invoicing integrations.

Xero, the relative newcomer to the business management platform scene, tapped into the Stripe Connect system in 2019.