Challenge

Ignition’s customers initially handled payments—and more importantly, followed up on late payments—themselves, which was manual and time-consuming. The cofounders sought to help their customers automate payment collection, while ensuring a seamless user experience for them and their clients through Ignition's platform.

With sights set on improving the client engagement process for customers globally, they needed a payments provider that could support multiple currencies and local payment methods with a single integration, while staying up-to-date with local payments verification requirements. They started off using a payments provider well-suited to serving customers within Australia, but looked for a provider that would help them scale globally.

Solution

In 2015, Ignition integrated Stripe Payments and Custom Connect to provide payments functionality in the United States, and later in additional countries. Ignition fully migrated to Stripe for integrated payments globally in 2019, after Stripe launched BECS Direct Debit for payments in Australia.

Today, Ignition uses Stripe to both automate payment collection for its customers and bill customers for their subscription to the platform. Ignition’s customers also benefit from Stripe’s proven, enterprise-scale security and reliability.

Ignition appreciates Stripe’s API-first, developer-friendly approach, and Connect proved to be invaluable when it came to enabling global expansion. With it, Ignition can offer complex, white-labeled, integrated payments to its customers, while controlling the flow of funds from their clients.

Connect Onboarding and Identity help Ignition gather and verify the information needed to meet Know Your Customer (KYC) and payments compliance requirements. The solution ensures that Ignition meets regulatory obligations and helps defend against fraud, while building its platform around Stripe’s payments infrastructure.

Ignition later added Radar and Financial Connections to its suite of Stripe products. ACH Direct Debit, Bacs Direct Debit, BECS Direct Debit, and ACSS pre-authorized debits have increased the payment methods that Ignition customers can accept in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Results

Improved efficiency and cash flow for customers

Customers around the world are using Ignition to automate billing and payment collection to improve cash flow, grow revenue, and do business more efficiently. On average, customers save three hours per week on billing and sending invoices. They save an additional six hours per week on collecting and reconciling payments. Customers are free to redirect their time to servicing their clients and growing their business while improving cash flow by eliminating accounts receivables.

Optimizing revenue for service businesses globally

As for Ignition, the platform operates in multiple markets internationally and offers payments processing in six. Integrating Stripe has enabled Ignition to accept nine different payment methods on behalf of its customers. Ignition has engaged over 1.1 million clients to date, and has processed over AUD3.6 billion in client payments since 2015. With offices worldwide, Ignition expanded its Toronto-based research and development in 2021 to focus on international growth, particularly in the United States.

About Ignition

Ignition is the world’s first client engagement and commerce platform for service businesses. From online proposals to automated engagement letters and payments, Ignition frees service businesses to focus on their clients. Based in Australia, Ignition serves thousands of customers around the world.