Stripe and Swift race to control the next generation of global payments infrastructure

Swift said Tuesday it would expand a blockchain-based settlement network after completing pilot work with 17 global banks, and is now working with more than 40 financial institutions . Stripe followed immediately after with an unsolicited $53 billion bid for PayPal, a deal that would combine one of the world's largest merchant payment networks with one of the biggest consumer wallet businesses. PayPal’s board, according to a Reuters report , sees the takeover bid as undervaluing the company and facing regulatory and financing challenges.

Swift, Stripe and Paypal each sit at different ends of the global payments system. Swift connects more than 11,500 financial institutions and handles messaging for trillions of dollars in cross-border payments. Stripe processes hundreds of billions of dollars a year for millions of businesses. PayPal has more than 439 million active accounts and processed $1.79 trillion in 2025.