Clients that use Balance will be able to access funds from transactions on their stores the next business day in a small-business account and via a spending card. (The Logic)

Talking point: Shopify’s expansion into banking has been some time in the making—the company first announced it at its annual Unite conference in May 2020; it’s been available to select merchants for “several months,” said product director Tui Allen. The service is built atop Stripe’s new banking-as-a-service offering. The Silicon Valley fintech firm has long been the processor for Shopify’s lucrative Payments service, which U.S. merchants must be using if they want access to Balance. Banking, like other new merchant offerings like fulfillment and point-of-sale, bolster Shopify’s position as a one-stop platform from which to run a business, giving the company more opportunities to earn fees and reducing the risks of merchants switching. Allen said the company is considering “expanding Shopify Balance to more merchants around the world in the future,” but declined to provide a timeline.