The raise included previous investors Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz. The company is now worth 50 per cent more than it was at its last funding round earlier this year. (Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: The round comes as Stripe—whose customers include Airbnb, Shopify and Lyft—faces increased competition in the digital payments space. Newer companies like Checkout.com are raising large sums to better compete with it, while more established ones like Worldpay are selling themselves to financial institutions looking to improve their online-payment capabilities. Meanwhile, some Stripe customers are adding additional payment processors or developing their own to cut costs. One major company is sticking with Stripe, though. As my colleague Murad reported in January, a deal Shopify signed with Stripe five years ago helped each grow into a market leader, employing more than 4,300 people between them.