Shopify Balance — a new merchant business card

How will merchants benefit from an in-house banking product at Shopify?
26 May 2020

Shopify reveals big plans to support small business owners. Source: Shutterstock

  • Shopify introduced a business account and card for merchants 
  • Shopify’s share price to increase by 2.3 percent in Toronto
  • Shopify’s partnership with Facebook will present new offerings to online businesses 

E-commerce is experiencing an all-time high with lockdown measures shuttering brick-and-mortar stores, with lost sales getting reclaimed via online channels. 

Online sales have skyrocketed to the extent that retail giants like Amazon are struggling to fulfill the surge in demand. The mega-brand faces challenges from different areas, including staffing shortages at their warehouses, disruptions in their supply chains, and falling short at production lines.

As a result, the retail titan is losing some of their online shoppers to other e-commerce rivals. Things are about to heat up with a new product launch by fellow titan Shopify. 

Shopify Balance 

The Canadian e-commerce unveiled plans to introduce a new banking product that’s catered to the needs of small and independent businesses. 

The launch of Shopify Balance at Reunite, the company’s annual developer and partner event — held virtually this year, has led to the company’s share price going up 2.3 percent at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), as reported in Bloomberg

Shopify Balance includes a business account and card for merchants that enables them to manage finances, track their expenses, and pay bills via the company’s platform. 

“Balance is a suite of three things, three separate things coming together. It’s a pseudo financial management product for merchants, two, it’s a business account that will replace their existing bank account, [and] three, it’s a business card designed with independent businesses in mind,” Kaz Nejatian of Shopify Financial Solutions told BetaKit

Unlike traditional debit or credit cards, Shopify Balance is an in-house product that enables merchants to directly access their balance, such as sales revenue from their Shopify stores.  

Since two out of five Shopify merchants uses their personal bank and credit accounts for business transactions, the e-commerce giant aims to tackle this practice by providing their own product. Shopify Balance aims to let merchants draw a line between personal and business finances, enhancing features that track expenses and measure sales growth.  

The new banking product will also enable merchants to make in-store and online purchases with a Shopify Balance business card, alongside an online account for merchants to have a centralized view of cash flow.

The benefits don’t stop there as Shopify is on track to introduce a rewards program by offering discounts on business-related purchases such as shipping to entice platform users. 

Nejatian, the vice president and general manager of Shopify Financial Solutions, shared the concept of Shopify Balance was accelerate from the need to support small business owners at this time of uncertainty.  

“We were thinking about things around this space [prior], but, honestly, COVID completely changed everything we were doing; it was a massive pivot by the company,” as reported in BetaKit.

Partnership with Facebook 

In light of this new merchant tool that is set to turbocharge the e-commerce sphere, Shopify’s partnership with Facebook has its own benefits geared towards online retailers. 

In a press release, Shopify stated “our partnership with Facebook to help businesses create Facebook Shops, a new and free tool helping merchants create a customized online storefront for Facebook and Instagram.”

Essentially, the partnership offers several unique angles for the e-commerce giant and social media titan to spearhead the growing online retail landscape. 

It is likely that Facebook will offer their strengths in advertising and powerful algorithm allowing them to match the “right” customers to the “right” products, while Shopify enables merchants to fulfill these orders via secure payment services, inventory management, from fulfillment right up to shipments.