Dive Brief:

• Popular project-funding platform Kickstarter has dropped Amazon Payments in favor of payments startup Stripe.

• Kickstarter had been using Amazon Payments since its founding in 2009 because it was one of the few options that allowed contributors to make pledges without being charged until the project was given a go. Amazon Payments has ended that flexibility.

• The platform has processed some $1.2 billion in funding since its launch.

Dive Insight:

Kickstarter’s new deal with Stripe will allow it to smooth out its operations. With Stripe, artists and entrepreneurs aiming to fund their projects won’t have to establish an account as they did with Amazon Payments, which took up to a week. And contributors will have a smoother payment experience because they won’t have to leave the Kickstarter site to make their pledge. Stripe can also process international payments, which Amazon Payments doesn’t. 

For Amazon, the loss may not be that big. Just Tuesday the company reported that some 40% of its commerce is through outside sellers, and its payments service is also expanding beyond its Marketplace to compete with Stripe in brick-and-mortar retailers as well as online.