Microsoft is integrating its digital wallet service into Outlook, as announced during Build 2018 on Monday. Called Microsoft Pay, users can soon make payments on invoices and bills through emails without leaving Outlook and switching to another app or service. All it takes is a click on an Adaptive Card that details the invoice and payment action.
According to Microsoft, fintech companies Stripe and Braintree will be some of the payment processors under the upcoming integration. Meanwhile, Zuora, FreshBooks, Intuit, Invoice2Go, Sage, Wave, and Xero will be tapped for billing and invoicing services for the new Outlook feature.
The tech giant also revealed that the streamlined payment system will roll out in phases. For the first weeks, only a few Outlook.com users will have the capability in their email. Microsoft assured that more users will have access to the payment feature over the subsequent months.
Microsoft emphasizes that Payments in Outlook is a solution developed for its users and not a service where it earns revenues. Instead, its partners earn commissions for every completed transaction. It is an opportunity for developers to monetize on several Microsoft platforms.
For Microsoft, it isn’t about money but the convenience it offers to platform users. This integration is a way to make customers remain inside the ecosystem and use Microsoft services more often.
Microsoft may be a tad too late compared to its competitors, Android Pay and Apple Pay. However, the company’s broader shift to handy Adaptive Cards and integration-friendly developer mechanics has allowed the company to catch up. After all, Microsoft is known to have extensive capabilities in different aspects of computing.
For businesses, this latest development lets them get paid faster by making the entire process simpler with a few clicks. Stripe agrees with this. “By removing the friction and time needed to complete a payment, Stripe and Microsoft can help businesses around the world reduce missed or late payments, ultimately increasing their revenue,” the company expressed in a statement.