Audio chat app Clubhouse join forces with Stripe to launch direct payment feature

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lubhouse is the new social media app threatening to take the world by storm. Designed as an audio-drop in app, Clubhouse enables users to listen in to conversations, interviews, and discussions between interesting people on various topics.

If your Twitter feed has been anything like this writer’s over the past few months, it is hard to imagine anyone who hasn’t heard of Clubhouse.

The app, which is invite-only, has been all over the news, especially, since a lot of big names have held talks on it. These include Elon Musk, the chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak and Oprah.

Following its initial success, Clubhouse is now looking to develop the platform further by joining forces with Stripe to introduce a direct digital payment option. The move, which is in line with its foundational principle of putting creators first, will enable users to send payment directly to the creators on the platform.

In order to make payments, users can tap on the profile of a creator and opt to Send Money.

Clubhouse began trials of the payment feature at the beginning of the month, and soon after rolled it out to a further 60,000 users in the US. It also expects to rollout payments to everyone in the coming weeks.

With around two million users so far, this would be a rapid pace for an app that is being challenged by a number of different social media outlets. Apps including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Reddit have all announced in recent weeks that they are creating a Clubhouse rival.

And so, Clubhouse’s fast payments rollout may be a nod to this increased competition - by offering payments quickly, Clubhouse is more likely to stay in the lead and retain its top creators.