KAREN JOY BACUDO

Finance Editor

Stripe has introduced new tools to help UK businesses sell internationally and transact via AI interfaces. It now supports more than 1.5 million businesses and sole traders in the UK.

The update expands Stripe Treasury for UK users, allowing businesses to hold, convert and move money across sterling, euros and US dollars from a single account. It also enables payouts to suppliers, contractors and other third parties in more than 100 countries using an email address.

Another addition is Stripe Managed Payments, which will let UK businesses sell to customers in 195 countries while Stripe manages indirect tax, disputes, fraud protection and customer support. Businesses using its Adaptive Pricing tool can also automatically localise prices for international customers, which Stripe says produces an average 17.8% increase in cross-border revenue.

Checkout Studio is also part of the rollout. Stripe describes it as a central place for businesses to build and manage checkout forms, with support for more than 125 payment methods and built-in A/B testing.

AI commerce

Stripe is also adding tools for businesses looking to sell through AI-driven interfaces. Later this year, UK businesses will be able to sell to customers within AI interfaces via Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Suite, which makes products discoverable and purchasable through a single integration.

UK businesses with US entities, including JD Sports and Wolf & Badger, are already selling to US customers through platforms such as Gemini and Copilot, according to Stripe.

The company has also expanded Stripe Radar, its fraud product, to address risks linked to AI-driven commerce. These include multi-account abuse, free trial fraud and pay-as-you-go abuse. The service now also covers Bacs Direct Debit transactions, as well as other local payment methods on Stripe.

“Two things are going to define the next decade for UK businesses: selling globally and building for the AI economy. Today, we’re making both dramatically easier. Whether it’s making your products purchasable through AI agents, localising pricing for a customer in Tokyo, or defending against new forms of fraud, Stripe handles the complexity so businesses can focus on growth,” Conor McNamara, Chief Revenue Officer for EMEA at Stripe, said.

UK customers

UK businesses using Stripe include startups such as ElevenLabs and Synthesia, as well as larger brands such as John Lewis and Lloyds Bank. Stripe also named Currys, Wayve and TripAdvisor among newer UK customers.

The announcement followed Stripe’s partnership with Lloyds Bank to provide its payments infrastructure to UK small businesses. The tie-up adds to competition among payments groups seeking deeper relationships with banks and broader access to smaller merchants.

The latest product push reflects how payment providers are positioning themselves around two overlapping trends: cross-border digital commerce and the rise of AI-based shopping journeys. For UK businesses, the practical appeal lies in reducing the operational burden of accepting local payment methods, pricing in local currencies, handling tax requirements and managing fraud across multiple markets.

For Stripe, the launch also underlines the breadth of services it aims to offer beyond basic payment processing, spanning treasury functions, checkout management, fraud controls and new routes into AI-led transactions. It now supports more than 1.5 million UK businesses and sole traders, including some of the country’s fastest-growing technology companies and established consumer brands.

Residents living in the north Oxfordshire town voiced their woes on the social media community group ‘Bicester General Chat’.

While there was praise for some ‘great’ local Royal Mail posties, others weren’t so happy with the ‘useless’ service they were receiving.

The general consensus is that while post, including letters and parcels, are being delivered, residents receive them later than expected and/or all in one go.

Complaints were raised about post being delivered damaged, being ‘lost’ and others missing important hospital appointments.

Some said despite making complaints and escalating further, they do not receive an update.

Bicester residents take to social media to raise complaints about ‘useless’ Royal Mail postal service (Image: Getty Images)

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important it is for people to receive their post reliably, especially when it contains personal, financial or medical information.

“We take concerns about delays seriously and any customer experiencing a specific issue with their mail should contact our customer services team so it can be looked into.

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“Improving quality of service is our top priority. Nationally, around 92 per cent of letters are currently arriving on time and over 99 per cent within a week, but we know there is more to do to deliver the reliable service customers expect.

“That is why we are making changes through our new delivery model, backed by our improvement plan, to improve reliability for customers across the UK.”

A target of 93 per cent is set for the postal company to deliver first class mail to be received within one working day.

But in Oxfordshire, the Royal Mail is hitting just 67.2 per cent, Liberal Democrat Witney MP Charlie Maynard revealed earlier this year.

This is below the Royal Mail’s claim of delivering 76.3 per cent of first class mail within one day across the UK for the year to March 2025.

Mr Maynard said that in his Witney constituency, people are even missing medical appointments because of late postal deliveries.

In May, services in Bicester (OX25 – OX27) saw delays “temporarily” due to sick absence, resourcing or other “local factors”, the Royal Mail said.

A spokesman said at the time: “In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.

“We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”

Last year, the Royal Mail was taken over by International Distribution Services by Czech billionaire businessman Daniel Kretinsky’s IP Group in a £3.6 billion deal.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Sound Devices has introduced the Astral Mini Plus wireless transmitter pack as part of its Astral Wireless range.

Aimed at touring, live theatre and fixed-installation work, the device keeps the compact form factor of earlier Astral transmitters while adding longer battery life, a wider tuning range and water resistance.

Astral Mini Plus offers more than eight hours of battery life and a tuning range of 169-1525 MHz. It also carries an IP67 water-resistance rating, meaning it is designed to withstand dust and temporary immersion.

Alongside the hardware launch, Sound Devices has updated the broader Astral Wireless line with V8.30 firmware. The update adds SoundBase integration to AstralComm and introduces routing changes across the range.

According to Sound Devices, the SoundBase link is intended to give audio engineers a more direct way to monitor and adjust wireless devices during RF coordination. Functions include changing frequencies, renaming transmitters and keeping key operating information visible.

Broader range

The release expands a portfolio that Sound Devices markets to sound professionals working in film, television, live events, houses of worship and education. The company designs, assembles and supports its products from its headquarters in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and offices in Madison, Wisconsin, and Rickmansworth, UK.

The new transmitter arrives as wireless audio suppliers continue to adapt products to shifting spectrum conditions and varied venue requirements. In that context, tuning flexibility and software control have become more prominent selling points for manufacturers serving touring crews, theatre operators and systems integrators.

Sound Devices said the new model was designed to improve usability and shorten setup times. It said the updated firmware is intended to simplify operation across the Astral range by giving engineers more flexible routing options.

Matt Anderson, Chief Executive Officer at Sound Devices, commented on the launch and the software update.

“Astral Wireless is the most full-featured wireless toolkit on the market, designed to meet the ever-changing needs of a rapidly evolving RF landscape,” said Matt Anderson, Chief Executive Officer at Sound Devices.

“The launch of Astral Mini Plus, along with continued firmware development and deeper software integrations, reflects our commitment to this constant evolution and our desire to provide high-quality solutions that reflect the day-to-day realities of the most demanding RF professionals,” Anderson said.

The launch reflects a wider trend in professional audio towards combining hardware improvements with deeper software integration.

As productions become more complex and spectrum management challenges increase, manufacturers are placing greater emphasis on tools that simplify wireless coordination and device monitoring. The addition of SoundBase integration is expected to appeal to engineers managing large-scale deployments where visibility and control are critical. Extended battery life and expanded tuning capabilities may also help reduce operational interruptions in demanding live and broadcast environments.

With the latest hardware and firmware updates, Sound Devices is continuing to position Astral Wireless as a comprehensive platform for professional RF applications.