Stripe gives app makers an easy way to add a 'Buy' button to any app

Stripe, the $5 billion payments service app, has just released a new service called Relay, an API that lets app makers directly sell products within their apps.

So far, buying something on your mobile phone has been a cluttered experience. You typically click on the "buy" link that takes you to the mobile browser, where you add the product to the cart, go to check out, and type in your personal information all over again. It just took a long time and wasn't a seamless process.

But with Relay plugged in to your app, you can offer a mobile buying process directly within your app, speeding up the entire experience by a mile. For example, Twitter, who's already a Relay user, enables you to tweet a link to your product with a "buy" button, where you can make purchases within the Twitter app itself.

"You can click on the tweet, and you get a native dialogue within the app, without having to go to the mobile website," Collison said. "Tap 'buy now,' confirm purchase, and we're done. Relay makes direct purchases right on the app."

Collison said the idea was based on the fact that only 12% of mobile app users make actual purchases on their phones, when 60% of all web browsing happen on mobile devices. "It's not built for mobile. It’s like an obstacle course before people can pay you money," he said.

Intial launch partners include Warby Parker, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Twitter. Relay is available now, and won't cost anything additional for Stripe merchants.

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison demonstrated this at a press event on Monday, using Warby Parker's Twitter account. Here's what it looks like:

Twitter/Warby Parker

Twitter/Warby Parker