Merchants can now start accepting payments within minutes using Braintree, without a waiting period for a merchant account or underwriting approval.

With Braintree Instant, start-ups and developers get even easier access to all the sophisticated payment tools that Braintree's clients have used to scale their businesses to make tens or hundreds of millions of dollars online and via mobile. Before Braintree Instant, merchants were faced with a choice between one of two options: work with a payment aggregator, such as PayPal or one of their many emulators, or apply for a merchant account. Payment aggregators allow for fast access, but generally only work for the smallest of merchants and introduce the possibility of painful service disruptions due to risk reviews if a merchant's volume grows. Traditional merchant accounts have been a much better tool for merchants that either have meaningful volume or intend to scale to meaningful volume, but merchant accounts have typically been accompanied by lengthy application processes. Now, with Braintree Instant, merchants get the best of both worlds - they are approved and ready to accept payments immediately but with the peace of mind that they have all the capabilities they need as their business grows.

"Braintree's mobile solution allows us to provide a one-click checkout with the fastest booking process on the market," said Jared Simon, COO and Co-Founder of HotelTonight. "HotelTonight was able to rapidly expand internationally because of the unparalleled suite of tools Braintree offers. It's great that Braintree is making this solution available instantly to all other startups looking to scale with one payment provider."

In addition to immediate approval, Braintree is also introducing simpler pricing and faster funding for start-up merchants. Braintree Instant eliminates monthly minimums and offers a flat 2.9% fee with $.30 per transaction. Merchants will typically receive their funds in two business days - several days faster than what is often offered by many payment aggregators.

"Braintree started with the principle of making payments easily accessible for developers and start-ups, and we've helped thousands of businesses through rapid growth," said Bill Ready, Braintree's CEO. "Now, developers and start-ups can begin accepting payments in a matter of minutes, with the confidence that Braintree has them covered with everything they'll need as they grow their business into the next Uber, Airbnb, LivingSocial or AngryBirds. That includes over 130 foreign currencies, recurring billing, faster funding times and next generation mobile capabilities."

"Figuring out how to get paid is one of the most important and challenging parts of starting a business," said Alan Herbach, CEO of Strategiz. "With Braintree, I was quickly approved for an account. My developers got immediate access to the APIs, pasted the code right in and we were up and running -- all in a matter of minutes."

Braintree's instant account and pricing plan are now available for all US-based merchants. Braintree plans to offer these tools to merchants located outside of the US in the coming months.