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Ask HN: What payment processor can a private individual use to offer a service?

by nenadg on 4/17/20, 6:10 PM with 17 comments

I'm finishing one hopefully ineresting service and want to offer it, but I have a problem finding payment processor that allows private individuals outside of the US.

And I would just like to avoid registering company in this testing phase.

Is there anything out there that HN can point me to?

  • by seanwilson on 4/17/20, 7:52 PM

    Try https://paddle.com?

    I use them for a paid Chrome extension (https://www.checkbot.io, you can see the Paddle checkout when you click the buy buttons) as an individual.

    Paddle let you sell worldwide via subscriptions and individual purchases where they handle country specific tax for you. Obviously you need to declare the income you make to the government but that shouldn't require you to form a company (in the UK at least) and this structure means you don't have to do accounting for EU VAT which I've heard is a huge plus.

    Let me know if you've got any questions like integration tips. Generally for a SaaS for example, you accept purchases via Paddle's embeddable JavaScript checkout then use a web hook sent from their server to trigger account creation, email confirmation etc. from your server.

  • by bellwether on 4/17/20, 7:01 PM

    You can receive payments using your individual social on PayPal I believe. I don't know if that opens up their checkout and subscription APIs though. It's a bit of unique test case, so if PayPal and Stripe don't work for you, I think you'll have a hard time finding a solution. Perhaps try talking to a business in the cannabis industry? They often have a lot of hurdles to overcome when accepting payments.
  • by RabbitmqGuy on 4/17/20, 8:14 PM

    I have had success with PayPal in the past to power payments for my service [1]. Their API and documentation (or lack thereof) wasn’t great but it worked in far more countries than the likes of stripe.

    You could also try gumroad.

    1. https://errorship.com/

  • by tipsysquid on 4/17/20, 7:10 PM

    My company Gilded[1] can help small businesses or individual contractors get paid with cryptocurrency (stable coins), Stripe (local fiat currencies) integration, or wire transfers.

    Setting up a Coinbase account and getting paid with Gilded would be fairly easy. Also, USDC (stablecoin) can be exchanged 1:1 on Coinbase and can be quickly exchange for fiat in your bank account.

    Happy to help or discuss specific scenarios.

    [1] https://gilded.finance

  • by nenadg on 4/18/20, 6:19 AM

    Update: I've tested Paddle, and it seems it's perfect. Thank you all for kind answers, and special thanks to @seanwilson for bringing Paddle up.
  • by miluge on 4/17/20, 9:10 PM

    Snipcart might solve your problem!
  • by question11 on 4/18/20, 10:41 AM

    no one said crypto? stable USDT, EURT, Bitcoin?
  • by q92z8oeif on 4/17/20, 6:56 PM

    Afraid the answer will be None.