from Hacker News

Payments company WePay (YC S09) raises $40M to go global

by billclerico on 5/20/15, 3:44 PM with 22 comments

  • by tomasien on 5/20/15, 3:58 PM

    It's incredibly impressive that WePay has managed to differentiate itself and stay independent in the credit card API / marketplace payments space. Balanced seemed to have dramatically higher mind share and felt compelled to shut down.

    I've been asked to explain WePay's place in the market before and have been unable to - I'm not sure if their risk / chargeback protection is what puts them over the top, great BD people, I'm not sure. However, assuming their funding is a sign of progress, they're doing something right despite stiff, direct competition and that's awesome.

  • by eberfreitas on 5/20/15, 6:12 PM

    The article title says "to go global" but the article itself does not elaborate on that. Is it really going global? Or goig other places in the globe?

    In Brazil we have a lot of companies trying to fix the money problem, but none seems to have the sophistication that you may find in Stripe or WePay.

    If you are from Brazil and knows any companies like that, I would like to know!

  • by coffeemug on 5/20/15, 9:16 PM

    Congrats Bill and team! Your success reminds me of Joe Siegler's anecdote about his career in the gaming industry:

    > Long before I was hired to work at Epic Games, I emailed John Carmack and asked him what it took to get into the industry. His response consisted of a single sentence: "Talent will be rewarded."

    So happy to see your talent is being rewarded!

  • by joeblossom on 5/20/15, 5:21 PM

    This is awesome news for marketplaces who see the value in processing payments. Marketplace payments are a tough egg to crack and after meeting their CEO, Bill, and learning more of future plans, I think they're headed in the right direction.

  • by throwaway12357 on 5/20/15, 7:41 PM

    How does WePay differ from Stripe?

    And am I correct with assuming that WePay does money transfer using the bank account number instead of the Visa/Mastercard card number? Related [1]

    [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WePay#Occupy_Wall_Street

  • by ams6110 on 5/20/15, 4:23 PM

    I was an early WePay user back when they offered an online invoicing service. Was sad to see that go, but it was great while it lasted. Nice to see that they are having success in their new orientation.

  • by JoelJacobson on 5/21/15, 9:18 AM

    Is WePay US-only card-only or do you support Europe and paying using your bank account (=OBeP)? (Joel from Trustly here)

  • by netcan on 5/20/15, 5:39 PM

    It's really incredible that in 2015, we are still clunking around trying to solve these basic problems of commerce.

  • by gargarplex on 5/21/15, 5:46 AM

    Maybe now you'll have better luck with that girl from Millionaire Matchmaker. Best wishes.

  • by danoc on 5/21/15, 5:31 AM

    Congrats, Bill and Rich! Seeing the API's success makes me incredibly happy.