SaaS payment options
Any advice on what payment providers to go with for a new SaaS product (monthly subscription)? I’m just going from free BETA to paid tier and am so far considering Stripe and Klarna. Also not sure about currency - my users are already global so should I just default to $? I’m £ though!
Trending on Indie Hackers
A lot to think about! Stripe I feel is the simplest option. I looked at Adyen recently but couldn't justify tearing up my platform for the saving on UK card payment. If you're global and starting now though, could be worth taking a look. Just make sure any card integration you use factors in SCA that comes into effect next month! GoCardless could be another cheaper option, coverage isn't bad, but not anywhere as good as card payment partners.
Thanks @cabdesigns - I'll be sure to take a look at Adyen given the other comments on here about cc payments and Stripe fees! :)
Go with stripe but open a bank account in dollars. The fees for currency conversion are a lot higher (more than 3%) than you can get from a normal bank. I don't know the average fees in Uk but they are more than two times higher than the average fee in Italy.
Thanks @Luqa.
So just to clarify, you’re saying the stripe fees are a lot higher? Or did I misunderstand.
Out of interest, how have you managed using the money in local currency then? Or do you tend to pay out in $ as well?
Yes, stripe's fees are a lot higher. You can pay with a CC that automatically converts your dollars in whatever currency you need. Usually, conversion fees on CC are about 1.5% (stripe's are above 3%).
You could also have two bank accounts, one in dollars and one in sterlings. Then convert larger amounts of money and get an additional saving.
In both cases, you save a lot. About 2k out of every 100k in revenue, maybe even more if you look for the bank with the lowest conversion fees.
Interesting. I'll definitely dig deeper into the CC option then. Especially as my monthly subscription fee is quite low and I won't be generating huge amounts to start off with (I predict!).
We used Stripe, looked at Paddle but didn't solve our needs as a SaaS company.
Thanks @volkandkaya! Any niggles I should be aware of with stripe? Like their different tiers or fees?
Nope. Very simple.
Hooking it to your backend can be difficult, look for packages/libraries that can handle most of it for you.
One bit of advice I picked up is to name your pricing tier like "startup_m_1" so if you change the price of your startup tier you can do "startup_m_2" the m stands for month you would also have "startup_a_1" for annual plan.
Excellent, thanks @volkandkaya - that's definitely a good tip to future-proof it!
Stripe, because if nothing else, you can be transparent with your revenue here on IH (if so desired)
Regarding currency, I've always done USD on my services (because I'm in the US). I've never had never had anybody ask if I could offer pricing in another currency nor have I ever avoided a service because they collected in Euros or otherwise.
Thanks @joshtronic! I’m also thinking USD as I myself pay for quite a few subscriptions now in USD and it doesn’t phase me. I probably need to find out though if there are fees incurred to the vendor for currency conversions!