SaaS Founders Wrestling Cross-Border Payments
SaaS businesses, particularly those expanding internationally or serving diverse user bases, face significant challenges with payment processing. These challenges include high costs, limited regional support, difficult integrations, and frustrating verification processes, hindering growth and creating operational headaches. Finding reliable and accessible alternatives to dominant providers like Stripe is a recurring need.
SOURCES (60)
“Stripe is still probably the best starting point if it's available for your business, with PayPal as a backup because some customers prefer it. Apple Pay and Google Pay are worth enabling too since they usually increase checkout conversions. The biggest thing is to expect…”
“Hey, I run a marketplace with around 500k users, and we initially did use Stripe Connect, but we were getting destroyed on fees (e.g. active account fees, cross border fees, FX fees etc.). We added Zoneless as an alternative, which is an open-source and free version of Stripe Connect using stablecoins (so we didn't need to change any code), and its been pretty good! no fees and we can onboard a lot more creators from different regions that Stripe does not support.”
“we currently use Stripe for our SaaS, and it works fine overall. but i keep seeing more SaaS founders talking about Whop lately, especially for payments, subscriptions, checkout, and handling access. for people who have tried both: what are the real pros and cons? is Whop actually better for a SaaS, or is Stripe still the safer choice once you need more control over billing, trials, taxes, failed payments, etc.? curious to hear from people who switched, or decided not to. submitted by  ”
[Stripe Dashboard] ★ 1/5 (v2.90.2) — Change from PayPal to Stripe because we’re supposed to be cheaper fees cost the same amount and they’re holding my money per days when PayPal is…
“I think there are quite a few options, though if you are looking to expand eventually you want to set up with something that can handle growth as well. Kurv is a reasonable choice as they are low cost and easy set-up”
Want to use both Stripe + Paypal both payment method together
“Stripe isn’t available where I’m from. Is there any good payment gateway alternatives for a sass? submitted by /u/rayanka420 [link] [comments]”
“This would be amazing! Its such a pain having to set up two payment solutions as a merchant and as a buyer it would be great if I could use my paypal credit on whatever purchase I want. Consumers want paypal and merchant want stripe. I really want this to happen.”
“hmm maybe the offer is aimed at the existing customers who already have an inc business and EIN. Maybe message their support man”
“I'm thinking of building a super simple MRR/churn/LTV dashboard connected to Stripe, designed for people with under 10k MRR who don't want to pay $99+/month for Baremetrics or ChartMogul. Before I build it: which metrics do you actually need every day? And how much are you paying now to track them (spreadsheet? nothing?) submitted by /u/ElDied_King [link] [comments]”
“I'm thinking of building a super simple MRR/churn/LTV dashboard connected to Stripe, designed for people with under 10k MRR who don't want to pay $99+/month for Baremetrics or ChartMogul. Before I build it: which metrics do you actually need every day? And how much are you paying now to track them (spreadsheet? nothing?) submitted by /u/ElDied_King [link] [comments]”
“We want to run an affiliate program using third parties tools that can handles automatic international payouts. Also needs to support stripe. Has anyone tried any tools that is worth using? budget friendly is also important. We found a tool that is for free for under 1000$ sales, but the payouts are not automatic, but manually. submitted by /u/RaccoonFit5417 [link] [comments]”
“I avoided crypto payments; they cost ~2% and chargebacks are impossible, so we just used PayPal invoicing until KYC cleared.”
“there's a bunch of different ones, just pick what works for you. dodopayments, whop, revenuecat and so on”
“I'm building my first AI SaaS web app and need to accept subscription payments in a professional way. The problem is that I can't complete KYC at the moment, so Stripe, Razorpay, and similar services aren't an option for me right now. I'm looking for a legal solution that: - Supports recurring subscriptions - Feels professional for users - Automatically verifies successful payments - Prevents users from bypassing the payment flow Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did yo”
“blockchains are useful for cross border and inter bank settlement. i want to be able to have someone pay me online from their banking app from anywhere in the world and it settle immediately. you can't get that with wechat, and imo that will be the major next step for crypto if it plans on ever being useful.”
“Founder here. I’m reaching out to fellow SaaS people because I’m running into a very specific payment provider problem, and I’m hoping someone has dealt with something similar. I’m building a software-only SaaS product where customers pay for subscription access to a web dashboard and API. The product provides cryptocurrency market data analytics, which started as a continuation of my bachelor’s thesis research. Important clarification: this is not a cryptocurrency exchange, broker, wallet, cust”
“Actually I am that guy who is outside the US, and struggling with integrating to my Shopify Store. I worked with several freelancers for 30 bucks. None of them made it possible. They just wanted to enable Stripe by changing the business location, but this time it didnt work. Can you help with integrating it?”
“This is kind of random but last year, I met a guy off of this sub who was struggling with Stripe. Stripe didn’t have a problem with his other stores, it was his biggest store that kept getting flagged. He was based internationally but his client base was mainly from the US and then other parts of Europe. I Dmed him, we got to work, and finally they chilled tf out. I just want to say if you’re struggling with stripe, especially if you’re not based in the US, please make sure that your your EIN is”
“edit: I meant for Etsy Payments 😬 Hello! I was wondering if there are any other payment methods for receiving Etsy payouts in countries like Chile. Even though I had read Payoneer's Terms of Service before, I had kind of forgotten about them, and I was shocked all over again by how much they charge. For example, the annual fee only gets waived if you receive at least $6,000 USD per year. Like... what? 😂 I know it used to be $2,000 USD. Does anyone know why they increased it so much? And th”
“Stripe is still the default for flexibility, but you'll handle tax/VAT yourself. Paddle is more hands-off as a merchant of record, while Lemon Squeezy is similar but more indie-friendly. Polar is still early stage. Most teams end up on Stripe or Paddle while some also use Stigg. io on top of Stripe to handle subscriptions, pricing and entitlements without rebuilding billing logic”
“I'm trying to setup a SaaS web app from India, but I expect users from Germany in the beginning. ChatGPT says I should strongly consider MoR clients instead of going through the headaches of VAT and any other tax-related work that comes from the nature of the users being from outside India. I need advice on what's best to pick as someone starting out -- Dodo payments (because I can get approved without a company registration and it's easier) or Paddle (takes longer for approval appar”
“So, we’re nearing our launch window, and I need to transfer us from Stripe to a Merchant of Record. It would be nice if we could stick with Stripe Managed Payments, but they don’t cover sufficient countries to support our operations. It’s an in-app currency based business model, so that’s also limiting. We’re preferably looking for biweekly to daily payouts (we need to keep our AI models topped up with tokens). I know the payout requirement might be our undoing, but it’s also necessary for susta”
“If the main requirement is not dealing with VAT/sales tax, look closely at merchant-of-record providers first. Stripe gives more control and ecosystem depth, but you still need to understand tax registration/remittance. Paddle-style MoR is less flexible, but that tradeoff can be worth it early.”
“Hey, I'm about to launch a subscription software product (runs locally on the user's PC, tied to their account on my site) and I can't decide which payment provider to use. Main thing for me is not having to deal with taxes myself. I'm selling worldwide and the whole VAT/sales tax mess is exactly what I want to avoid, so ideally something that acts as Merchant of Record and just takes care of it. Obviously it needs to do the payments and handle recurring billing well too, but the”
“Hey, I'm about to launch a subscription software product (runs locally on the user's PC, tied to their account on my site) and I can't decide which payment provider to use. Main thing for me is not having to deal with taxes myself. I'm selling worldwide and the whole VAT/sales tax mess is exactly what I want to avoid, so ideally something that acts as Merchant of Record and just takes care of it. Obviously it needs to do the payments and handle recurring billing well too, but the”
“Hey, I'm about to launch a subscription software product (runs locally on the user's PC, tied to their account on my site) and I can't decide which payment provider to use. Main thing for me is not having to deal with taxes myself. I'm selling worldwide and the whole VAT/sales tax mess is exactly what I want to avoid, so ideally something that acts as Merchant of Record and just takes care of it. Obviously it needs to do the payments and handle recurring billing well too, but the”
“I'm building my first SaaS from India and im confused in which payment platform to use. I've been reading about Stripe, Paddle and Dodo Payments, but honestly I'm getting more confused the more I read. A lot of older posts recommend Stripe, but I've also seen people say new Indian accounts are difficult to get approved. Paddle anf Dodo Payments looks interesting, For those of you actually running a SaaS from India: What are you using today? Any issues with payouts or onboarding?”
“As an Algerian I can't use Stripe without paying 500USD to create a foreign company to use it So for those who used Lemon Squeezy, is it a good alternative? submitted by /u/Exos2504YT [link] [comments]”
“My SaaS started getting customers outside the US. Right now I have signups from the UK, Germany and Australia on top of the US base. Stripe has been fine for collecting card payments but I am losing a bit on currency conversion, and a couple of customers asked to pay by local bank transfer instead of card. - What are others running a B2B SaaS with international customers ended up doing on the payments side? - Is it worth adding something alongside Stripe, or does that just complicate the account”
[Stripe Dashboard] ★★★ 3/5 (v2.89.0) — Good invoicing platform, frustrating payout delays Stripe’s invoicing system is easy to use and presents a professional image to my clients. Creating invoices, tracking payments, and…
“Hey everyone, I'm based in Algeria, so Stripe isn't available to me. I'm about to launch a small online store (WooCommerce) and I'm looking for a real alternative to accept card payments and actually receive the money myself. If you've started from a country Stripe doesn't support, what do you actually use? Just looking for honest feedback, no vendors/resellers please. Thanks! 🙏 submitted by /u/ApprehensiveCash9244 [link] [comments]”
“Hey everyone, I'm based in Algeria, so Stripe isn't available to me. I'm about to launch a small online store (WooCommerce) and I'm looking for a real alternative to accept card payments and actually receive the money myself. If you've started from a country Stripe doesn't support, what do you actually use? Just looking for honest feedback, no vendors/resellers please. Thanks! 🙏 submitted by /u/ApprehensiveCash9244 [link] [comments]”
“I’m trying to understand how small businesses handle payment reconciliation when money comes in through multiple places. For example: Stripe for card payments/invoices PayPal for some customers Wise or Revolut for international transfers Regular bank transfers/SEPA Maybe Shopify, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, etc. At the end of the month, how do you actually figure out: total gross revenue fees paid per provider refunds/chargebacks what has settled into the bank what is still pending which payout belon”
“Hey everyone, I’m from Jamaica and I have a US LLC and an EIN . I’m building a SaaS product and want to launch within the next 30 days . I tried signing up for Stripe , but it’s asking me for an ITIN , which could take up to 90 days (3 months) to get. Waiting that long would significantly delay my launch. I also tried Airwallex since they support subscription payments, but they declined my application because they don’t support my line of business. I know Paddle is an option, but I’m not really”
“I self-host Ghost for a few publications. Great software, but the membership system only works natively with Stripe. If you want Polar, PayPal or anything else, you're writing your own automation. So I did. Built a small relay layer that receives purchase events from a payment provider and syncs the Ghost membership on the other side. Webhook retry, replay, multi-tenant, the works. The project is called GhostGlue. It's running in production for a small group right now. Plan is to open so”
“If you are a saas founder in India then getting stripe isn’t easy so what is the best among dodo and razorpay assuming you are getting payments from international users? I want to know which one provides better support and tax pov which one of them is better for India based founders.”