Stripe Alternatives
Stripe Alternatives
TL;DR: If you’re unhappy with how Stripe charges its fees, then rest assured that you are not alone. We have been there, and we have found Ryft Payments to be the best alternative.
Now, let’s be honest: if you’re using Stripe for payment processing and are struggling with their fees, we feel your pain. In the first half of 2023, we spent between $170K and $180K per month on credit cards, and Stripe charged us between $6 and $7 grand per month. However, August hit differently – and not in a good way.
Our fees escalated to $7.9K on $180K in revenue, resulting in an astonishing 4.4% fee rate. Not cool.
Of course, we dashed off an email to Stripe threatening to take our business elsewhere unless they changed things around. And what was their response? They went on to state that this is because we wire 70% of our volume from the US via Estonia, which apparently incurs higher FX fees and some other hidden charges. Although they suggested that after some optimization we could bring down the rates to 2.9% (which is industry standard), they will still impose $600 per month as platform charges.
Getting this information was like pulling teeth. Stripe became increasingly irritated and took over 12 days to respond to our emails. It is frustrating that they didn’t even have an automatic system in place which notifies customers about potential savings, especially when it is going to save them $1.7k per month in fees. But nope, no such luck.
Exploring Alternatives
We didn’t stop there, though. We decided to do the legwork for you, and here’s what we found:
GoCardless: This one’s for direct debits—think wires and ACH transfers—not for credit cards. Although the fees are lower, the process is a little more difficult. Up until they ghosted us on the last email, communication was decent. It’s been two weeks with no follow-up, so they’re not off our radar yet, but they need to step it up.
Deposyt: The account manager responded quickly; perhaps a little too quickly, but we’ll take it. It seems reasonable that they charge $40 a month in addition to the regular 2.9% fee. They are a good choice for eCommerce businesses needing consistent cash flow, as they emphasize being a dependable merchant with no money withheld.
Bonus: After some negotiation, they agreed to a 2.7% fee.
Square: On Square’s website, customers can find the standard price list. However, I found their communication off-putting. They wanted us to fill out many forms from the beginning. This approach seemed excessive. After their last email over a month ago, they didn’t bother following up. Not exactly what we’d call customer service, so we wouldn’t recommend them.
InCheck: Similar story here. They requested that we fill out a survey, but instead we provided them a screenshot including all the relevant details. They didn’t waste our time and promptly decided not to work with us.
Ryft Payments: And now, the highlight—Ryft Payments. Their standard fees are at 2.9% but here’s the win: there is no monthly fee! The account manager was truly helpful and we had about ten emails back and forth which were very productive. They were mindful of our timezone and communication preferences, and they even politely followed up with us when we were running behind schedule with some documents. We are feeling confident about moving forward with them and highly recommend checking them out.
We are moving our credit card processing to Ryft Payments, but we are still exploring non-credit card alternatives like direct debit that can enable us to reduce our fees further. If you are processing payments, it is important for you to keep an eye on your fees. Although it’s simple to let this money slip away without noticing, these savings directly affect your bottom line. We hope this steers you through the complicated payment processing universe. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any queries or need a direct contact at Ryft. We’re here to help you save money and avoid the headaches we’ve been through.