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Been using GoCardless for a couple years now they have been great. The API is simple enough and does exactly what one would expect, Stripe used to be like this

Been using GoCardless for a couple years now they have been great. The API is simple enough and does exactly what one would expect, Stripe used to be like this but right now is a complete clusterf"#%k, they have so many "products" that they've become the quintessential example of feature creep. I have the idea that the US is the Mecca of credit cards, how widespread is the usage of Direct Debit in the US?

danpalmer 7y ago
FWIW, I've been working with the Stripe API for the last 5 years, on an integration spanning 7 years of API changes, and I find it necessarily complex. I'm not sure it would be possible to reduce the complexity much without sacrificing quality.
jbernardo95 7y ago
Great to hear Pedro! Credit cards and paper checks. A very large portion of the recurring payments in the US are still based on paper checks.
- ryanackley 7y ago
  I would disagree or maybe we have different ideas of what recurring payments are. Most businesses that use recurring payments require their customers to allow them to ACH debit their account.
itsbrad 7y ago
Hi Pedro, Brad from GoCardless here. So glad to hear you're enjoying the product. The US (well, North America, really) definitely has a penchant for credit cards relative to the rest of the world, but Direct Debit is sizeable (and growing)! Last year, the ACH network (the US's equivalent of Europe's SEPA network, or the UK's Bacs network) added more than a billion new transactions for the 4th year in a row. The system saw 23 billion transactions, of which 13.4 billion were debits. The org that oversees ACH - Nacha - has indicated 80% of US businesses prefer to receive B2B payments via ACH debit, and 53% of consumers share this preference for recurring bills. (That said, there's still a lot of opportunity - a Goldman Sachs report found that 60% of B2B payments are still done by check.)
guan 7y ago
It’s pretty common. If you pay a lot of household bills—for electricity, water, insurance, rent, tuition, etc.—many of those will accept credit cards, but most will also allow ACH direct debit as a payment option and a few will only allow direct debit and check. Or sometimes there is a credit card option, but it is run by a third party and comes with a surcharge. On the other hand, direct debit is often not an option at all for “online” subscriptions such as news sites or streaming services, or for newspaper or magazine subscriptions.
ShteiLoups 7y ago
Funny that "the US is the Mecca of credit cards" but touch-less payment is still so rare.
- itsbrad 7y ago
  I was there recently and people seemed blown away at my instinct to pay by contactless card payment. At one or two shops, the staff member serving me commented on how rare it was to see a customer do that. ️
- ac29 7y ago
  Doesn't seem all that rare to me - I'd say about 90% of retailers accept it, including essentially every large retailer.

danpalmer 7y ago

FWIW, I've been working with the Stripe API for the last 5 years, on an integration spanning 7 years of API changes, and I find it necessarily complex. I'm not sure it would be possible to reduce the complexity much without sacrificing quality.

jbernardo95 7y ago

Great to hear Pedro! Credit cards and paper checks. A very large portion of the recurring payments in the US are still based on paper checks.

ryanackley 7y ago
I would disagree or maybe we have different ideas of what recurring payments are. Most businesses that use recurring payments require their customers to allow them to ACH debit their account.

itsbrad 7y ago

Hi Pedro, Brad from GoCardless here. So glad to hear you're enjoying the product. The US (well, North America, really) definitely has a penchant for credit cards relative to the rest of the world, but Direct Debit is sizeable (and growing)! Last year, the ACH network (the US's equivalent of Europe's SEPA network, or the UK's Bacs network) added more than a billion new transactions for the 4th year in a row. The system saw 23 billion transactions, of which 13.4 billion were debits. The org that oversees ACH - Nacha - has indicated 80% of US businesses prefer to receive B2B payments via ACH debit, and 53% of consumers share this preference for recurring bills. (That said, there's still a lot of opportunity - a Goldman Sachs report found that 60% of B2B payments are still done by check.)

guan 7y ago

It’s pretty common. If you pay a lot of household bills—for electricity, water, insurance, rent, tuition, etc.—many of those will accept credit cards, but most will also allow ACH direct debit as a payment option and a few will only allow direct debit and check. Or sometimes there is a credit card option, but it is run by a third party and comes with a surcharge. On the other hand, direct debit is often not an option at all for “online” subscriptions such as news sites or streaming services, or for newspaper or magazine subscriptions.

ShteiLoups 7y ago

Funny that "the US is the Mecca of credit cards" but touch-less payment is still so rare.

itsbrad 7y ago
I was there recently and people seemed blown away at my instinct to pay by contactless card payment. At one or two shops, the staff member serving me commented on how rare it was to see a customer do that. ️
ac29 7y ago
Doesn't seem all that rare to me - I'd say about 90% of retailers accept it, including essentially every large retailer.