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Processing credit cards in Canada can be a nightmare compared to options for US companies. The fees are much higher, account setup can be complicated, the APIs
by seanmccann 15y ago
Processing credit cards in Canada can be a nightmare compared to options for US companies. The fees are much higher, account setup can be complicated, the APIs are brutal, and there are crazy limitations like Canadian companies not being able to process AmEx in US dollars.
The best option for Canadian based companies is to incorporate a child LLC in the US to use US based payment providers. Between Stripe, Braintree, and FeeFighters you'll be very happy.
You'll definitely want to check with tax experts before doing this.
- kerryfalk 15y agoThis is exactly what we have had to do, Sean. The company has been incorporated and I'm waiting to finish the paperwork with the bank so that the US company has a bank account and we can begin process payments. I find it unfortunate that this is the case though. I used to believe that it was due to regulatory differences of Canada vs. the USA but I don't believe that's the case. Again, I'm not an expert this is all just based on my experience but the regulations for opening an account in the US are far more detailed than they are in Canada. The issue in Canada just seems to be that there is not enough competition. The banks in control of the payment processing industry are really large institutions, they're not hungry to gain ground by looking for new ways to do business.
- JonLim 15y agoWith PostageApp, we've been shopping around for a better processor. Our current one has a frighteningly bad API, and won't let us accept anything in USD, as you've mentioned. Really makes me wonder if there's anything we can do up here. All of the Canadian startups that need to use a payment processor are suffering because of this.