13 ms·

The problem is that you can't synchronously process the payment, which makes the API (and user experience generally) much more complicated.

by pc 13y ago

chrisboesing 13y ago
Do you plan on supporting direct debit in the future or is your focus on expanding to more countries before adding more payment options?
- pc 13y ago
  We're thinking about it, but it's not clear to us that we can create an abstraction that fits nicely with everything else. I'm not sure that the additional complexity would be worth it. Definitely open to any suggestions.
Atropos 13y ago
There is one German company offering a solution (https://www.sofort.com/eng-DE/ https://www.sofort.com/eng-DE/), but as far as I know, it's still unclear if their users don't break their own banks' ToS-
- collision 13y ago
  If you're using Sofort, then there's an off-site redirect involved and it's no longer as simple as entering two numbers.
mhd 13y ago
In what way? As a user, you get your order confirmation and while it might take a bit longer for the money to arrive, that's really not even noticeable for most e-commerce transactions. I much prefer debit, as it makes it much easier for me to get my money back if the seller doesn't deliver.
- Silhouette 13y ago
  As a user, you get your order confirmation and while it might take a bit longer for the money to arrive Setting up Direct Debits, at least the UK version, it's not "a bit longer" for your money to arrive, it's confirmation several days later vs. within seconds. For ongoing payments like subscriptions this probably isn't a huge deal, but for one-off payments it makes less sense. I much prefer debit, as it makes it much easier for me to get my money back if the seller doesn't deliver. Unfortunately from the seller's point of view, that also means it's much easier for someone to claim to be a customer, get hold of your e-book/music/software/whatever, and then reverse the payment. There are procedures for disputing chargebacks on credit cards, but with Direct Debit the guarantee is basically that banks will reverse first and ask questions later, and the time limits for doing so are much longer (if there are any at all). Again, this is less of a problem for ongoing payments for utility bills or something like SaaS where you can just cut off access if they stop paying, but for things like one-time downloads it's a huge risk for the merchant.
  - mhd 13y ago
    I can't remember ever having to wait for an order to be delivered in Germany while they were waiting for the debit to arrive. As opposed to a money transfer that I have to initiate myself. If I remember correctly, the e-commerce systems can check if the account is valid, and as most have overdraft and thus the responsibility for getting the money is transferred to the client's credit institute, there's little risk. Yes, for downloads this can be a hassle, but it's not like this is the only payment option used by people, so it's not a big bother if direct debit isn't offered in this case or you're going through an intermediate solution like e.g. paypal. I think most people would prefer alternative solutions for one-time payments anyway, i.e. if they don't think they'll be a regular customer. Not sure how the recent SEPA regulations will affect this...

The problem is that you can't synchronously process the payment, which makes the API (and user experience generally) much more complicated.

by pc 13y ago

The problem is that you can't synchronously process the payment, which makes the API (and user experience generally) much more complicated.

chrisboesing 13y ago

Do you plan on supporting direct debit in the future or is your focus on expanding to more countries before adding more payment options?

pc 13y ago
We're thinking about it, but it's not clear to us that we can create an abstraction that fits nicely with everything else. I'm not sure that the additional complexity would be worth it. Definitely open to any suggestions.

Atropos 13y ago

There is one German company offering a solution (https://www.sofort.com/eng-DE/ https://www.sofort.com/eng-DE/), but as far as I know, it's still unclear if their users don't break their own banks' ToS-

collision 13y ago
If you're using Sofort, then there's an off-site redirect involved and it's no longer as simple as entering two numbers.

mhd 13y ago

In what way? As a user, you get your order confirmation and while it might take a bit longer for the money to arrive, that's really not even noticeable for most e-commerce transactions. I much prefer debit, as it makes it much easier for me to get my money back if the seller doesn't deliver.

Silhouette 13y ago
As a user, you get your order confirmation and while it might take a bit longer for the money to arrive Setting up Direct Debits, at least the UK version, it's not "a bit longer" for your money to arrive, it's confirmation several days later vs. within seconds. For ongoing payments like subscriptions this probably isn't a huge deal, but for one-off payments it makes less sense. I much prefer debit, as it makes it much easier for me to get my money back if the seller doesn't deliver. Unfortunately from the seller's point of view, that also means it's much easier for someone to claim to be a customer, get hold of your e-book/music/software/whatever, and then reverse the payment. There are procedures for disputing chargebacks on credit cards, but with Direct Debit the guarantee is basically that banks will reverse first and ask questions later, and the time limits for doing so are much longer (if there are any at all). Again, this is less of a problem for ongoing payments for utility bills or something like SaaS where you can just cut off access if they stop paying, but for things like one-time downloads it's a huge risk for the merchant.
- mhd 13y ago
  I can't remember ever having to wait for an order to be delivered in Germany while they were waiting for the debit to arrive. As opposed to a money transfer that I have to initiate myself. If I remember correctly, the e-commerce systems can check if the account is valid, and as most have overdraft and thus the responsibility for getting the money is transferred to the client's credit institute, there's little risk. Yes, for downloads this can be a hassle, but it's not like this is the only payment option used by people, so it's not a big bother if direct debit isn't offered in this case or you're going through an intermediate solution like e.g. paypal. I think most people would prefer alternative solutions for one-time payments anyway, i.e. if they don't think they'll be a regular customer. Not sure how the recent SEPA regulations will affect this...