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MenuHow can I test payment models for an app without having a company to get an account with payment processors such as Stripe?
I have decided to postpone the launch of my company until I know I have something worthy of making such an investment. I want to make sure people will be willing to pay and that I have some numbers to analyze before bootstrapping it any longer. Thanks for helping!
Answers
If you're asking about processing point-of-sale payments, have you considered using the smart phone tools available from Square, PayPal or QuickBooks? You don't need to have a formal business entity structure to use these. A sole proprietorship is a viable business model to conduct some sales and test payments.
Depending on the size of your test you could always establish a "TEST" account with a gateway/payments provider that understands this is a primary step for your proof of concept.
If I understand your question correctly, you could test with Stripe or PayPal without any extensive development, cost, or commitment. Otherwise, you could just use a secured form to test conversion.
To be honest, if your product targets the high value use case, people will pay whatever you charge. http://avc.com/2015/07/bootstrap-your-network-with-a-high-value-niche-use-case/
The other thing you could do is look at competitors and see what they charge, and how are they missing out.
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Some companies ask you to link your credit card to them so you can track your spending or get discounts by using the card. How do they do that?
Its a combination of the First Data Offerwise Platform and the CardSpring API. You need to get certified by First Data in order to get access to the datasets required to build a service like that.DM
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Should a business have a chargeback policy?
When a credit card is used to make a purchase/payment the cardholder has the ability to chargeback that transaction for up to 180 days with the issuing bank. If they have not received the product and/or service as promised they will contact the issuing bank.RK
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Holding funds in a 2-sided marketplace?
Check out https://www.balancedpayments.com/ They are made for marketplaces. Airbnb CEO among others invested in them and they have some of the best pricing/payout fees. Also some good info on http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/2013/10/08/online-marketplaces-are-hard/ One of Balanced Payments co-founders is writing this blog series on marketplaces.MA
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How can I make sure that my customers pay in a timely fashion?
What you are seeing is a pattern for a business that is experiencing a cash flow issue and ultimately will go out of business as suppliers will move them to prepayment or COD. One solution to protect your business is to accept a credit card for payment of the invoice within 7 days and let them manage their cash flow challenges behind the scenes with their issuing bank. The other option is to offer prepayment and if they are not in position for that then I would no longer sell product/services. Sometimes it takes one supplier to force the inevetible, but you have to protect your business and resources as well.RK
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What is the best way for a fin-tech (mobile wallet) startup to approach a bank for an operational partnership? For eg. Stripe & Wells Fargo
Depending on the market, a bank is going to look at a combination of low-cost customer acquisition (particularly in strategic growth segments), mass-market desposit mobilization, credit portfolio growth and fee-based income. The respective weight of these, in terms of relative importance, will depend on the bank and its strategic objectives. It will also vary based in whether you are talking to an acquiring or an issuing bank. The best way to approach a bank is therefore to identify which core business element your startup is best positioned to support, and which bank is likelier to find the value prop attractive. I would suggest talking to the head of retail banking, the head of credit business and the head of acquiring business.AM
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