Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#1

Post by alexgpark » Thu, Dec 10, 2015, 6:41 AM UTC

- We are first-time founders, working on launching an MVP of a content-platform

- Currently unincorporated + no business bank account

- Want to launch with a paid, premium option

- Want to pay our partners a commission as well

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#2

Post by drsim » Thu, Dec 10, 2015, 2:33 PM UTC

Stripe Connect and Braintree are set up for marketplace scenarios but you'd need a company. Possible to hack together something with the PayPal API too, simply paying out to an email address.

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#3

Post by codegeek » Thu, Dec 10, 2015, 2:39 PM UTC

drsim wrote: post #2

Stripe Connect and Braintree are set up for marketplace scenarios but you'd need a company. Possible to hack together something with the PayPal API too, simply paying out to an email address.

Actually with Paypal, you can use something called MassPay using their API.

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#4

Post by grover_hartmann » Thu, Dec 10, 2015, 7:54 PM UTC

Bitcoin

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#5

Post by ProblemFactory » Thu, Dec 10, 2015, 8:55 PM UTC

drsim wrote: post #2

Stripe Connect and Braintree are set up for marketplace scenarios but you'd need a company. Possible to hack together something with the PayPal API too, simply paying out to an email address.

> but you'd need a company

You absolutely need a company, and a chat with an accountant before you start singing contracts with and paying partners who create content for you.

If you just wing it, there's a good chance that you will end up owing the government employment taxes.

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#6

Post by alexgpark » Fri, Dec 11, 2015, 4:15 AM UTC

grover_hartmann wrote: post #4

Bitcoin

not an expert on bitcoin transactions - i would still need to create a business bank account and incorporate and use a payments processor like Stripe to do that, right?

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#7

Post by grover_hartmann » Fri, Dec 11, 2015, 4:38 AM UTC

alexgpark wrote: post #6

grover_hartmann wrote: post #4

Bitcoin

not an expert on bitcoin transactions - i would still need to create a business bank account and incorporate and use a payments processor like Stripe to do that, right?

Not really, it depends.

You don't need a bank account to accept bitcoins, all you need is a Bitcoin wallet.

If what you want is to convert bitcoin to fiat currency, there are lots of ways to do that.

You can do that by using Circle/Coinbase and link your accounts to a bank account, have Coinbase/Circle convert it to cash for you.

Other ways to do that is with an ATM, bitcoin credit/debit cards, localbitcoins.com, etc.

I suggest Bitcoin because it's been way more flexible and easier for me when it comes to international payments.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#8

Post by Mz » Fri, Dec 11, 2015, 8:33 PM UTC

codegeek wrote: post #3

drsim wrote: post #2

Stripe Connect and Braintree are set up for marketplace scenarios but you'd need a company. Possible to hack together something with the PayPal API too, simply paying out to an email address.

Actually with Paypal, you can use something called MassPay using their API.

Thanks for that.

Is that something you can do with just a simple individual account? Or is this something you need to upgrade your account for? If it involves upgrades, does it have monthly fees? Does it require a business account?

Found a couple of overviews, but I don't see all of the above questions readily answered:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_batch-payment-ove...

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/mass-payments

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#9

Post by codegeek » Fri, Dec 11, 2015, 8:50 PM UTC

Mz wrote: post #8

codegeek wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually with Paypal, you can use something called MassPay using their API.

Thanks for that. Is that something you can do with just a simple individual account? Or is this something you need to upgrade your account for? If it involves upgrades, does it have monthly fees? Does it require a business account? Found a couple of overviews, but I don't see all of the above questions readily answered: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_batch-payment-ove... https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp…

Good question. For Mass Pay API, you actually need a business account. I don't think there is any extra fee though other than the usual transaction fee that paypal charges.

Re: Ask HN: How to accept payments from users and pay out partners?

#10

Post by Mz » Fri, Dec 11, 2015, 8:55 PM UTC

codegeek wrote: post #9

Mz wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for that. Is that something you can do with just a simple individual account? Or is this something you need to upgrade your account for? If it involves upgrades, does it have monthly fees? Does it require a business account? Found a couple of overviews, but I don't see all of the above questions readily answered: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_batch-payment-ove... https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp…

Good question. For Mass Pay API, you actually need a business account. I don't think there is any extra fee though other than the usual transaction fee that paypal charges.

Thanks.

The links I posted suggest the sender pays a fee upon use of MassPay, otherwise, no. There is no extra fee. Though I don't have a business account, so I don't really know what that entails.