Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API • Hacker News Board

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#31

Post by frontier » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:10 PM UTC

Really hoping that this will be like the old PayPal, where you could just setup an account (or multiple!) and just go and start collecting credit card payments.

Can't do this anymore as they only allow you to link your bank account to a single PayPal account. Also there are a lot more ID requirements nowadays, so you can't just setup a virtual business like you used to - a separate account for each new website.

I can understand why, but surely a suitably long holding period (account probation period) would solve the fraud and chargeback issues caused by the scammers who ruin it for the rest of us!

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#32

Post by goatforce5 » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:14 PM UTC

AUP? What can I (not) sell via your service?

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#33

Post by oceanic » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:24 PM UTC

mpclark wrote: post #21

nemesisj wrote: post #16

Does this work in non-AUS countries (like possibly the UK?)

Let's hope the 'gb' in the username is a clue.

No, "gb" are the initials of one of the developers. They're targeting Australia first, but I guess world domination is always possible if things go well.

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#34

Post by ChrisArchitect » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:27 PM UTC

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4073620

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#35

Post by oceanic » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:28 PM UTC

ishi wrote: post #8

I really wish there was something like this that worked globally, other than PayPal.

The major problem with financial transactions is that each country (or I guess, _most_ countries) have different laws regarding banking, fiduciary responsibility etc.

Paypal/Amazon/GCheckout work globally because they use CC and charge handsomely for the privilege. Companies like Pin, Stripe and Dwolla are trying to cut out the idea of merchant accounts (which create the major hassle for a lot of small practitioners), but that means tailoring your service for local laws = hard problem.

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#36

Post by se85 » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:38 PM UTC

cynix wrote: post #29

treelovinhippie wrote: post #14

OMFG THANKYOU!!! We've been ridiculously disadvantaged with no Stripe, Dwolla, WePay, Square etc. So many startups have been launched and funded (in the states) that were possible primarily due to Stripe integration. Not much of a choice here other than PayPal.

None of the other services you listed have a monthly fee. But I guess we Australians should be used to being ripped off by now.

yes. :-(

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#37

Post by mvboeke » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:44 PM UTC

djtidau wrote: post #11

I can't tell you how happy I am to see this. I was excited to hear about Braintree expanding to Australia a couple of days ago, but this is much more promising. Do you have plans to incorporate recurring charges as well? I've added myself to the invite list.

I would be curious to know why you think this looks more promising than Braintree.

Disclosure: I work at Braintree. I'm not trying to shill here - I'm genuinely curious about how people think about our stuff vs. other payments companies.

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#38

Post by sparknlaunch » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:47 PM UTC

xal wrote: post #19

contact me at tobi@shopify.com to get this into Shopify from the beginning. We really need a better partner in Australia

Please elaborate? Would be good to hear your perspective given your experience in the market.

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#39

Post by sparknlaunch » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:48 PM UTC

>> "Transparent Pricing - Monthly service fee + only pay for successful transactions."

I cannot see the pricing. Any idea of the monthly service fee and cost per transaction?

Re: Pin is Australia’s first all-in-one payment API

#40

Post by asharp » Thu, Jun 07, 2012, 2:50 PM UTC

Cogito wrote: post #27

mattmanser wrote: post #22

Something sticks out like a sore thumb in that API. Where's the param signing with a secret key?

This was exactly what I thought as well. Using an HTTPS connection is all well and good, but it is not enough. HTTPS is susceptible to man in the middle attacks [1], and securing the params with a pre-shared secret key is essential. The extra cost in 'complexity' is really far outweighed by the (warranted) extra security. [1] http://www.thoughtcrime.org/software/sslstrip/

Would you mind elaborating?

ssltrip requires a valid root ca, or an ssl library that doesn't check the signing chain. After using it though, the parameters are unencrypted and so can simply be sniffed.

Are you attempting to reencrypt the parameters with another key? If so then why run that through https?