Complete competitor to Stripe and Balanced and Braintree.js. Just a teeny bit underneath pricing for all - 2.85% versus 2.90%.
MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
81–90 of 133 posts
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
PLEASE tell the world why it's so damn difficult to let non-US businesses use a payment service? We're dying to know. Is it because of bullshit regulations everywhere? Why has it taken you forever to set up shop in a couple of places in Europe? Why not the rest too? Seriously. What is it?
It's a combination things. - Legally, we need to be able to verify identities. We want to do this frictionlessly and in real-time rather than with some paperwork sheaf that gets mailed to you a week later. The solution looks different in almost every country. - Visa, MasterCard, and co. have rules that effectively prevent you from using the same backends in different areas. (E.g., you can't use the same backend in Eu…
What's the reasoning behind that restriction? Could you just re-use your backend stack, but use a different data center / machines, that's isolated from the backend of other countries?
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
(I built the first version of Stripe and work here.) I think the unfortunate aspect of these clones is that they're lazy. I have huge respect for anyone that innovates in payments -- I know how hard it is, and I'd imagine it's even harder to do that as part of a larger company. What I find disappointing is when a product copies everything about Stripe -- everything from Stripe.js to the "live/test" switch to the "1/2…
The SV expectation/mentality that if someone builds something first they "own" that space is unjustifiable. I'm not say you are saying that, but it is an implicit attitude in the Valley. Competition (or "clones") were around 100 years ago, continue to exist today and will be around for the next 100 years. Today's innovation is tomorrow's commodity thanks to competition. This is good. Is it disappointing that MasterCa…
There were over 1,800 automobile manufacturers in the United States from 1896 to 1930. Very few survived and only a few new ones were started after that period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobile_manufacturer...
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
(I built the first version of Stripe and work here.) I think the unfortunate aspect of these clones is that they're lazy. I have huge respect for anyone that innovates in payments -- I know how hard it is, and I'd imagine it's even harder to do that as part of a larger company. What I find disappointing is when a product copies everything about Stripe -- everything from Stripe.js to the "live/test" switch to the "1/2…
The SV expectation/mentality that if someone builds something first they "own" that space is unjustifiable. I'm not say you are saying that, but it is an implicit attitude in the Valley. Competition (or "clones") were around 100 years ago, continue to exist today and will be around for the next 100 years. Today's innovation is tomorrow's commodity thanks to competition. This is good. Is it disappointing that MasterCa…
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
(I built the first version of Stripe and work here.) I think the unfortunate aspect of these clones is that they're lazy. I have huge respect for anyone that innovates in payments -- I know how hard it is, and I'd imagine it's even harder to do that as part of a larger company. What I find disappointing is when a product copies everything about Stripe -- everything from Stripe.js to the "live/test" switch to the "1/2…
Stripe's terms of use prohibit both weapons and virtual currencies. If Simplify's terms of service prohibit either, I can't find the relevant paragraph. That alone makes Simplify somewhat more attractive.
Source: https://www.simplify.com/commerce/docs/misc/legal/merchant-t...
Much, much less restrictive than Stripe, and cheaper to boot. Now adult websites can switch to this instead of CCBill (which I find more sketchy.)
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a combination things. - Legally, we need to be able to verify identities. We want to do this frictionlessly and in real-time rather than with some paperwork sheaf that gets mailed to you a week later. The solution looks different in almost every country. - Visa, MasterCard, and co. have rules that effectively prevent you from using the same backends in different areas. (E.g., you can't use the same backend in Eu…
> Visa, MasterCard, and co. have rules that effectively prevent you from using the same backends in different areas. What's the reasoning behind that restriction? Could you just re-use your backend stack, but use a different data center / machines, that's isolated from the backend of other countries?
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#87Something that caught my eye: the name "Simplify" is pretty close to "Simple", the online bank service. Different products entirely, I realize—but heck, Simple’s twitter handle is even @simplify.
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
With clones of Stripe poppin' up everywhere, I think the niche advantage would be to be able to scale the service to a number of other countries where this type of service is either expensive or unavailable (please come to Australia! - I know there is "pin", but we wouldn't mind a cheaper alternative without any monthly fees!)
Have you looked at Braintree? We're charging 2.4% and $0.30 in Australia, with no monthly fee.
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#89Most eCommerce sites have a profit margin of less then 10%, often around 5%. Charging 2.85% + $0.30 kills most business ideas.
Re: MasterCard's Simplify Commerce
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
(I built the first version of Stripe and work here.) I think the unfortunate aspect of these clones is that they're lazy. I have huge respect for anyone that innovates in payments -- I know how hard it is, and I'd imagine it's even harder to do that as part of a larger company. What I find disappointing is when a product copies everything about Stripe -- everything from Stripe.js to the "live/test" switch to the "1/2…
Stripe.js is copyrighted content. The rest is not too big a deal but if they've copied your software (even if it is JavaScript) that's not legal.