Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Stripe launches German beta

stripe.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 167 posts

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#141

Post by superuser2 »

MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #58
k__ wrote: post #4

Sadly Germans hate credit cards.

Germans pay by card all the time (I think you know them as debit cards?), we just don't use credit cards, because there is no advantage of doing so. Every "giro" account comes with one, and you can use it at the ATM and at the cash register. I think this is because historically, wire transfers between most banks in Germany have been easy and cheap for decades, while it is different in the US, as I understand it.

Wire (instant) transfers from consumer US bank accounts typically carry a $25/transaction fee, and in some cases can only be initiated by phone or in person.

Interestingly, Citi has a nice web interface for person-to-person ACH transfers (direct deposit), but it's not widely used and I don't think most other banks have it.

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#143

Post by workhere-io »

TeeWEE wrote: post #71

Fun to see stripe in europe, however in europe almost nobody pays by card, or let alone: even owns a credit card. We pay by baking systems such as Ideal (in the netherlands).

You should read this: http://soimovedhere.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/stop-generalizi...

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#144

Post by happywolf »

I can see a vast majority here are very positive on this news. Just wonder in areas that are yet to be covered by Stripe, what are you guys using? Also, I recall a few months ago PayPal introduced a revamped set of APIs which claims to be more developer friendly. Anybody cares to chime in on that front?

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#145

Post by collision »

Atropos wrote: post #81
pc wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

There is one German company offering a solution ( 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-

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

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#146

Post by mhd »

cperciva wrote: post #5
stephanos2k wrote: post #3

It's astonishing how quick they can expand something as complicated as payment processing to many - bigger and smaller - countries in Europe.

One you get into one EU country, dealing with other EU countries is probably quite a bit easier...

Well, you probably need some kind of foothold for legal reasons somewhere in the EU/EEC (probably some tax-haven like Luxembourg), but after that it's not really that easy, as each country has its own legal and technical banking peculiarities. A pretty big mess.

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#147

Post by mhd »

pc wrote: post #36
qznc wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Direct debit is just as easy. Two numbers to enter.

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

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.

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#148

Post by collision »

StavrosK wrote: post #106
the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does Stripe get away without the paperwork?

That's what I'm wondering too. They require zero paperwork, though, and Paymill did tell me that the paperwork they sent me was mandatory for all money-processing companies.

Stripe collects information from you before you can start using it -- you'll see us ask for this when you go to activate your account. But we've worked to make it as quick, painless and sensible as possible.

The sign-up process is part of the product, and we treat it that way. Onerous paperwork is not an inevitability.

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#149

Post by StavrosK »

collision wrote: post #148
StavrosK wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I'm wondering too. They require zero paperwork, though, and Paymill did tell me that the paperwork they sent me was mandatory for all money-processing companies.

Stripe collects information from you before you can start using it -- you'll see us ask for this when you go to activate your account. But we've worked to make it as quick, painless and sensible as possible. The sign-up process is part of the product, and we treat it that way. Onerous paperwork is not an inevitability.

Well, I don't even remember you asking for it, so you must be doing something right. On the other hand, all I remember about Paymill is that they asked me for the info.

Re: Stripe launches German beta

#150

Post by lutusp »

cmarschner wrote: post #140
lutusp wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In times of basically zero interest a 30-day free loan doesn't sound like a very convincing argument ... Look at it this way -- for 30 days, you have access to funds that the poor person doesn't. Interest or not, you have more financial latitude. Also, people who automatically and fully pay off their cards every month tend also to be the sort of people who have most of their money in investments that yield reasonab…

I stopped using my CC almost completely a while back. The reason is "simplify your life". Why should I keep track of several accounts when I can have only one? My life got a bit simpler since then, and I don't regret it.

About thirty years ago, before I had a credit card, I tried to rent a car at an airport, but they refused me because I didn't have a card. I didn't fully understand the details, but it seemed they had an easier time identifying you and getting paid if you possessed a credit card. And interestingly, what they were doing was technically illegal.

So I called a TV station news department and told them about it. They called the rental service, who naturally enough said, "Oh, no, that's not true!" I explained to the reporter that asking wasn't going to work -- he needed to go to the airport and try to rent a car without a card, with a hidden camera. He did, the ruse worked, he was flatly refused on camera, and it was a big story.

So I like a simple life too, but the combination of having a 30-day float and being able to do certain kinds of transactions that require a card, have resulted in my having one -- one! -- credit card.

Post reply on HN