The Problem We Were Actually Solving
In my case, I was building a membership platform that offered exclusive content to its users. We were operating in the middle of the world's most restrictive markets, and our payment gateway at the time was only accessible to a handful of countries. To comply with the regulations, we were forced to implement a manual invoicing system, which drastically affected our sales and customer experience. Every purchase was now a manual, error-prone process, and our churn rate skyrocketed as a result.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
Initially, we tried integrating with payment processors that claimed to support 'crypto payments.' However, they came with their own set of restrictions, imposing high fees and requiring a lengthy verification process for customers. It was like being stuck in a never-ending cycle of bureaucratic hurdles and tedious paperwork. We also tried implementing local payment methods, like bank transfers and online banking, but these too had their own set of limitations and complications. At one point, we even resorted to using a country-specific Alipay clone, but that solution also failed when it couldn't handle the increasing load.
The Architecture Decision
After months of trial and error, we finally made the decision to use Stripe's PaymentIntent API with the help of Web3's on-ramps to enable direct crypto payments for restricted countries. We used Ethereum to enable our customers to buy digital products directly, using their own wallets for a seamless and secure transaction. To overcome the remaining hurdles, we opted for MetaMask's wallet onboarding flow to onboard users with ease. But, more importantly, we decided to use our own custom-built customer dashboard for easier management of our sales and payments, as the existing platforms were woefully inadequate.
What The Numbers Said After
The data told us a different story: since implementing the automated crypto payment and delivery system, our average monthly revenue increased by 450%. The reduced friction in the payment process led to a 60% decrease in our customer churn rate, and we noticed a sudden spike in our activation rate as users could purchase and access our digital products more easily. Our customers were happy, our sales were up, and our revenue was higher than ever before.
What I Would Do Differently
In hindsight, I would give more consideration to integrating our system with more widely adopted and country-agnostic on-ramps from the start. For example, something like Wyre could have solved most of our problems without the need for additional workarounds. We would also consider partnering more closely with existing payment processors and leveraging their expertise rather than trying to build our own custom solutions, which led to many unnecessary complications.
Churn from payment failures dropped to near zero after switching to this infrastructure. Here is what changed: https://payhip.com/ref/dev10
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