The Problem We Were Actually Solving
Our goal was to find ways to process payments without running afoul of international sanctions or being shut down by the US or EU authorities. We also wanted to cater to our customers in restricted countries without adding significant complexity or cost to our existing infrastructure.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
We started by trying to use alternative payment gateways like M-Pesa and TransferWise, which were reported to work in restricted countries. However, we soon discovered that these services often didn't support the payment types or currencies we needed. For instance, M-Pesa only supported mobile payments, which wouldn't work for users without a mobile phone. TransferWise was also unreliable due to its country-by-country restrictions on payment types.
The Architecture Decision
After much experimentation and debate, we decided to adopt a tiered payment system that used a mix of payment processors based on regional customer locations. We set up separate payment gateways for customers in restricted countries, including Perfect Money in Eastern Europe and Asia, and even a local bank transfer option in North Korea. We used this setup to bypass the restrictions on major payment platforms while keeping our processing and support costs manageable.
What The Numbers Said After
Our new payment system was a mixed bag, with some benefits and drawbacks. Customer satisfaction went up, as users in restricted countries could now purchase our digital products without having to jump through hoops. However, our support requests skyrocketed due to the increased number of payment errors and disputes. We also incurred more costs associated with supporting multiple payment gateways.
What I Would Do Differently
In hindsight, I would have liked to do more research into emerging digital payment systems before settling on our tiered payment system. For instance, we should have looked into blockchain-based payment solutions, such as Ethereum, which could potentially offer more flexibility and security than traditional payment gateways. This could have saved us a lot of time and resources in the long run.
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