The Problem We Were Actually Solving
We were trying to sell digital products, such as e-books, courses, and software, to customers in countries where the traditional payment gateways were blocked. Our goal was to provide a seamless buying experience, but the reality was that every transaction required a manual intervention to work around the platform restrictions. The process was cumbersome and error-prone, leading to frustrated customers and a decrease in sales.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
We initially tried to use a combination of PayPal and a local payment gateway to facilitate transactions. However, this approach introduced a high degree of complexity and resulted in excessive errors. For example, one of our customers in a developing country tried to purchase a product using a local credit card, but the payment was declined due to a mismatch between the card information and the PayPal account details. This led to a long and frustrating conversation with the customer support team, and ultimately resulted in a lost sale.
The Architecture Decision
After months of struggling with the traditional platforms, we decided to build our own payment infrastructure using a microservices architecture and a custom-built API. We chose to use a headless commerce platform that allowed us to integrate multiple payment methods, including local credit cards, mobile payments, and cryptocurrencies. This approach not only solved the problem of platform restrictions but also provided us with a flexible and scalable solution that could adapt to the changing needs of our customers.
What The Numbers Said After
The decision to build our own payment infrastructure resulted in a significant increase in sales and customer satisfaction. We reduced the error rate by 90% and increased our average order value by 25%. The new system also enabled us to offer a wider range of payment options, including mobile payments and cryptocurrencies, which expanded our customer base and increased revenue.
What I Would Do Differently
Looking back, I would have invested more time in exploring alternative payment gateways and partnerships with local payment service providers earlier on. However, the lessons learned from our experience have been invaluable, and I would recommend that other engineers and entrepreneurs avoid the pitfalls of the traditional platforms and build their own payment infrastructure if possible. By doing so, they can provide a seamless buying experience for their customers, increase sales, and stay ahead of the competition in a rapidly changing market.
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