The Problem We Were Actually Solving
Our company's mission was to enable African creators to sell digital products online. We started with a traditional platform that thought PayPal and Stripe would magically work everywhere. Our primary product was a digital photography school with video courses and exclusive resources. We had carefully selected a few African photography teams to partner with, but our checkout process kept failing due to a PayPal block on their banks.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
We attempted to work around the problem by creating a multi-step payment process. Customers would choose their preferred payment method, and we'd use Stripe to redirect them to local payment gateways such as Interswitch for Nigeria or MTN Mobile Money for Uganda. Unfortunately, this solution failed for two reasons: international customers found it complicated to navigate, and the fees for local payment gateways were significantly higher than Stripe's standard rates.
The Architecture Decision
After months of trying to make our original solution work, I realized that our platform needed to be more open to accommodate local payment gateways. We made a strategic decision to swap out Stripe for a custom-built payment gateway using the Mojaloop platform. Mojaloop allows developers to create their own payment gateways, and we integrated it with our existing checkout process. We also implemented support for MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, and Eazzypay, which are popular payment services in Africa.
What The Numbers Said After
The results were staggering. Our conversion rates improved significantly, and we reduced the average transaction cost by 35%. Our African creators reported a 25% increase in sales, thanks to the expanded payment options. We also noticed a shift towards mobile payments, with 62% of transactions now happening on mobile devices.
What I Would Do Differently
In hindsight, we might have done more due diligence on the regional restrictions of PayPal and Stripe before launching. However, our decision to partner with Mojaloop and integrate local payment gateways has been instrumental in breaking down barriers to commerce in Africa. I'd also like to emphasize the importance of collaborating with African banks and payment service providers to create a more inclusive ecosystem for creators and customers alike.
Top comments (0)