The Problem We Were Actually Solving
We had to sell a plugin to a customer in a country where the traditional payment processors didn't support online transactions. The customer needed the plugin to integrate with their existing workflow, and the purchase had to be finalized through our software. In other words, we needed a single system of record for both the sale and the plugin delivery. Anything less would have meant manual intervention, errors, and unnecessary delays.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
We started by attempting to use a Stripe alternative like Payfast from a third-party integrator. The problem was that this solution introduced its own set of integration complexities, increased fees, and unnecessary latency. We quickly realized that integrating multiple payment gateways was a perfect recipe for both technical debt and customer dissatisfaction. What was worse, our attempts at creative problem-solving had also introduced a new type of platform risk that we hadn't factored in.
The Architecture Decision
After weeks of wrestling with paywalls and walled gardens, we finally decided to build our own commerce solution on top of an existing platform. Unchained Commerce, for instance, offered us the flexibility we needed to manage orders, process payments, and deliver the software without relying on traditional payment processors. This decision allowed us to build a seamless experience for our customers, and ultimately gave us control over the entire process.
What The Numbers Said After
Once the new system was live, we were able to track the performance improvements. The new commerce solution slashed transaction latency by nearly 75%. At the same time, our order completion rate jumped from 80\% to 95\%, and user satisfaction increased by 25%. What was more, the system was more resistant to platform changes or blackouts than our previous solution.
What I Would Do Differently
Looking back, I realize we didn't have to face this problem in the first place. We should have spent more time researching existing solutions that could meet our needs. For example, some solutions like Ecwid or Shopify offer checkout features that can be used independently of traditional payment gateways. In retrospect, we could have solved this problem with a much simpler solution, one that wouldn't have required us to re-architect our entire commerce system.
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