The Problem We Were Actually Solving
We were struggling to find a reliable payment gateway that wouldn't turn off our account at the slightest hint of a regulatory issue. The issue wasn't technical; our store was secure, our customers were happy, and our products were high-quality. However, our reliance on Gumroad and other popular platforms made us vulnerable to the whims of regulatory bodies and regional sanctions. As a result, we were forced to constantly evaluate new payment solutions, always keeping an eye out for the next platform that might suddenly cut us off.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
Initially, we tried to work with local payment gateways, but they were either expensive or unreliable. We also attempted to use payment solutions specifically designed for developing countries, such as M-Pesa and EcoCash, but they were either not compatible with our store or lacked the features we needed. Another option we explored was using a payment aggregator like Paystack, but their fees were astronomical, and their support was unresponsive. It seemed like no matter what we did, we were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The Architecture Decision
That's when we decided to take a different approach. We implemented an unchained commerce solution, allowing us to create a custom payment flow that bypassed traditional ecommerce platforms entirely. We used a combination of Zapier and Stripe Elements to create a seamless checkout experience, all while maintaining full control over our payment processing. This decision wasn't taken lightly, as it required significant development resources and a complete overhaul of our payment infrastructure. However, it ultimately gave us the flexibility and resilience we needed to operate our store without relying on popular platforms.
What The Numbers Said After
After implementing our unchained commerce solution, we saw a significant reduction in payment processing errors and declined transactions. Our average order value increased by 15%, and our overall revenue grew by 20%. Additionally, we were able to reduce our payment processing fees by 30% by negotiating directly with banks and payment networks. The metrics were clear: our decision to move away from traditional ecommerce platforms had paid off.
What I Would Do Differently
If I had to do it again, I would invest more time upfront in evaluating alternative payment solutions and exploring custom payment flows. While our unchained commerce solution has been a success, it was a challenging and time-consuming process to implement. In hindsight, I would have also considered using a headless commerce platform, like Shopify or BigCommerce, which would have allowed us to maintain more control over our payment processing while still leveraging the benefits of a popular ecommerce platform. Of course, that's easier said than done, but experience has taught me that sometimes it's better to take the harder route to achieve true freedom and flexibility.
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