Choosing the right payment stack affects conversion, costs, and cash flow. This guide reviews common options (card gateways, PayPal, Stripe/Paycomet, bank transfers), how to forecast fees in your business plan, why fund custody matters, and which flexible financing features you can enable in your pledge manager (pre-order reservations and installments).
1) Payment methods: options and fees
Card gateway (TPV): great if you already work with your bank; % per transaction plus a fixed fee. Typical range: 0.6%–1.2% + fixed.
PayPal: highly trusted; typical fee ~2.9%–3.4% + fixed, varies by country and volume.
Stripe/Paycomet: modern gateways with solid APIs; fees similar to card (e.g., ~2.4%–2.9% + fixed) and extras for FX/chargebacks.
Bank transfer: no gateway %, but slower settlement and manual reconciliation; good for high-ticket or B2B.
Planning tip: build a 3-scenario sheet (low/base/high) including method fees, currency conversion, refunds, and chargebacks; price your SKUs with that cost baked in.
2) Who holds the money—and why it matters
Some platforms intermediate funds and pay out every few weeks, which can strain cash flow. An alternative is to connect your own payment accounts to the pledge manager so funds settle straight to you. Benefits:
- Immediate liquidity for production, logistics, or marketing.
- Full control over refunds and reporting.
- Less dependency on third-party payout schedules.
3) Flexible financing in the pledge manager
Reservation (conditional pre-order): backers confirm interest; charging happens once you reach a threshold (e.g., 500 units). Great for demand validation and batch production.
Installments: split totals into monthly payments (e.g., 3–6). Boosts conversion for higher-ticket products. Define clear rules (dates, failed payments, cancellations) and automate retries.
4) Best practices
- Show available methods and fees in a clear FAQ.
- Offer 2–3 main methods plus a transfer option for high amounts.
- Automate taxes/shipping by country and show a true final price before payment.
- Automate reminders for reservations and installments; allow switching method on failure.