Every once in a while we come across a software or service that really catches our attention. Stripe is one of those services. As an online bookings platform, Rezgo has to integrate with many different payment systems in order to facilitate local payments for tour and activity operators all around the World. There are, however, a lot of payment systems that we would love to integrate but simply can’t because they are not developer friendly. Stripe, on the other hand, is extremely developer friendly and offers a variety of integration methods.
Easy Set-up
The first major benefit of Stripe (besides the ease of integration) is that it has a very fast sign-up and verification process which means that businesses in the U.S. or Canada can set-up an account in minutes instead of days (or sometimes weeks) and start processing credit card payments right away. We signed up for an account, verified it, and turned it live in less than 15 minutes. For many small businesses, this could mean the difference between accepting credit cards or not. The only piece of banking information you will need is a check with your account numbers, this is used to verify your bank account that is attached to your Stripe account. Once you have created your Stripe account, you can attach it to your Rezgo account.
Simple Pricing
As you can guess, Rezgo is a big fan of simple pricing. Unlike a traditional merchant accounts and payment gateways that may have a multitude of charges, Stripe only charges 2.9% + $.30. This is similar to PayPal’s fees and include everything, even American Express fees which are traditionally 3.5% or higher. Although you may be able to get a much lower base transaction fee directly from a merchant processor, you will probably find that your average transaction fee is much higher at the end of the month once you factor in premium card charges, international fees, and currency charges. Not to mention, merchant processing statements can be very hard to figure out.
Includes Everything
Another bonus of Stripe is that it includes pretty much everything you’ll need to handle payments online and in the real world. Because it is so developer friendly, there are mobile apps now that support Stripe and integrate with your account. One of the first is Pay Pad, which allows you to manage your Stripe account on your iPhone or iPad and even allows you process credit card transactions. There is sure to be much more in the way of integrated applications as Stripe gains popularity.
Fast Payments
Finally, for those who are not fans of having your money sitting around in a PayPal account, your funds are transferred to your bank account every 7 days. Although this is not as fast as a true merchant account, which tends to do nightly deposits, it is much more efficient than having to initiate a transfer each time you want to move money from your online payment system to your bank account. You set up your receiving bank account when you verify your account.
Using PayPal only? Consider Adding Stripe
If you are in the U.S. or Canada and you are using PayPal as your online payment system. I highly recommend you consider adding Stripe for accepting credit cards. Although PayPal is a great payment solution, the standard offering is an off-site payment which means that your customers complete payment on the PayPal site before returning to Rezgo. Our statistics show that although PayPal is one of our most popular payment options with tour and activity operators, it is actually the least used payment option. Over 75% of all bookings through Rezgo are made with a credit card.
Written By | Rezgo
