Which payment provider do you recommend?
As an e-commerce agency and service provider, we are frequently asked by our clients which payment provider we recommend. For a long time, we maintained a neutral standpoint. Each payment provider has its strengths and weaknesses, so for us, it primarily depended on the implementation for the online shop and technical support. If both were in order, we recommended the payment service provider or approved it for the client. Consequently, there was more of a list of providers that we could recommend with a clear conscience. We focused less on the business side, leaving that to our clients.
Personal Experience as an E-commerce Merchant
Due to my passion for camping with VW Bullis, I founded the SpaceCamper Shop a few years ago. This gives me a unique position, understanding the challenges of an online retailer first-hand.
When we were looking for a payment service provider, all providers were equally complicated during onboarding, with a lengthy back-and-forth until access was finally granted.
Subsequently, documents had to be sent via email, and their processing also took some time. The frequent change of contact persons added to the challenge, as it prevented the establishment of a proper business relationship with the payment partner. Thus, the payment provider often remained a faceless giant with whom one had to interact. Since the process was the same for all providers, the price was the decisive criterion.
Mollie takes the stage
Mollie is a payment provider from the Netherlands that initially found success with smaller customers. Later, they aimed to establish themselves in new markets and also acquire larger customers.
I'll share my personal experiences with Mollie when I tried it out for the SpaceCamper Shop.
When Mollie contacted us in 2020, I was sceptical and thought, “Okay, a new player in the market trying to compete with PayPal and others. Will that work…?”
The initial experiences did not differ from other payment providers: the contacts changed quite frequently, making it hard to believe that anything would be better here. But over time, Mollie found its footing and became highly customer-oriented:
On the one hand, we later had a dedicated support person who was always there to help us. On the other hand, feedback from our and other customers was very, very positive. Contract negotiations were pleasant, competent, and brief; onboarding with registration and processing of all essential formalities was completed within an afternoon, and the technical integration went smoothly.
Onboarding with Mollie in detail
Contract negotiations were concluded after two phone calls and two emails. The conditions ended up being cheaper than PayPal, so everything was good. Additionally, right after the first phone call, I received a comprehensive email addressing all important questions:
- Access to the merchant portal so that I could familiarize myself with the system and not buy a pig in a poke
- The right module for my eShop
- Explanation of the transaction statuses
- Payout frequency per payment method
- Project-specific points, such as the integration with Dekodi, which we use in the SpaceCamper Shop
After the contract negotiations, I had to complete my registration in Mollie's merchant portal. Here, I only had to do the following:
- Provide the address of all economically entitled persons
- Upload IDs of the economically entitled persons
- Upload the commercial register extract
- Transfer 1 cent
And that was it; I was already done. The only thing left was to install the module in my online shop and configure it with three values. I have never gone live with any payment provider so quickly and effortlessly. At integer_net, we now have 6 clients working with Mollie, and all are very satisfied.
The setup of Mollie was super easy and quick. Suddenly, I'm also receiving payments via Apple Pay, which I didn't even think would be relevant until recently.
Marcus Blatt - Takatomo
Our client Marcus Blatt from TakaTomo was so impressed with Mollie that he even made the switch in the middle of his busy season just before Christmas. To Magento 1, even though we are currently building a Magento 2 store at the same time. The result: consistently positive!
Mollie now also pre-installed with integer_boost
This has convinced us at integer_net so much that we are intensifying our cooperation with Mollie. Our integer_boost starter package, which focuses primarily on a fast start with a fast store, now has Mollie integrated as a payment provider as standard. Mollie is following suit and has provided us with special conditions for merchants. If you're interested get in touch!