No Stripe? No Problem! Find Payment Alternatives for Different Regions

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a service for online stores and businesses to accept payments from customers worldwide.

Where is Stripe available?

Stripe is available in numerous countries around the world. To provide the most up-to-date information on Stripe's availability, I recommend visiting Stripe's official website.

It depends on your task.

1. If replacing Stripe is impossible, then you will need to register a company in a country where it operates.
2. If you need to integrate Stripe for payments on services like Gumroad or Webflow, you can find an alternative service that supports payouts through other payment systems.
3. If you need to accept payments on your website, you can use local internet acquiring.

How to register a company for Stripe?

You can register a company remotely in one of the countries where Stripe operates.

Stripe has its own solution for registration in the USA, called Atlas.

To withdraw money from Stripe to your country, you can use the details for receiving funds from Payoneer.

Stripe Atlas – Opening a Company in the USA

Atlas is a project by Stripe that allows you to remotely open a company in the USA and create a Stripe account for the company.

Registration costs $500, with an annual maintenance fee of $100.

For this amount, you will receive:

1. Company incorporation in Delaware.
2. The first year of a registered agent.
3. Tax ID (EIN) filing and retrieval.
4. Founder equity purchase.
5. 83(b) election filing.
6. Document templates to help you start running your business.

Before registering, I recommend researching reviews, including negative ones.

Xolo – Company Registration in Estonia

I opened a company in Estonia for a PayPal business account, as PayPal operates with limitations in Ukraine.

I registered the company through Xolo.

1. You need to obtain e-Residency. Fill out the form online and pay 100 EUR, then receive an ID card at the Embassy of Estonia.
2. After obtaining the ID card, you register with Xolo.
3. After successful registration, you will need to physically go to Estonia and open a bank account there.

Xolo handles all the bureaucratic aspects and tax payments.

There are different packages:

1. For 89 EUR per month, you get access to business accounts with Revolut and Wise.
2. For 129 EUR, you get PayPal and Stripe.

Before registering, check with Xolo's support to confirm if they can indeed assist you with Stripe. There are restrictions based on business categories and conditions.

If you decide to open a company in another country, consult on how to pay taxes and how to repatriate profits to your country.

How did it work in Estonia?

In Estonia, with this type of registration, you only need to pay taxes on repatriated profits.

I paid out all my income as a salary to myself and did not pay taxes on profits.

What are the alternatives to Stripe?

It depends on the task.

1. Accepting and withdrawing payments on platforms.
2. Accepting payments on your website.

Integration with Services

For example, Gumroad offers the option to connect your Stripe or PayPal account for payment processing. However, neither of these options is available for withdrawal in Ukraine.

In such a case, I recommend alternatives to Gumroad like Buy me a Coffee or Patreon. Both services can be used for selling digital goods and subscriptions, with the ability to withdraw funds through Payoneer.

If you want to integrate Stripe for payments into your SaaS, then options like Paddle or 2checkout would be suitable.

If you can't find a replacement for your service, feel free to reach out to me.

Accepting Payments on a Website

It depends on your country.

What are the most popular options for Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Armenia?

1. Payeer is a versatile online payment system offering multi-currency wallets, secure money transfers, currency exchange, and online shopping capabilities.
2. Payoneer allows businesses to receive payments from clients worldwide and offers various withdrawal options, including bank transfers and prepaid cards.
3. Skrill is an e-commerce payment system that supports online transactions and is available in many countries, making it a suitable alternative.
4. PayPal is a widely recognized and accepted online payment platform that operates in many countries and can be a good choice for international transactions.
5. Wise (TransferWise) offers international money transfer and multi-currency accounts, which can be useful for businesses in regions with limited payment options.

You can find more details in the article about accepting payments on the website.