Digital River Alternatives for 2024 -
There are a lot of Digital River alternatives on the market. You may not understand what makes one among them distinct.
It's especially important to note it is that Digital River is a merchant of record (MoR), which means that many payment services providers don't include the kind of comprehensive services you're used to with an MoR.
In this post, we discuss:
Why the Best Digital River Alternative Is a Merchant of Record
If you're a fan of Digital River but aren't familiar with the concept of "merchant of record," you might not be well-versed in the numerous benefits come with using one.
Here's a refresher on what an MoR is and the reasons why it's important -- if your business uses one currently to earn money for your SaaS, software, or any other digital item -it's likely you want to make sure you keep using one.
What Is a Merchant of Record?
A merchant of record (MoR) is the person who sells goods and services to customers. Companies can serve as their own MoR however, many choose to outsource that responsibility to an organization like Digital River or to sell products or services on behalf of their company.
The MoR is responsible for the risk of SaaS transactions on your behalf, meaning they handle everything from the processing of payments to chargeback management, to collection and remittance of taxes, and even compliance with local laws and regulations. Since the MoR is liable for issues that arise in these areas and can resolve these issues, so that you don't have to.
Digital-commerce-reliant businesses that utilize an MoR can focus less on ecommerce and more on making great software, SaaS, video games, mobile games, or other digital goods.
What Makes a Merchant of Record Different From the Payment Service providers ?
Payment service providers (PSPs) as well as MoRs are the bridge between business owners who are looking to market a product and the specific systems and services required on the backend in order to facilitate those transactions. The specialized networks and the services may include payment gateways, payment processing, merchant accounts that accept debit and credit card payments, and others.
PSPs usually also include an e-commerce platform or integration capabilities (such such as APIs plug-ins and special integrations.) for integrating their payment platform or check-out with your online store or your website, though the options will vary.
However, payment service companies typically fall in the middle of taking care of risk, tackling taxes and helping with chargebacks. When regulations and rules alter in any of the regions or nations in which you market your product, you'd be responsible for keeping track of those changes and updating your PSP processes, and checking out accordingly.
Some PSPs may offer upgradeable payment solutions for their products to make them more similar to what an MoR includes automatically, but they're usually bolt-on options which come with upgrade fees. In the case of Stripe, for instance. Stripe has a fraud prevention upgrade called Radar however it is bundled with cost-per-transaction costs.
Grow With , an Expertly-Trained Merchant of Record
is the largest retailer of record for the world's software companies, powering over one billion dollars of global transactions each year.
Here's just a handful of the ways that we've earned this reputation.
We've Got Decades of Expertise
In 2005, the company was founded and has two decades of experience with enabling global payments, and we've been a part of the SaaS landscape as it has developed.
Because of this, our team is well-versed in the complexity of selling digital items as well as software, such as subscription management, as well as the specific requirements that go with it.
We're Backed By Great Investors
There is no need to be concerned about whether you're profitable or reliable. With our years of experience and expertise, we can also provide the assurance by being protected by a top-performing, highly respected investment company.
With the help of Accel-KKR, you can access the money and resources for you to expand your business with online payments and provide excellent security, privacy and corporate security management.
We Get Growing When You Get
Our many years of experience in the worldwide market of payments platforms has helped us grow in the past -- but that expansion has been possible because of our great customers.
It's due to two main reasons that we operate on the revenue-sharing model and because we're a partner who wants to help to continue your growth.
1. Earns money when you make money
Thanks to 's revenue sharing model, we make money when you make. When your buyer makes a purchase and we take a commission for that purchase.
This means that even if there's no transaction the transaction, we're not charged that commission.
Our team will collaborate with you to determine an affordable, flat-rate cost based on your volume of transactions and time, and that price includes every feature of our platform and tools.
2. We Want to be Your Partner, Not Your Payments Management Solution
Stardock could make the change to SaaS subscriptions thanks to 's pre-built subscription infrastructure but they saw the mutual commitments we put in our own platform, to keep developing new features and products.
It made Brad Sams of Stardock feel secure in Stardock's partnership with the company, as he knew we were in it for the long run. "Because the more we improve then the better it will be to do. We've got to make sure everyone is winning and things with just felt right."
" I was following that road of investing in the future and wasn't just collecting the paycheck every month but doing nothing."
- Brad Sams, Stardock
TestDome has been satisfied with its support, noting that it goes all the way from helping with issues for buyers and chargebacks all the way all the way to the top of the company and the CEO.
Awards-Winning Customer Service and Customer Succeed
The high level of support and customer service has not just been acknowledged by our customers -- it's also acknowledged in the business.
We don't simply say that we want to be an equal partner, we've made it our mission to prove this.
Our Hands-On Migration Team Strives for Your Success
support isn't only there for those who have joined our platform and we're here to ensure you get into the running of our platform for payments as fast and effortlessly as you can.
Our hands-on implementation team comprised of extremely efficient sales engineers are experts on 's pre-built web storefront solution as well as the flexible and comprehensive webhook API including webhooks. They'll help to make the transition seamless through migration and integration.
Other Fantastic Features
Here are a few additional great reasons for using :
- It will be automatically compliant to sales tax, VAT, and privacy regulations across the globe.
- Accepts the highest 98% of payment methods that are used in 185 countries across the globe. It also accepts 21+ different languages.
- You are able to create seamless, modal or embedded pop-up checkout experiences on your website.
- We make it easy to give discounts, coupons and the ability to offer price points that change with promotions.
- It is possible to make checkout as simple as one click using 1ClickPay.
- Plus much and more!
3 more Digital River Alternatives
The options below are typical options to consider if you're assessing Digital River competitors. Keep in mind that none of these choices are merchants of record therefore you might need to supplement their services by utilizing internal resources or the help of other suppliers and solutions.
Stripe
Stripe is a well-known and trusted payment processor that allows businesses to accept credit and debit cards, and mobile payments and features like:
- Payment processing.
- The user interface can be made customizable and comes with pre-built checkout flow.
- Simple management of subscriptions.
- Invoicing online.
Perhaps you're thinking whether it's a good option for your business simply because it's ubiquitous and it may seem at first like it has cheaper prices than the one of record you're currently employing. This is because Stripe isn't a retailer of record.
If you're looking to lower your transaction costs and you've got the capacity and expertise, as well as the time and teams to support the numerous services you'll be losing when switching from MoR account to Stripe, this may be the best option for your company. However, you'll have to compensate for the loss in services lost, including tax compliance, fraud management, and more. Stripe does offer products to cover some of those needs However, these are additional services that increase your overall cost -- so any initial cost savings might quickly disappear.
But, if you're planning to change to Digital River to a business that is in the same class with the features and security that MoR provides, Stripe probably isn't the most suitable Digital River competitor for you.
Adyen
Adyen describes itself as "end-to-end payment, data and financial management, all within one solution." The solutions it offers for payments and financial services offer options and services like:
- Online and in-person payments are all one platform.
- Optimization of revenue through intelligent payment routing, which improves the conversion rate.
- Subscription management features like dunning automation.
- Management of risk through fraud prevention and detection.
Even though Adyen offers some of the features a merchant of record offers, you will still need to manage your own company accounts as well as merchant accounts.
PayPal to business
PayPal is an incredibly well-known electronic payment service for online personal payments However, they also offer the option of processing payments for small business. PayPal for Business can be used both in person and as an online shopping solution.
(SaaS businesses that use it can take payments via PayPal.)
Other benefits offered by PayPal for Business include but aren't limited to:
- Integrations built-in to major internet-based carts for shopping (such such as Shopify).
- QR codes and POS devices and QR code.
- Invoicing.
- Chargeback protection (only offered to business accounts which have Advanced Credit and Debit Card payment).
In addition to PayPal for Business, PayPal also offers an exclusive payment processor for SaaS named Braintree.
How Can Help
Do you require a registered merchant that can help grow your business internationally? This is a fully-stack and all-in-one payment solution for SaaS software, video games and various other digital product businesses.
Our services cover the calculation of sales tax and VAT collections, remittance, and VAT calculation Payment localization, regulation compliance; award-winning consumer service; and much more!
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