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Payment methods

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In many Western countries, credit cards are commonly used to pay for software purchases. As discussed in How to release products internationally, not all target markets use the same payment methods. Choosing which payment methods customers can use to buy your product in each market needs to be part of your strategy. You should select methods that are popular in the target market and suitable for buying software online.

This article gives an overview of some other methods used around the world.

Local retailers/marketplaces

You can make licenses or activation keys to your software available via local retailers and marketplaces. This allows customers to purchase your software using cash or any other locally appropriate method. These retailers and marketplaces can also allow adding money as account balance or credit, which customers can use to buy your software and make future purchases as well. This might be convenient when paying with cash.

Payment platforms/services

Payment platforms (also known as services or gateways) vary in features and regional availability, but they have the same basic goal: enable users to make secure online payments to companies or other users. They let users avoid entering their payment details in every online store they shop in. Instead, they can store that information with the payment platform, and then pay online with just a few clicks.

For sellers, payment platforms let them offer secure payment options that can be as simple as a single payment button on the product page. The services might also offer recurring billing or subscription options, detailed analytics, and other advanced features.

Here are a few examples of the numerous payment services that are available around the world:

  • PayPal is a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers. It's one of the world's most widely used payment services. PayPal is popular among developers for buying and selling software.
  • Alipay is a mobile and online payment platform that is part of the Alibaba Group, one of the largest companies in the world. The large variety of services in one app makes it a more convenient choice than credit cards in China.
  • WeChat Pay is a digital wallet service incorporated into WeChat, China's largest social network. Its integration into an app that people use daily for communication makes it convenient and widely used in China.
  • RatePay is a payment service provider offering solutions like open invoice (buy now, pay later), installment payments, and direct debit. It's popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Bank transfers/wire transfers

Bank or wire transfers can be a common payment method for larger transactions, such as enterprise software licenses. They're used globally and can be trusted for large amounts and regular payments such as salaries and bills. Wire transfers can be transfers from bank account to bank account or use a separate service, such as Western Union or MoneyGram.

Depending on the banks or services involved and whether the transfer is domestic or international, the transfer time can vary from a few minutes to a day or longer. There are various systems to speed up the process, such as the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative within the EU, and Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (BACS) and Faster Payments within the UK. In a best-case scenario, the funds are available to the recipient in a few seconds.

Other systems

Here are a few examples of nontraditional payment methods, some of which have only appeared recently:

  • Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular in the developer community due to their decentralized nature. Some software vendors and platforms accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and they're used globally.
  • The GitHub Sponsors platform allows developers to financially support each other directly on GitHub, a popular platform for hosting and sharing code. It's used globally and can be a viable alternative to traditional payment methods for software.
  • Prepaid cards are payment cards with a monetary value stored on the card itself. They're trusted and popular worldwide, especially in countries with a large unbanked population, as they can be loaded with cash at a retail location, making them a tangible payment method.
  • Many Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms, like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, have their own billing systems that can be linked to various payment methods. These platforms are used globally.