Which payment platform can legally pay you in USD? A map for developers outside the US
Which payment platform can legally pay you in USD? A map for developers outside the US I spent the last few weeks on a boring problem: I wanted to know, for certain, which payment platform would let a developer in a country Stripe doesn't support receive USD legally. Not "which one has nice docs." Not "which one everyone recommends." Which ones will actually onboard you and pay you out . I ended…
Which payment platform can legally pay you in USD? A map for developers outside the US
For developers outside the United States, finding a payment platform that can legally pay them in USD can be a daunting task. To determine which platforms are suitable, three key factors must be considered: the developer's country, their entity type, and the nature of their product.
A Merchant of Record (MoR) plays a crucial role in this process. An MoR is the legal seller of the developer's product, handling VAT/sales tax registration and remittance, fraud prevention, chargebacks, and refunds. For a solo developer, having an MoR is often the difference between selling globally and not selling at all.
Among 50 platforms analyzed, three stand out as worth knowing: Polar MoR, Creem MoR, and Dodo Payments. Polar offers a Merchant of Record model with a 5% fee plus $0.50 per transaction, while Creem operates as a MoR without requiring a registered company. Dodo Payments supports US cards at 4% plus $0.40 per transaction, with international cards incurring an additional 1.5% fee.
Other platforms like Payhip, FastSpring, and two others provide varying degrees of flexibility and support for developers outside the US. However, it is essential to note that payment platform rules and pricing can change frequently. Therefore, developers should always verify the latest information on each platform's official page before committing.
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