Comment by strnisa

Comment by strnisa 3 days ago

12 replies

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I'm working on Small Transfers (https://smalltransfers.com/), a payment platform that makes it very convenient for SaaS / API makers to provide a pay-as-you-go model to their customers.

You can charge as little as 0.000001 USD per request. The platform uses our own system for tracking usage, which is settled through Stripe. No crypto, tokens, or wallets.

If combined with subscriptions, the pricing can work similarly to mobile plans, where monthly plans become cheaper above a certain usage threshold.

Looking for more developers to try it and share feedback.

Resources: integration guide (https://smalltransfers.com/merchant/docs/integration-guide), a quick walkthrough (https://youtu.be/WQW5fiUFNRk), a Next.js template (source code: https://github.com/smalltransfers/nextjs-starter, live demo: https://nextjs-starter.smalltransfers.com/), an AI template (source code: https://github.com/smalltransfers/ai-starter, live demo: https://ai-starter.smalltransfers.com/).

zufallsheld 3 days ago

Do you know https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flattr? They did something similar.

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  • strnisa 3 days ago

    Flattr was a micro-donation subscription service where users set a monthly budget that was allocated to creators.

    Small Transfers is for usage-based billing of online services and APIs. There is no monthly budget, wallet, or pre-funding. Customers are charged only for actual usage.

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p0w3n3d 3 days ago

Please consult how "blik" works in Poland. It requires a bank cooperation, but it ultimately became a standard here for payments as an alternative to debit/credit card payment.

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  • strnisa 3 days ago

    BLIK is a bank-backed payment method used at checkout.

    Small Transfers is an API for a merchant to charge a customer tiny amounts (as little as $0.000001), which are batched into a single card charge via Stripe.

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abcd_f 3 days ago

Do I understand correctly that in order to pay someone through your service I need to first create an account and then link it to a conventional card?

If so, it's ultimately a PayPal remake?

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  • strnisa 3 days ago

    Customers do create an account and provide a payment method, but they don't pre-fund or hold a balance, and they don't initiate a payment. Small Transfers is an API that allows merchants to charge very small amounts programmatically. At the end of each month (or earlier, if a threshold is reached), we charge the customer what they owe. This makes the tiny charges viable and avoids death-by-$0.30.

    It's not a PayPal remake, since there are no wallets, no P2P transactions, and no stored funds. In addition, Small Transfers allows very small charges (as mentioned above), and provides customer OAuth and spending caps.

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    • rytis 3 days ago

      if the customer owes $0.001, how are you charging that?

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      • strnisa 3 days ago

        If a customer's balance is under $1 at the end of the month, we delay charging them for up to 60 days and send email reminders. If it's still under $1 after 60 days, we charge at least $0.50 and credit the difference (after fees) to their account for future use.

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  • qmr 3 days ago

    > ultimately a PayPal remake?

    Pretty sure you can't send tiny fractions of a penny through PayPal.

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    • artursapek 2 days ago

      you could using gripto

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      • strnisa 2 days ago

        From what I can find, Gripto was a cryptocurrency platform for viewing holdings, market info, and relevant news. It seems that the service was retired in late 2018.

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