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Possible alternatives to Paypal
3 years ago
This information will be useful to Russian artists as well as their foreign commissioners. I've found some alternatives to Paypal that is temporarily suspended in my country, and at the moment there are 3 of them:
1) Buymeacoffee
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/
Seems like the best option for the most Russian artists. Many of them has already made an account there (here is mine, so this is probably gonna be the most common payment method.
Pros:
+ friendly interface
+ analogous to Ko-fi or Patreon
+ looks credible enough
+ you can save dollars on your account
+ you don't have to register to pay (only e-mail and the card number needed)
+ payout to your bank account
+ payout fee is only 5%
Cons:
- min withdrawal amount: 20$
- commissioner can pay only with their credit card or via Apple Pay/Google Pay
- commissioner may not want to enter their credit card number
- payout takes up to 5-10 days
2) Boosty
https://boosty.to/
This service is easier to use for commissioners, but not as good for artists as Buymeacoffee.
Pros:
+ popular and credible service for Russian creators
+ analogous to Patreon
+ you can pay with Paypal or credit card
+ money are sent to your bank account automatically
Cons:
- you need an account to pay (but you can easily log in with your Google account)
- you'll have to pay in rubles, which means you'll need to know currency rate
- conversion fee? I don't know how much Paypal charges to convert your dollars to rubles, and who pays it. I found the number of 2,5-4% fee for conversion, but I have to find out whether a commissioner or an artist is charged.
- payout fee 10%
3) Paysend
https://paysend.com
The last one in the list because I like it less, but many people successfully use it, including artists.
Pros:
+ zero fee for payout to your bank account (till April the 1st)
+ zero fee for payments in USD
+ payments are received quickly
Cons:
- registration needed
- you can't save money in dollars in your Paysend account as they go directly to your local bank account
- the artist have to share their card number with the commissioner who has to enter it
- some users report problems with receiving payments from the USA
- 5-8% of negative reviews where people complain that Paysend froze the transaction and took their money
- poor support
On the whole I don't recommend this service, though some people work with and and we'll need some time to see if it's credible enough.
This is not the full list of all possible options. Maybe I'll find something else that would be more convenient for both artists and commissioners. What do you think is the most important option for you in payment services?
p.s. I've seen some sources in the internet which say that Russia will completely disconnect from the global internet in March, 11. I'm so scared. I hope it's a fake...
1) Buymeacoffee
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/
Seems like the best option for the most Russian artists. Many of them has already made an account there (here is mine, so this is probably gonna be the most common payment method.
Pros:
+ friendly interface
+ analogous to Ko-fi or Patreon
+ looks credible enough
+ you can save dollars on your account
+ you don't have to register to pay (only e-mail and the card number needed)
+ payout to your bank account
+ payout fee is only 5%
Cons:
- min withdrawal amount: 20$
- commissioner can pay only with their credit card or via Apple Pay/Google Pay
- commissioner may not want to enter their credit card number
- payout takes up to 5-10 days
2) Boosty
https://boosty.to/
This service is easier to use for commissioners, but not as good for artists as Buymeacoffee.
Pros:
+ popular and credible service for Russian creators
+ analogous to Patreon
+ you can pay with Paypal or credit card
+ money are sent to your bank account automatically
Cons:
- you need an account to pay (but you can easily log in with your Google account)
- you'll have to pay in rubles, which means you'll need to know currency rate
- conversion fee? I don't know how much Paypal charges to convert your dollars to rubles, and who pays it. I found the number of 2,5-4% fee for conversion, but I have to find out whether a commissioner or an artist is charged.
- payout fee 10%
3) Paysend
https://paysend.com
The last one in the list because I like it less, but many people successfully use it, including artists.
Pros:
+ zero fee for payout to your bank account (till April the 1st)
+ zero fee for payments in USD
+ payments are received quickly
Cons:
- registration needed
- you can't save money in dollars in your Paysend account as they go directly to your local bank account
- the artist have to share their card number with the commissioner who has to enter it
- some users report problems with receiving payments from the USA
- 5-8% of negative reviews where people complain that Paysend froze the transaction and took their money
- poor support
On the whole I don't recommend this service, though some people work with and and we'll need some time to see if it's credible enough.
This is not the full list of all possible options. Maybe I'll find something else that would be more convenient for both artists and commissioners. What do you think is the most important option for you in payment services?
p.s. I've seen some sources in the internet which say that Russia will completely disconnect from the global internet in March, 11. I'm so scared. I hope it's a fake...
PS: The internet in Russia are going to be disconnect from the global internet at 11/03? I'm hoping that's not true at all either, it would very sadly if that would happen!😢 Stay strong like everyone else do, we will be there til you've return at the internet again.👍🏻
https://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_m.....7947899a2fd08c