Next to our existing payment gateways we always look for additional methods for payment with the intention to simplify payments as much as possible. With that in mind we recently enabled direct debit payments via Stripe, our payment provider for credit cards thus far, with the aim to add an even more direct payment gateway for SEPA payments. Klarna, previously known as SOFORT, offers such a gateway, which directly integrates with banks to initiate payments instantly. Their method is a lot more convenient for those already using online-banking regularly and the process is instant for us as well, resulting in a faster order deployment from our end.
Unfortunately during the onboarding process with Klarna we were presented with a number of requirements that are directly opposite of what we want to offer our customers. Additionally, in difference to all of our other payment processors, they would have required a minimum amount of monthly transactions to even offset their monthly fee imposed in addition to transaction fees themselves. We would have been required to change our invoice templates to place all available methods alongside each other, which would have caused a lot of clutter on them. Transaction fees, which are currently based upon the selected payment processor, would have to be carried entirely by us, which would have equated to up to 15% of the actual transaction amount depending on product, which would be the highest transaction fee imposed of any payment processor we work with.
Given these negative points and further requirements we have elected to not process further with the onboarding process with Klarna. If their requirements and fee structure changes in the future we may continue with it, but the likelihood of that is unknown to us. We will continue to look for ways to reduce the complexity of our payment gateways and provide additional ways to pay for services.