The Problem We Were Actually Solving
I still remember the day I realized that the e-commerce platform I was building for creators would not work in several countries due to payment gateway restrictions. It was not just a minor inconvenience, but a major roadblock that would affect thousands of potential users. As I delved deeper into the issue, I found that popular platforms like PayPal, Stripe, Gumroad, and Payhip were not available in many countries, leaving creators with limited options. This was a platform problem, not a user problem, and I was determined to find a solution.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
My initial approach was to use PayPal as the primary payment gateway, with Stripe as a fallback option. However, I quickly realized that this approach would not work for creators in restricted countries. The error messages were clear: PayPal's API would return a 402 error, indicating that the transaction was declined due to geographical restrictions. Stripe's API would return a similar error, with a 20003 error code indicating that the card was not supported. I tried to use workarounds, such as using VPNs or proxy servers, but these solutions were not scalable or reliable. It became clear that I needed to explore alternative payment methods that could bypass these restrictions.
