We have changed our payments processor to Mollie. Mollie is a company based in The Netherlands and processes its data in the EU. We previously used Stripe. For UK customers they are based in Ireland and process data in the EU but data also gets passed to its parent company based in the US. Their ‘convenient’ saving of card information across all the different sites that use their checkouts means they also have a huge data surveillance network so we’ve increasingly uncomfortable about using them for some time.
However we can’t deny they were convenient. We first switched to Mollie a few months ago but found ourselves switching back to Stripe because Mollie allows less flexibility. One feature that doesn’t have is the ability to charge cards from our end which we use when existing customers email us to add to their regular order, or when their payments fail and they ask us to help them resolve it. But we don’t think that the price of that convenience, ie your data privacy, is worth the convenience and so we’re switching back.
This might mean some minor inconveniences, for example if your card fails we’ll need to send you a link for you to pay. It also means if you need to change a subscription we can’t transfer your card details to the new subscription so you’ll need to set up a new one. But these things take very little time and means that at all times you are in control of your payment information and data.
If you currently have an active subscription or have a card saved on your account then you don’t need to take any action if you are happy for this to continue being processed by Stripe. You’ll only need to change if your card expires.
If you want to change before then, you’ll need to start a new subscription which will be done via Mollie at the checkout stage and then cancel your old subscription. If you just buy coffee as and when you need it you don’t need to do anything. When you next buy coffee then the checkout will be handled via Mollie rather than Stripe but the process will be largely the same.
We have also implemented Mollie’s Pay by Bank function which allows you to pay from your bank account rather than credit card. Alternatively you can also set up a subscription by standing order. This has no fees for us, but does mean more admin for us. However, one big plus is it allows you to fully manage your payments without anybody other than you, us, and your bank being involved.