We plan to offer paid subscriptions internationally. However, managing country-specific VAT in potentially a myriad of countries poses a significant challenge.
One way to simplify this process is by using a Merchant of Record (MoR), like Paddle (paddle.com). Essentially, from a VAT perspective, you sell the product to the MoR, who then sells it to customers worldwide. The MoR handles the payment process (similar to Stripe and Paypal) as well as all VAT administration, including filing and paying the VAT in each and every country.
From the customer’s perspective, you still market the service/product in a conventional way. A minor and manageable drawback is that “Paddle” will appear on any invoice or receipt. If the customer is not informed about this, questions will surface.
You receive payment for the services/goods sold via the MoR minus a fee for the MoR’s services, which cover payment processing and VAT administration.
If you sell goods or services internationally, this approach can save you a significant amount of time, accounting fees, and mitigate risks associated with constantly changing VAT regulations worldwide.
As of my last check, Paddle’s fee was marginally higher than Stripe’s, despite Paddle handling much more of your administrative burden.
I would expect the Discourse integrations needed with Paddle (or any other MoR) to be similar to the ones done with Stripe. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information about Paddle, or any other MoR, on the Meta platform. Does the support team or anyone else know if there are any solutions available or plans for an integration with Paddle (or any other MoR)?"
We appreciate any input on this issue.