This idea is CENTS validated!!! Serious entrepreneurs, any comments?

[Aryan2193]

Hi,

Have you ever been frustrated to do business payments, struggled with cheques, net banking, keeping track of receiving cash, and doing manual reminders? (Please let me know your own frustrations in the comments below)

My idea is to provide a better web-based platform to make B2B payments. The focus is not on credit card payments but to replace cheques and net banking which is not very convenient in making transactions. We aim to make these payments faster and with more ease, along with other features to make business settlements easier.

It will also automate recurring accounting entries on the most used accounting platforms to eliminate human error, along with automatic reminders to your customers near the due date, among other features. My target market is small and medium-sized businesses.

I would really appreciate any ideas/comments on this idea. I have already spoken to my target market but I thought this forum will also be a great place to further validate the idea before taking it further ahead.

Thanks

 

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[Jobless]

Have you studied previous attempts (failed and successful) to provide this in that market? Are you inspired by already existing payment gateways in other places?

 

[Aryan2193]

Have you studied previous attempts (failed and successful) to provide this in that market? Are you inspired by already existing payment gateways in other places?

No, I have only looked at successful businesses in the market, not the failed ones. Thanks for the input.
I have worked in this space for a year and this was a big inconvenience for us as the solution that we wanted didn't exist as needed. The current players in the market are strong but what I want to bring to the market is different.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I can't say one way or another. However I can say that I'm sick of paying PayPal and other providers 3% of my gross just to accept payments.

 

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[Rabby]

These are just general comments about the space...

Some of the onerous things about payments come first from the need to verify accuracy and intent, and then as a derivative of that, all the laws and rules that have grown up to enforce fairness and rule of law. Finding ways to implement the same security, verification of intent, dispute resolution, etc, better or with less cost (in time, effort or money) to the customer could obviously make a company competitive.

Other onerous things about payments come from government requirements related to their ability to tax everyone on transactions and income. In some cases, the way this is implemented is also annoying (please fax us your W-9!).

Are some of the annoying things you're making better in your platform driven by regulations, industry standards, security and verification, etc? If so, can your implementation of the concept meet those standards, or find ways around them, or drive changes in standards?

That's where my mind would be going if I was doing something in payments, because I imagine there's a point where you hit a regulation wall when you try to do things much differently. That can be either a problem or an opportunity, depending on how you choose to look at it Good luck!

 

[OverByte]

Need definitely exists. PayPal is decent user experience but the fees are egregious. would much prefer a service where the fees are flat instead of relative to payment. Any large payments and I have to get snail mail or wire transfer.

I think regulation is big reason for lack of competition in this space (know your customer anti money launder regulations, support for audits, documentation filing, etc). Definitely an entry barrier if you can pull it off. Compliance is likely costly though.

 

[Itizn]

My thoughts are that what Venmo formed as was the right approach, until they sold to PayPal of course.

What I mean is that having payments transition into a social network. The more active you are (whether through paying different people and companies through the platform) the more the user gets incentivized to continue on the platform.

A flat rate would work, and the top "performers" get rewards. A month with no fees, a free meal, etc.

Just my loose thought because I, too, am sick of PayPal.

 

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[Aryan2193]

Thank you so much for the insight.

High fees are definitely frustrating and also make it difficult to do high-value payments.

As per my own research, regulations will definitely be a pain to go through and I still have to understand them properly. But it's also an entry barrier and part of the process, thanks for making it clearer.

I hadn't thought about the Venmo approach. It's definitely worth going through. The network effect will make the business more valuable to join. Thank you so much for bringing that up Itizn.

I am sure all action-taking entrepreneurs must have used payment services in their model. Please do comment on any problems you have faced in this space.

Thanks