Maybe your account was frozen, maybe you do not have a registered company, maybe you need to pay out to your own users and Stripe Connect turned into an engineering project. Whatever the reason, there are four real ways to take card payments without Stripe. Here is what each is, when it fits, and how to go live today.
The provider becomes the legal seller and remits your VAT and sales tax worldwide. Simplest for global tax, but it owns the transaction and the customer, decides payout timing, and charges more (Paddle 5% + $0.50; Gumroad ~13-16% effective). Good if tax is your biggest headache and you are fine not owning the sale. See our best MoR for SaaS guide.
You become a sub-merchant under a regulated payment facilitator, so you keep your brand, your customer and your data, and go live in minutes instead of weeks. paas.build runs on UniPaaS (FCA-authorised PI, No. 929994): a real merchant account the same session, no company needed, 3.9% flat, and you can even pay out to your own users. Best if you want to stay the merchant and move fast.
A traditional merchant account gives you the most control and the best rates at high volume, but it means underwriting, paperwork and days-to-weeks of setup. Worth it only at scale with specific banking needs - overkill for most builders.
Fast to switch on and widely trusted by buyers, but limited for platforms: payouts to your own users, subscription control and branding are constrained, and fees add up. Fine as a secondary option or for one-off sales.
If you just want to start charging customers today without handing over your sale, the sub-merchant route is the quickest. On paas.build an individual goes live instantly and a company gets a short onboarding link, both via progressive KYB, so verification finishes in the background while you transact. The US is serviceable too: as a Merchant of Record under the UK entity if you have no US company, or on your own J.P. Morgan acquiring account if you do.
Common reasons are sudden account holds or closures, needing to accept payments without a registered company, being in a business type Stripe restricts, or wanting to split payouts to other users (which Stripe Connect makes your engineering project). A different model - a Merchant of Record or a productised PayFac - can remove those blockers.
Yes. As an individual or sole trader you can go live on paas.build without registering a company - you stay the merchant, 3.9% flat, live the same day via progressive KYB, capped until full verification. Available in the UK, EU and US.
For staying the merchant and going live fast, paas.build opens a real account the same session with no company. For handing tax off entirely, a Merchant of Record like Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Creem is simplest, at the cost of owning the transaction. PayPal is quick but limited for platforms and payouts.
The US is serviceable two ways on paas.build: with no US company you can accept payments as a Merchant of Record under the UK entity; with a US company you can run your own J.P. Morgan acquiring account. The right route is decided with you, not guessed from a form.