The Ultimate Guide To Build an eCommerce Store with Stripe and Stripe Connect

Building an E-Commerce store is not an easy task. Aside from the website design, architecture, and all other conventional website elements, you also have to figure out how you are going to accept the online payments. You might have come across two of the leading names in the online payment industry; one of them is Stripe and Stripe connect for marketplaces.

This platform allows the customers to purchase products and services from an E-Commerce shop and process the payment through its services. Stripe has many big-name clients like Target, Lyft, and Warby Parker.

With plenty of hype behind the company and according to its review, it offers a mean security measure, international business components, and excellent development tools. Its goal is to provide a simple platform for individuals who want to run an online business.

This article aims to take a deep dive into Stripe and its newest product, Stripe Connect, and how it can help you launch a successful E-com business by partnering with another eCommerce platform, IXXO.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a trusted global online payment processor with thousands of businesses all over the world under its wing. It enables online shops to accept credit card payments online without hassle. It can cater to different platform models.

It is an excellent choice for subscription-based models. You can also use Stripe to customize your shopping cart to have something unique to offer your customers. When it comes to pricing, it offers a flat rate so that you don’t have to worry about your company’s budget.

As of this writing, Stripe is available in more than 26 countries. Most of these countries are located in Europe, America, and most of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. You might notice that the locations using Stripe have some limitations but from a business standpoint, it is concentrating on low-risk locations. Although, it is making a move into riskier markets like India for more global reach.

Aside from offering directly to the US and European markets, Stripe is also offering support to support services to other European payment gateways like Sofort, EPS, Bancontact, P24, and Giropay. There are two products that Stripe offers: Developer Tools and Payment Processing.

Stripe Payment Processing

The payment processing tool category that Stripe offers is available in many countries around the world. It accepts more than 135 types of currencies. This payment gateway works like PayPal in a way that you integrate it as a third party processing tool for an online store.

There are benefits and drawbacks to using Stripes. The benefit is, it can get approved immediately while the drawback is your account is evaluated as you go along, so there is a chance that your account will be deactivated if there is something if Stripe finds something that does not comply with its protocol.

But there is a solution to this, by setting up a merchant account. There is a vetting process before the account registration, so it will not be shut down in the future.

The Developer Tools

What makes Stripe stand out from its competition is this feature, the developers. It is the selling point of this platform to many big companies because you can customize the processing approach and scale it as the company expands.

It provides access to the application programming interface or API for the developers to get into the program and integrate Stripes into the websites. The developers can then use the unique programming languages to customize the processor accordingly. Because Stripe has an open API and documentation it provides an ideal environment to maximum control.

Stripe Features

Here are the features offered by Stripe:

Stripe Checkout Module

The module is composed of the standard checkout tools and a fully customizable system where you can design and launch checkout faster. It is the easiest way to make a checkout for your website, without the complicated tools. With Stripe, there is no need to create forms and make payment streams from scratch, yet it also allows for customization.

Subscription Tools

Unlike PayPal, Stripes does not charge for its subscription service. It means you can run a subscription site when you can have different plans, tiers, and subscription types. It also allows you to enroll unique users for various types of plans.

Stripe Billing

The billing module from Stripe has a simple and straightforward set of tools to create and manage your subscriptions. You can also test your pricing, send customized billing, and establish a recurring business relationship with this module.

Stripe Relay

This product combines the mobile app with your online store. So, if you would like to have a standalone app, you can upload your products here and then collect the payments like what you are doing with a regular store. It allows you to increase purchases in your mobile application because you can link your catalogs to the application, or you can directly upload your products. With Stripe, it is easy to create in-app purchase buttons and send the sales information to the merchant to serve the order.

Stripe Radar 2.0

While most payment processors offer fraud detection, Stripe has more. Because fraud is so common in the online business, it takes it to the next level. The second version of Radar uses machine learning to identify fraudulent transactions and attempts to commit fraud. It also provides a dashboard that shows the latest reports on the rules broken and set the rules. According to Stripe, they have reduced fraud by 50%.

Stripe Atlas

This feature from Stripe allows international companies to join the US market. It facilitates the creation of banks and obtains regulatory requirements despite operating overseas. To date, there are about a thousand startups from 120 different counties from the date this site was launched.

Stripe Connect

Another feature of Stripe that is creating a buzz is Stripe Connect. It works well with online marketplaces, where the merchant needs support for more than 100 currencies. It also has conversion tools that you might need along the way. Another advantage of using Stripe Connect is you can verify multiple international sellers and configure automated payment schedules for the merchants selling on your platform.

Coupons and Free Trials

Stripe has the best marketing tools that you need in a payment processor. Therefore, you can create free trial periods and offer coupons to new customers who want to try your products and services.

Mobile Commerce

This is similar to Stripe Relay, but the mobile commercial section encourages the use of iOS and Android apps as additional revenue from the app forms. It has a customer data saving feature for the customers to make quick payments in the future.

Support for Marketplaces

Although marketplaces are an integral part of the platform building process, Stripe made it easy with a streamlined process to work with your merchants, set up commission structures, and give out instant payment.

Wallet Payments

Stripe supports mobile wallets for payments like WeChat Pay, AliPay, Apple Pay, Google Play, Microsoft Pay.

Team management

Companies would want to give access to the data and payment processing to other members of the team. Stripe has management tools that you can set up for others to view the data. It is easy to manage, and you can integrate hardware tokens or two-factor authentication for our additional security.

Build Your Own Platform

Stripe offers a customizable checkout process that goes beyond the standard shopping cart and information collection page.

The Benefits of Using Stripe

Stripe is a popular payment gateway and for a reason. It facilitates ease of use for both the vendor and the customer. Aside from this, here are the other significant advantages of using Stripe.

Facilitates ease of use and customization. Most eCommerce developers love the platform because of it’s excellent API. It makes the gateway easy to set up, maintain, and integrate on a platform. It also provides developers the capability to control how the entire payment process will look.
Stripe is easy to use for the customers because they are not redirected to another website when they are making payments.
Stripe has better customer support as customers can react with the Support Team through email, phone, chat, and even Twitter.
Why Should You Choose Stripe as a Payment Gateway?

A modern platform that offers ease of use and with a great avenue for customization like what Stripe can offer is an excellent option for any online business. If you are selling online, you must have a payment gateway that is easy to use.

Stripe will not let your customers set up an account and use a confusing payment system. It runs in less than five minutes with no need to get in touch with a bank or fill out endless forms. The money can also go directly to the bank without any fees.

Stripe is simple to use, intuitive, and backed by a strong support team. Your customers can make their payment safely, without hassle, and from anywhere in the world.

What is Stripe Connect?

Stripe has introduced Stripe Connect as an advanced payment system for eCommerce applications to accept payments easily. It can take online payment, payout your vendor or platform, and set up a free trial version. All you want in a payment gateway is here with just a few lines of code.

Before the advent of Connect, building a website with a payment system is an enormous task since it involves the integration of different sets of services. These services include handling payments (in and out), refunds, and payment rollback.

You also need to comply with the various regulations in moving money across the internet. It may seem ordinary for the end-user, but the banks and regulators, it is a daunting task.

Stripe Connect pushes for the platform business model. What it does is to provide a powerful API and other amenities to help the user to moderate the payment process. It allows an individual to transform their mini-business into a platform. Once you have registered an account with Connect, you can have control over the transactions between the customers and the business without hassle.

Stripe Connect also offers customization in various ways. You can change the cash flow from the customer to the vendor to the seller or platform provider. It can also alter the method of fees collected from the customers and log the transactions for better management.

Connect is used in on-demand apps like Handy and Lyft. There are three types of accounts: Custom, Standard, and Express. You can learn more about Stripe Connect as a payment processor for online marketplaces.

Standard Account

It can be used in any country that supports Stripe and has a Stripe account. It is useful when your platform needs to be launched quickly, and you don’t require much requirement on the user experience. A standard account is also applicable when you have a running online business and want to use direct charges.

Express Account

It can only be used in the USA. This type of Stripe Connect has the capability of managing chargeback and disputes. Express can also specify the charge type either through direct charges, destination charges, or separate charge and transfer. The drawback of using an Express account is the platform owner will have lesser information on the dashboard. However, it gives the owner full control of the user experience.

Custom Accounts

This type of Stripe Connect is offered in many countries like the European countries France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, the UK, and Western countries like Canada, the United States of America, Australia, etc.

It offers the platform owner complete control of the user interface because you can customize the settings on this account, including the payout to the vendor. You can use this account when you want to collect information from the end customers, handle customer support, or create a user dashboard.

Advantages of Using Stripe Connect

Stripe Connect offers a wide range of advantages as listed below:

It is an excellent money router and payout engine. Using Connect can help the vendor to automatically keep track of the balances in the platform along with other data like chargeback, and batch payout handling. It also helps the recipient to receive their money securely and faster.
Incorporates the task of onboarding the platform and KYC. Stripe Connect facilitates support to cut down the task of complying with the rigid laws that regulate payment to the recipient. With that clearly out of the way, you can focus on the marketing side of your business.
Seamless integration with the site. With Stripe Connect, the amount paid by the buyer directly to the Stripe Connect account.
How Does Stripe Connect Help eCommerce?

According to the existing users of Stripe, it has the development efficiencies. They can build and extend their online payment platform more efficiently with Stripe compared with other alternatives and even more so with Stripe Connect.

These benefits are evident in a variety of ways, including the following:

Robust APIs and availability of a strong ecosystem and community for developers: The seamless user interface of Stripe provides a simple, complete, and well-documented environment for programmers to write applications. There is no need for additional programmers or infrastructure.
Automated processes could be built into Stripe: There is no need for developers to build tools for automated deposits and balancing.
No need for additional tools: With stripe, there is no additional investment for more tools.

Several Stripe customers linked these benefits to driving their business with a more robust online payments processing capabilities. It leads to better business value that includes higher conversion rates with their potential customers.

On the operations front, using Stripe can also provide operational efficiencies. Online entrepreneurs reported that Stripe does not require much time from their staff to manage, support, and secure their payment system. Their time is rather spent on working on other projects and initiatives.

With such benefits, they found better efficiency driven by the following:

• Consolidation of online payments operations
• Dashboard functionality
• Security functionality

Aside from operational efficiency, Stripe also takes way the burden of ensuring compliance with the regulations and preventing fraud. As a result, it further strengthens eCommerce’s cost efficiency and operational security.

Since the growth of revenue and business today depends on online transactions, Stripe helps businesses as an online payment platform that provides dependable performance and scalability. When an organization cannot give the users what Stripe can provide – access, usability, and payment options, they will stand to miss business opportunities and lose their customers.

Stripe Connect and IXXO Cart Multi-vendor

Marketplaces or multi like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are gold mines when you do it right. These marketplaces allow sellers to market their products and services through the store. For the customers, it offers them convenience having a single store with a wide range of products where they can shop. In return, these marketplaces earn by getting commissions from these vendors.

However, multi-vendor sites need to have special software to offer unique functionality. One of the leading marketplace software today is IXXO.

What is IXXO?

IXXO is a feature-rich software for multi-vendor platforms that are developed for high-volume online stores and budding entrepreneurs. It is a solution that functions as an online catalog offering products for sale and where sale transactions happen.

It is an all-in-one software for the trade, which you can use to advertise and list your products. It also covers the ordering process, including shipping and executing final transactions. The software has plenty of unique features like SEO standards, mobile-responsive themes, marketing tools, and the reporting system that will help you scale your business.

Special Features

Admin Panel – It gives you complete control of the store and its backend features. Meaning, IXXO Admin section will allow you to create multiple vendors, categories, and products. You can also delegate your team with different levels of permissions according to their roles so that they can effectively manage the tasks.
Flexible Commission Rate – The Admin can set up a different commission rate for the vendors, like a fixed rate, commission, or both. It has an accounting feature that will record every sale, the vendor’s payments, and commission.
Stripe Connect Enabled – IXXO, with its multi-vendor software solution, can now support Stripe Connect so that payments can be split between vendors instantly.
Dedicated Vendor Dashboard – At IXXO, every vendor has its dashboard to manage their mini-store. They can also customize their mini-store with their choice of theme, fonts, templates, colors, and many more.
Buyer’s Rating – Buyers have a voice at IXXO. They can provide their rating and feedback at the platform to have their say on the seller’s products and services.
Better Store Management – Vendors can make sub-accounts with different user roles and permission to manage their mini-store effectively.
Product Syncing – IXXO allows the vendors to sync their products with other sales channels like Facebook, Amazon, and more with ease. It means you can cover as many platforms as you want to grow your online business.

Stripe Connect Integration

As an efficient payment gateway, the integration of Stripe Connect to IXXO is a welcome development. It can be beneficial to the vendors and customers of this multi-vendor platform. One good thing about Stripe Connect is it automatically splits the payment between the owner of the platform (commission) and the vendor (profit).

Stripe Connect is an online payment method that benefits the parties involved in the online transaction – Vendor, Shop Owner, and the Buyer. With easy integration, it can transform the mini-business into the IXXO system without additional tools.

Once the store owner is signed up, the system owner can regulate the purchases between the mini-stores and their customers without hassle. The store manager can make a payment schedule for the mini-stores or directly remit the payments to their bank account.

Final Thoughts

Creating a multi-platform business is made easy with IXXO multi-vendor software solution. But having a great mall is not enough; it has to be properly managed, including the payment system. Stripe and Stripe Connect offer everything you are looking for in a payment gateway. It can integrate seamlessly into the eCommerce platform. Once you are registered with Stripe, it opens the door to endless possibilities. It will help you grow and scale your business you never thought possible.