Map your top buyer countries, expected average order values, and renewal rhythms, then shortlist providers supporting cards, local bank transfers, and mobile wallets. Compare per-transaction pricing, cross-border surcharges, currency conversion, payout schedules, and dispute workflows. Run a small paid cohort first. A maker we met switched after discovering a provider lacked local methods in Brazil, and the move doubled conversions overnight.
Hosted checkout pages and payment links let you sell immediately, while webhooks trigger automations in Make or Zapier without servers. Route successful charges to your database, provision access in your app builder, and notify teammates. Use a webhook catcher to test real events. Keep retries, delays, and error handling explicit. Build a status dashboard so everyone sees purchase and renewal states at a glance.
Avoid handling raw card data by relying on provider-hosted fields and checkout. This reduces PCI scope dramatically. Store only tokens and customer references, never full numbers. Restrict access to admin interfaces, rotate API keys, and separate test and live credentials. For privacy, honor data deletion requests promptly. A simple access review every month prevents accidental privilege creep across growing teams.
Space retries across several days, including a weekend, and avoid sending emails at night in your customer’s timezone. Keep subject lines gentle and informative. If your provider supports account updater networks, enable them. Provide a clear route to support. The aim is helpful nudges, not pressure. Recovery improves when customers feel understood, not pursued by a robotic collections script.
A customer portal that lets people update cards, change plans, download invoices, and cancel without hunting reduces friction dramatically. Secure links with short expiration and recognizable branding. Add a tiny checklist explaining what changes affect immediately. When users can handle billing on their schedule, support volume drops and satisfaction rises, freeing your team to focus on guidance rather than repetitive requests.
Track gross and net MRR churn separately, and tag voluntary versus involuntary lost revenue. Build a brief exit survey with three multiple-choice reasons and one optional comment field. Review monthly with product and support together. Share wins when experiments reduce churn. Clarity makes the conversation constructive, turning tough news into a roadmap and motivating the next set of small, compounding improvements.