I’ve been a fan boy of Paddle as a payment system for aMember since 2021. So much so, I wrote and contributed the original Paddle (Classic) plugin to the aMember core.
Why do I love Paddle so much?
Quite simply because it’s a Merchant of Record (MoR) payment provider.
This means they go beyond just being just your payment processor – they act as the legal retailer of your products/subscriptions, which you effectively wholesale to them at the point of sale.
It might sound like a fine distinction, but the big advantage is that they are responsible for shouldering the burden of tax compliance worldwide, saving you a huge headache!
The concept isn’t new – ClickBank is one of the “OG” MoR payment providers since 1998.
And with governments (especially in the EU) exerting compliance pressure on marketplaces, more payment providers are starting to offer MoR as a service.
I used to use ClickBank, but prefer the more integrated signup process and lower fees of Paddle.
They also offer payment processing localized to your customer… for example, you can set prices in USD and Paddle will show EUR pricing and payment options to customers in Europe, and AUD pricing and payment options in Australia.
The only “downside” is that you get your wholesale payments for sales sent monthly, rather than instantly as with a regular payment provider.
Which, for the reduced hassle and expense of global tax compliance, I can live with.
Up the creek without a Paddle Billing Plugin
Time has marched on, and Paddle have now released their latest API – Paddle Billing – as the default for all new accounts since August 2023. It’s a complete new billing engine to Classic, written from the ground up.
This means anyone registering for a Paddle account after August 2023 can’t use my Paddle Classic plugin in the aMember core any more.
So for the last few weeks, I’ve been building, perfecting and battle testing a brand new Paddle Billing plugin for aMember.
I don’t normally blow my own horn, but it’s really good… even better than the Classic plugin.
I’ve managed to include many of the coolest Paddle Billing features, like the ability for customers to pay in their local currency and Paddle’s intelligent payment recovery system (“Retain”).
It’s now the live payment system for my plugin store, and I’m excited to start rolling it out across my portfolio of aMember sites.
I hope you love it too – you can get it here.
