No matter how much time passes or how many new services/apps are created, there will always be a demand for making the operation of businesses smoother. Hundreds of companies have been started in the name of streamlining money transferring and debit programs, and many of them have made great leaps forward in making money management less of a hope and more of a reality.
Among these has been GoCardless, a company set on “taking the pain out of getting paid for businesses with recurring revenue,” as described by their own website. It should come as no shock that GoCardless has operated with success thus far, as they have become a force to reckon with that’s full of benefits for its users. Even so, that does not mean that it is the only option out there.
This article will go over exactly what GoCardless is and what it offers, along with examining 5 of the top competitors that it faces today. To give you the best understanding of these other options, there will also be a brief description of what sets these other companies apart and why they’re worth some of your attention if you’re looking for a service outside of GoCardless.
What is GoCardless?
As noted, GoCardless is a company that’s all about helping businesses and individuals process transactions throughout the year. Though it does have some function as a way for individuals to pay one another just once (similar to Venmo), it is much more focused on maintaining recurring payments as a platform for weekly/monthly bill payments. This means that it is often best suited for businesses that will have countless transactions daily.
Despite this relatively narrow field of focus, it has become renowned worldwide for its features, as it has been reported that many consumer payments in the UK, Germany, and Australia (the UK having 75% of consumers that have used their Direct Debit program, Germany reported about 50% of consumers had used it, and Australia reported just over 36%) have had experience with GoCardless in some form before.
Key Services
GoCardless is recognizable for its Direct Debit program that can be used for paying bills constantly. It can be connected directly to a bank account, and transactions will only have to be set up once. It is one of the best and most effective ways to maintain your payments without having to stress about whether or not you’ve paid them. Beyond this, you won’t have to update your payment info or worry about information constantly expiring unless you completely switch banks.
Top 5 GoCardless Alternatives 2022
These are all great things to take advantage of through GoCardless. You won’t have to write any more checks physically, nor will you have to obsess over making payments on time. Still, the range of use for GoCardless may be a bit narrow for some people despite its ease of operation and overall function. Here are the top 5 alternatives you can look to if you’re seeking out something like GoCardless, but with a different spin.
1) Blue Snap
What is Blue Snap?
Blue Snap is another company centered on catering to larger businesses, which is logical since they are primarily known for being a merchant account provider. This means that they provide online processing solutions for e-commerce businesses to help other companies increase their sales interactions and ultimately reduce costs.
Originally, the company went by the name Pilmus, though this was rebranded in 2011 after being acquired by Great Hill Partners. Overall, it is a subscription service that acts as an all-in-one payment platform that’s perfect for businesses to work with to help lessen the workload.
Key Services
As mentioned, their subscription service helps businesses manage their online and mobile sales, invoice payments, process manual orders, and maintain other marketplaces. They employ a flat domestic rate of 2.90% (of sales/payments/etc.)+ $0.30 (and has a 3.90% rate internationally).
Realistically, this is a great service for big businesses, as the rates favor those that have higher traffic – smaller businesses may have a tough time getting on with such fees, though it is still possible.
2) Chargify
What is Chargify?
Chargify, like GoCardless, is a recurring billing platform founded in 2009. It is a relatively small subsidiary of ProRata Inc., having 110 employees. Its main draw is that it has no transaction fees, proving it would be a good choice for B2B purposes.
In addition, the idea was backed by Mark Cuban in 2011 after being showcased on the show Shark Tank’ by the founders of another company called Grasshopper. Since then, it has been acquired by Scaleworks, which has helped reorganize the company towards critical billing and revenue management.
Key Services
Chargify’s main services pertain to offer management, recurring billing, subscription management, revenue retention, and analytics/insights/integrations. While GoCardless sticks to being an efficient bill management system for individuals and companies, Chargify branches out a bit by having better versatility for businesses that focuses on efficiency in payments, tracking consumer analyses, and exploring new ways to expand/retain revenue.
3) Payoneer
What is Payoneer?
There’s a lot to love about Payoneer, even if it does have some drawbacks. At its core, Payoneer was developed to act as a financial service for online money transfers. This could be for personal or business reasons, though businesses frequently use it to transfer money from the site directly to clients and/or users.
Since its founding in 2005, it has become a staple in the financial world to the extent that Mastercard has made them a Member Service Provider worldwide. In addition, it is constantly used by larger companies like Fiverr, Google, and Wish. These companies use Payoneer as a transfer service for sellers that promotes brevity with security.
Key Services
As advertised, Payoneer’s primary services revolve around money transferring. It is supported in over 200 countries while supporting nearly as many currencies. Transfers are somewhat expensive, costing $3 per transfer, though it is free if you receive the money and is often quite quick (0-3 business days, where you will often find that the money has made its way into your account on the same day).
Since they are also a Mastercard Service Provider, users can also use a prepaid Mastercard as a debit card or for any other type of transaction with ease. The funds sent through the site can either be directly put on said card or transferred to Payoneer Mastercard and then sent to your personal account. Though simplistic, Payoneer’s goals/purposes are straightforward, useful, and effective when discussing online money transfer services.
4) Sage Intacct
What is Sage Intacct?
Intacct is somewhat smaller than the rest on this list, though it was founded in 1999 and acquired by Sage in 2017. Being a preferred provider of financial applications per the American Institute of Public Accountants, it has grown significantly. It has now been a part of the development of the Sage Business Cloud. Its purpose is based on improving the performance of companies that use it by delivering world-class accounting capabilities.
Key Services
Intacct has many different applications that companies can utilize upon subscribing to these services. Among them are applications like accounts payable/receivable, cash management, collaboration, general ledgers, reporting/dashboards, purchasing, and order management.
Though it has a limited customer pool (somewhere around 15,000 currently), it has a wide range of functionality that can help keep businesses from getting bogged down by transactions. Though it is slightly different in purpose than GoCardless and has virtually no value to individuals, it has been a major force in the realm of financial software in recent decades.
5) PayPal
What is PayPal?
Easily the most well-known on this list, PayPal has been operating since 2001. Used frequently on sites like eBay, it has grown exponentially and officially became its own entity in 2015 after splitting from eBay. It has now grown so much that it can even be found on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PYPL. In plain terms, PayPal is the easiest, most basic form of money transfer service that’s out there.
Personal consumers and businesses can utilize the service and only need a valid debit/credit card, along with an email, to enroll. PayPal’s greatest advantage is that it is secure – it does not require banking information to be shared between either party during a purchase. This fact has caused it to boom in the e-commerce sector, especially as concerns over viral attacks have increased.
Key Services
PayPal is primarily used by personal consumers in the retail sector of e-commerce, though it is also frequented by larger online sellers/buyers too. It is incredibly versatile, even offering discounts to users on select websites through partnership. PayPal also offers a credit card, though MasterCard, which enables them to finance larger purchases and extend lines of credit to users.