CTMfile’s developer moved us from Worldpay to Stripe to collect card payments. The first thing we noticed was that the tortuous admin overhead just disappeared - it used to take ages. I asked the developers (Hippo) what they had found using Stripe. They responded:

• “When you compare what the big banks offer, I'm thinking of Barclays EPDQ, Worldpay (RBS), and standalone's like Sagepay, it's like chalk and cheese.
• Although the payment gateways offered by the established big players work fine, they're often convoluted and the interfaces are so outdated it's like stepping back to 1999. 
• What Stripe (and similar startups) have done is simplify everything, especially the customer facing parts, by taking away the bloat and most likely the 'designed by committee' type systems of the big banks and focused on the customer, not the beancounters or CEO's.
• They've designed their systems to be ultra modern as well, developer friendly, with sleek interfaces, compare what you see in your Stripe account compared to Worldpay’s.” 
• And attached this example:

Stripe Elements

Stripe aims to be best software platform for running an internet business. They believe that payments is a problem rooted in code, not finance: “We obsessively seek out elegant, composable abstractions that enable robust, scalable, flexible integrations. Because we eliminate needless complexity and extraneous details, you can get up and running with Stripe in just a couple of minutes.”

They have developed a library of routines to simplify the process: Stripe Elements which is a library of pre-built UI components that help developers create their own pixel-perfect checkout flows across desktop and mobile. Stripe claim that, “By helping your customers input their information quickly and correctly, Elements minimize user error and increase the number of successful payments.”

No wonder that 100,000+ companies world-wide, including global companies like Amazon and Salesforce as well as CTMfile, now use Stripe.

Seamless integration and simple pricing

Stripe’s services cover mobile and e-wallets, e.g. ApplePay, as well as card payments which is only useful if the payment mechanism is implemented seamlessly into the user experience. “The best platforms own their user experience from end to end, including payments. Purchasing is woven into Twitter and Shopify.”

There are no setup, or monthly fees. Users only pay for what they use, AND there is real-time fee reporting. Also transfers arrive in your bank account on a 7-day rolling basis. 

---

CTMfile take: What’s not to like? CTMfile knows it makes sense.