The Shopify model #10
Description
Had a call yesterday with @ianconsolata and among other things, the same topic came up that we discussed with @joepio and @travis (see also SolidOS/money-pane#29)
We already know that Solid app onboarding is hard. To start using your Solid app, new users will need to:
- have decided they want to use your app and be ready to click through the necessary screens to start doing so
- choose a pod provider (understand why / how to choose),
- sign up at one
- remember their webid
But onboarding a Solid app that support web monetization, the user will additionally need to:
- get an account at Coil
- get an account at Uphold or GateHub
- go through KYC (upload a photo of your passport etc)
- install the Coil browser extension
That's really a lot, probably too much.
One way Understory are mitigating the first list of hurdles is by becoming a pod provider.
To mitigate the second list of hurdles, one option would be to do what Shopify does:
- a creator signs up at the platform (Shopify or Understory)
- signs up at Stripe
- puts their Stripe token into the platform
That way, the platform is not a money transfer agent or wallet custodian (the money travels from the consumer's credit card to Stripe to the creator), and you basically use Stripe instead of Coil, I guess.
Food for thought! :)
The link with federated bookkeeping / MoneyPane might be that if a creator has not (yet) configured their Stripe key, then the consumer could "agree to owe" the amount instead of paying it.