What Are the Best Payment Processors for B2C Sales in Georgia?

I was recently browsing a social media post where I realized that people were discussing that digital nomads and online entrepreneurs living in Georgia face problems when it comes to collecting online payments.

Many people were also discussing that Stripe, which works awesome for businesses in multiple nations, sometimes does not support Georgian businesses. This kind of situation creates significant challenges when business owners and entrepreneurs from Georgia want to sell their products or services to customers outside the nation, especially to international customers.

The good news is that there are several viable alternatives that exist, and these can work with Georgia-based sellers. These solutions can integrate with popular platforms like High Level, WooCommerce, Magento, WordPress, ZenCart, PrestaShop, Drupal, and so on. Along with that, many of them also support automation and tracking feature that is much needed for modern sales funnels.

Why Georgia-Based Sellers Need Stripe Alternatives

I have checked most of the resources on the internet, and I realized that Stripe does not officially support Georgia as a business country. This simply means that Georgian individual entrepreneurs and digital nomads can technically not use Stripe accounts directly.

While there are certain other payment processors such as PayPal and bank-to-bank transfer solutions such as Payoneer, they operate in Georgia. These two solutions that we have mentioned, they are primarily designed for B2B transactions, and they sometimes lack the automation capabilities also, which is much needed for business-to-consumer sales funnel, conversion tracking, and even Facebook ads integration.

How to open a Stripe account in Georgia

Let us explain you an alternative route, which will allow you to potentially open a Stripe account via a U.S. LLC, which will have you, a Georgian citizen, as the company director.

If it is important for you to really get a Stripe account, and you are willing to navigate some additional setup requirements, then at QuadraPay, we can recommend you to form a U.S. LLC, because we consider that this is definitely a reliable workaround.

This approach is extremely popular among merchants in Georgia, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, India, and other nations. Most of the merchants that use this workaround approach are basically digital nomads or international entrepreneurs, and they desperately need access to world-class payment processing solution.

Let us explain you how it works. You can do this by registering a U.S.-based limited liability company. We recommend you to open one in either Wyoming or Delaware, because these are cost-effective options.

In most cases, you can legally open a Stripe account under the U.S. LLC. There are various service providers, such as Stripe Atlas, AnywhereFormations, and other company formation providers that specialize in helping foreign founders creating U.S. companies, and they can do this without having any physical presence in the United States.

The benefits of this approach can be phenomenal. The first benefit is that you get full Stripe access. That means you gain access to all the features of Stripe, and this includes subscription, invoicing, and global payment methods.

Along with that, you should not ignore the lower transaction fees. Yes, with Stripe standard rates, you’ll be able to accept payments at rates somewhere close to 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, and these are often lower than many other alternative processors.

When you get the approval for a Stripe account, then you also get access to smooth integration with various systems. Stripe supports integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and hundreds of other platforms, and even high level. With such a comprehensive payment processing solution, you’ll be able to accept orders from your customers in multiple countries. The advanced fraud detection feature, along with recurring billing and detailed analytics dashboard, helps you to easily manage your online business transactions.

Now, if you are really looking forward to get a Stripe account while living in Georgia, then it is also important for you to understand the requirements and certain considerations.

When you want to set up a U.S. LLC, this involves a couple of steps. The first one is business registration, and for this you will have to file an LLC formation document in a U.S. state. Across Georgia, you can find many entrepreneurs choosing Wyoming and Delaware as a popular choice.

Then you will need an Employer Identification Number. This you will have to obtain via the IRS. EIN is also known as the Tax ID number in the U.S. Once the company is set up and you have the EIN number, then you will need to set up a U.S. business bank account. This can be easily set up by approaching various fintech solution providers. They offer online bank accounts, which you can access from Georgia. This is the bank where you will receive the payments from Stripe.

However, remember you have compliance obligations when you set up a U.S. LLC. Make sure that your company meets U.S. filing requirements, and this includes the annual reports and tax obligations. While implementing this setup, it is also important for you to consider the currency conversion factor. Make sure that you calculate the potential fees when you convert the USD to your local GEL or other currency.

What to Setup A US LLC From Georgia? Email Us.

What to Look for in a Payment Processor In Georgia

Whenever you choose a payment processor in Georgia, you should consider some important factors. One of the most important factor I would recommend is integration with High Level. Make sure that the payment solution that you are going to use can connect to your CRM and the funnel builder.

Along with that, it should also support conversion tracking for Facebook ads and Google Analytics. These are very important because it helps you to optimize your campaign for better results and cost saving.

Sometimes you may require custom redirects, so that you can send customers to thank you page after the payment is made and your gateway should allow that.

For digital product sellers from Georgia, it is important to accept recurring payments, and that is why the payment solution which you choose must allow you to accept subscription or installment payments, and never ignore tax compliance.

Ensure that whichever payment service provider you are working with gives you the right information so that you can manage VAT and GST for international sales without errors. And last but not the least, make sure that the solution approves Georgian businesses. Ask them directly: will they approve Georgian individual entrepreneurs? Because many digital nomads, they do not set up a formal company and usually work on a sole proprietor model.

Payment Processing Options In Georgia at a Glance

In the following table, we have compared the top payment processing options which are available for Georgia-based sellers. These include their integration capabilities, tentative fee structure, and the key features that can help and we believe that the table can potentially help you to choose the right solution for your online business.