Easy Pay: why Stripe Connect Express — and not Mangopay
Payments for change requests directly in MEMNO: Stripe Billing stays for subscriptions, Connect Express for Easy Pay. 0% fee on Pro, 2% on the free plan.
Scope creep costs money — but collecting payment for change requests can create friction too. Easy Pay lets clients pay confirmed change requests directly in MEMNO. The architecture decision for that is set.
Decision
Stripe Billing (subscription, stays) + Stripe Connect Express (Easy Pay, new). Mangopay only as a fallback if Express onboarding proves too disruptive in practice.
Two Stripe layers, one provider
| Area | Stripe product | Money flow |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS subscription | Stripe Billing | Freelancer → MEMNO (€15/mo, €3/project) |
| Easy Pay | Connect Express | Client → freelancer (+ MEMNO platform fee) |
The subscription already runs through `billing.ts`, Customer Portal, and webhooks. Easy Pay comes as a second layer — Connect onboarding, change-request checkout, payout status. MEMNO never holds client money.
Easy Pay pricing
- Pro plan (€15/mo): 0% platform fee on Easy Pay amounts
- Free / pay-per-project (€3): 2% platform fee
- Card fees (~1.5–2.9%) apply on top — shown transparently in the UI
- Easy Pay stays optional — without activation: invoice + bank transfer as today
UX: “Set up payouts”, not “Connect Stripe”
Freelancers do not need their own Stripe account. One-time ~5–10 minute Express flow: name, address, IBAN, ID. After that: “Payouts active ✓”. Only needed if you use Easy Pay — scope, PDF, and invoice work without it.
Why not Mangopay as default?
Better white-label — but subscription billing would need to be rebuilt. Second payment stack, two systems. We only evaluate Mangopay if user feedback on Express onboarding is negative.
Money flow example: €1,000 change request (free user)
Client pays €1,000 → ~€20 Stripe card fee → €20 MEMNO platform fee (2%) → ~€960 on connected account → SEPA to freelancer IBAN. Pro user: platform fee €0.