Digital River Alternatives for 2024 -

Sep 24, 2024

There's an abundance of Digital River alternatives on the market. You may not be aware of what makes one among them stand out in particular.

It's important to know that Digital River is a merchant of record (MoR), which implies that a lot of payment providers might not include the kind of comprehensive service you're used to from an MoR.

In this post this post, we will go over:

The Reasons to Choose HTML0 as the Most Effective Digital River Alternative Is a Merchant of Record

If you're already familiar with Digital River but aren't familiar with the term "merchant of record," you may not be well-versed in the numerous benefits come with using one.

This article will help you understand the definition of MoR and what it is for it's important to know if your company uses one currently to earn money for your SaaS software or another digital product- you probably want to be sure to remain employing one.

 What Is a Merchant of Record?

The merchant of record (MoR) is the entity that actually sells the goods and services to customers. The company can function as its own MoR, but many opt to outsource that responsibility to a firm such as Digital River or to sell goods and services on their behalf.

The MoR assumes the responsibility of SaaS transactions for you and handles everything from payment processing, charging back management, the collection and payment of taxes and the compliance of local laws and regulations. Since the MoR is liable for issues related to these fields and can resolve the issues for you so there is no need to.

Digital-commerce-reliant businesses that utilize an MoR can focus less on ecommerce and more on making great software, SaaS, video games, mobile games, or other digital goods.

What is it that makes an Merchant of Record Different From Payment Service Service Providers ?

Payment service providers (PSPs), like MoRs, serve as a bridge between businesses that wish to sell their product and the specific networks and services that are needed on the back end for the transaction to take place. Those specialized networks and services could include payment gateways, payments processing, merchant accounts that accept credit and debit cards, and many more.

PSPs usually also include the ecommerce system and/or integration capability (such such as APIs plug-ins or special integrations.) to integrate their payments platform or payment gateway with your shop or site, however the different options are available.

But, payment service companies typically fall short of controlling risk, handling tax issues as well as assisting in chargebacks. When regulations and rules alter in the country or region one of the regions or nations in which you market your products, you'll have to keep track of those changes and updating your PSP processes and checkout accordingly.

A few PSPs could offer upgraded payment services to get their services closer to the features that MoR automatically provides, however these are typically bolt-on functions which come with upgrade fees. As an example, Stripe comes with a fraud protection upgrade called Radar which comes with cost-per-transaction fees.

 Grow With, an Expertly-Trained Merchant of Record

is the leading retailer of record for the world's software companies, facilitating more than one billion dollars of global transactions every year.

Here are just a few of the ways that we've earned this reputation.

 We Have Decades of Expertise

Founded in 2005, has over two decades of expertise in enabling global payments, and have been a component of the SaaS market as it has expanded.

This is why our team deeply understands the complexity of selling digital items as well as software, such as the management of subscriptions and the nuanced needs that come with it.

 We're backed by Great Investors

You don't need to worry about being profitable or reliable. In addition to our expertise, we also offer the peace of mind which comes from being supported by an extremely successful, top-performing and reliable investment company.

With the help of Accel-KKR, you can access the money and resources for you to expand your business using online payments as well as providing superior security, privacy and corporate security oversight.

 We Get Growing When You Get

The many years we have spent in the global payments platform industry has also enabled to grow over time -- but that growth has only happened because of our great clients.

This is due to two factors as we use the revenue-sharing model as well as because we're a trusted Partner who is eager to help to continue your growth.

 1. It is a way to earn money when you make money

Thanks to 's revenue sharing model that we use, we earn money whenever you complete. In the event that your client makes a purchase and we take a commission for that purchase.

This means that even if you're not doing any business the transaction, we're not charged this commission.

Our team of experts will work with you to determine the most affordable flat-rate price based on your volume of transactions and time. The price includes every feature of our platform and tools.

2. Would Like to Be Your Business Partner. Not Your Payments Solutions

Stardock was able to complete the transition to SaaS subscriptions thanks to 's pre-built subscription infrastructure however, they also saw the reciprocal commitments we put back into our own platform, to keep developing innovative products and features.

This made Brad Sams of Stardock feel secure in Stardock's partnership with , because he could see that we were there for the long haul. "Because the better we do then the better it will be to do. It's important to ensure everyone is winning and that everything is right."

" was going down that route that was a continuous investment, not just taking a pay check every month and doing nothing."

 -- Brad Sams, Stardock

TestDome has been satisfied with its support which ranges from assistance with buyer issues and chargebacks all the way through to the highest levels of our company, and even our CEO.

 Awards-Winning Customer Service and Customer Succeed

Our high-quality support and customer service has not only been recognized by our clients, it's also being acknowledged in the business.

We don't just say we'd like to be partners, we set out to show this.

 Our hands-on Migration Team is determined to help you succeed.

Support isn't just for the first time after you've joined and we're here to help you get into the running of our payments platform as quickly and easily as possible.

Our implementation team of hands-on extremely efficient sales engineers are experts on  web storefronts that are pre-built, the flexible and extensive API, webhook functions, and more. We're here to assist users make seamless changes by integrating and migrating.

 Other Fantastic Features

Here are a few additional great reasons for using :

  • It will be automatically compliant in compliance with VAT, sales tax, and privacy regulations all over the world.
  • accepts the top most popular payment options that are used in more than 185 countries around the world, and in more than 21 different languages.
  • You can customize seamless pop-ups that are embedded in your website or checkout experiences on your website.
  • It is easy for us to give discounts, coupons, or dynamic price points for promotions.
  • Checkout can be streamlined to a single click with 1ClickPay.
  • And so much more!

3 More Digital River Solutions

The options below are typical alternatives you might look at if you're assessing Digital River competitors. Remember that none of the options are merchants of record Therefore, you'll need to supplement their services by utilizing internal resources or other vendors or solutions.

 Stripe

Screenshot of Digital River alternative Stripe's homepage, with a colorful red, purple, and yellow background, large black text on the left, and photos of a smartphone screen and an analytics dashboard on the right.

Stripe is a well-known credit card processor, which allows companies to accept debit cards, credit cards, and mobile payments and features like:

  • Payment processing.
  • The user interface can be made customizable and comes with pre-built checkout flow.
  • Simple subscription management.
  • Online invoicing.

It's possible that you're wondering if it's an alternative for your company because it's widely used, and it may initially appear to offer cheaper prices than the one of record that you're currently working with. But that's because Stripe isn't a retailer of record.

If you're looking to lower your transaction costs and you have the scale and expertise, as well as the time and staff to handle the many services you'll be losing when you switch from MoR system to Stripe, this could be the best option for your company. However, you'll have to compensate for the loss in the services you'll lose, such as taxes compliance, fraud prevention, and more. Stripe has products available to cover some of those needs However, these are additional services that add to your overall costs -and any initial savings could quickly evaporate.

However, if you want to switch from Digital River to a business similar to MoR, and enjoy the benefits and peace of mind an MoR gives, Stripe probably isn't the most suitable Digital River competitor for you.

 Adyen

Screenshot of Digital River alternative Adyen's homepage, white background with black or green text and a close-up image of a small digital device and stylus.

Adyen describes itself as "end-to-end payment, data and financial management in all-in-one solution." Its payment solutions and financial services include options and services like:

  • Payments in person and on the internet all in one system.
  • Optimizing revenue with smart payment routing, which improves conversion rates.
  • Subscription management features like dunning automation.
  • The management of risk includes the detection of fraud and prevention.

Even though Adyen includes certain features that a merchant of record provides however, you'll still have to manage your own company accounts and merchant accounts.

PayPal is a great option for business

Screenshot of Digital River alternative PayPal for Business' homepage, white background with black and blue text and photos of people and digital devices.

PayPal is a well-known online account for making personal online transactions however, they also provide a payment processing option for small-sized businesses. PayPal for Business can be used both in person and as an ecommerce solution.

(SaaS companies using can also accept payments through PayPal.)

Other benefits of PayPal for Business include but are not limited to:

  • Integrations built-in to major internet-based carts for shopping (such like Shopify).
  • QR code and POS system.
  • Invoicing.
  • Protection against chargeback (only available for business accounts which have Advanced Credit and Debit Card check-out).

Apart from PayPal for Business, PayPal also has a payment processor specifically for SaaS called Braintree.

 How Can Help

Are you looking for a reliable merchant that can help expand your international business? is a full-stack, all-in-one payment solution for SaaS software, video games and various many other companies that offer digital products.

Our offerings include VAT and sales tax calculation collections, remittance, and VAT calculation Payment localization, regulation compliance; award-winning customer support, and lots more!

Katie Stephan

Katie Stephan   Katie Stephan is the Senior Content Strategist at . Alongside her years of experience in the field as well, she holds an MFA in writing creative nonfiction and has been a part of the local community by teaching writing at the college level.