Payment stack for your LLC: Stripe, PayPal, Hotmart and SeQura

Stripe is only one part of the payment stack. A serious LLC needs gateways chosen by model: SaaS, infoproducts, memberships, marketplaces, financing and KYC.

Stripe US charges 2.9% + 0.30 dollar per domestic transaction, PayPal Business hovers around 3.49%, and Dodo Payments drops to 2.4% above 50,000 dollars processed monthly with a US LLC.

Having the right payment gateways connected to your LLC makes the difference between smooth cash flow and constant friction. Here's a complete comparison of your options.

Stripe US: the developer's choice

Stripe is the gold standard for online payment processing. With a US LLC:

What you can do:

• Accept credit and debit cards from 195+ countries
• Process payments in 135+ currencies (auto-converted to USD)
• Set up recurring subscriptions with Stripe Billing
• Create payment links (no code required)
• Build custom checkout flows via API
• Use Stripe Connect for marketplace payments

Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge. International cards add 1.5%. Currency conversion adds 1%.

Best for: Freelancers, agencies, SaaS businesses, e-commerce, anyone who accepts card payments.

Setup requirements: LLC documents (Articles of Organization), EIN, coherent US banking layer, business description, website or online presence.

PayPal Business US: the consumer-friendly option

PayPal is everywhere. With a US PayPal Business account:

Important: PayPal Business requires the owner's ITIN for personal identity verification, in addition to the LLC's EIN. Getting an ITIN requires filing Form W-7 with the <a href="https://www.irs.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS</a>.

What you can do:

• Accept PayPal payments from 200+ countries
• Accept credit cards without a PayPal account (via PayPal's card processing)
• Send and receive invoices
• Access PayPal Credit and Working Capital financing

Fees: Variable by transaction type. Standard: 3.49% + $0.49 for PayPal checkout, 2.99% + $0.49 for card processing.

Best for: When your clients prefer PayPal, B2C transactions, marketplaces, consumer-facing businesses.

DoDo Payments: the global compliance solution

DoDo is a Merchant of Record (MoR) service specifically designed for digital products and SaaS businesses.

What makes it different:

• Acts as the seller of record. DoDo is legally the entity selling to the end customer
• Handles global VAT, sales tax, and GST automatically in 100+ countries
• You don't need to register for tax compliance in dozens of jurisdictions
• Accepts payment methods from every major market (cards, wallets, bank transfers)
• Handles invoicing, refunds, and tax remittance
• Compliance burden shifts from your LLC to DoDo

Fees: Typically 5% + payment processing fees. Higher than Stripe alone, but includes complete tax compliance.

Best for: SaaS businesses, digital product sellers, course creators who sell globally to consumers (B2C).

Relay Payment Links as an optional collection layer

If you use Relay as your backup banking, you get access to payment links when the provider enables them: one of the world's largest payment processors:

• Create professional payment links to send to clients
• Clients can pay by card instantly
• Funds deposit directly to your Relay account
• Simple, no-code solution for quick invoicing
• Great for one-off project payments

Comparing the options

Our recommendation

For most service businesses: Stripe as primary, PayPal as alternative for clients who prefer it.

For SaaS with global customers: Stripe + DoDo (Stripe for B2B, DoDo for B2C with automatic VAT compliance).

For B2C digital products: DoDo Payments provides automatic compliance and eliminates worry about tax registration worldwide.

For quick client payments: Relay payment links for simple, professional invoicing.

Connect all payment processors to your Mercury account for unified cash management.

Payment platform comparison: the complete matrix

For B2B services (advisory, dev, design):

1. Primary: USD bank details only after provider review: routing/account number, current fee table and receiving-bank path documented.
2. Backup: Stripe payment links (for clients who prefer cards)
3. International: Wise multi-currency account (for EUR/GBP-paying clients)

For B2C digital products (courses, SaaS, downloads):

1. Primary: DoDo Payments (handles VAT/GST globally as MoR)
2. Backup: Stripe (if you want more control and handle VAT yourself)
3. Subscriptions: Stripe Billing (best recurring payment infrastructure)

For marketplaces and platforms:

1. Primary: Stripe Connect (marketplace payments)
2. International: PayPal (if platform requires it — need ITIN)
3. Payouts: Mercury for all deposits

How to read the LLC payment-gateway choice as a stable mapping between activity, country of customer and reconciliation flow

The LLC payment-gateway choice reads more usefully when it's treated as a stable mapping between the type of activity, the country of the customer and the reconciliation flow with the LLC's bank account, rather than as a feature-by-feature comparison. What changes from one provider to another is mostly the integration surface and the supported markets — and those properties don't shift week to week.

A short note in the LLC folder that records which gateway is used for which type of customer, and how the settlement reaches the LLC's bank account, turns this mapping into something the member can review at any time.

> <a href="/en/book">Review my structure</a>

To keep going on this thread, <a href="/en/blog/us-llc-privacy-banking-and-legal-structure">Privacy with a US LLC: what is truly private and what is not</a> fills in a nuance this guide only touched on.

Conclusion and next steps

_More on this topic: Mercury account guide, currency exchange guide._

If you want to validate whether this strategy fits your specific situation, at Exentax we review your case personally and propose the legal and efficient structure that truly suits you. Book an initial no-commitment session from our contact page.

Choose processors your LLC file can actually support

A payment stack is not chosen by logo. It is chosen by underwriting fit: product risk, website clarity, refund policy, dispute ratio, settlement currency, bank account, tax file and the way invoices describe the activity. Exentax reviews those pieces before a processor review turns into a rolling reserve, account hold or frozen payout.

Underwriting signals Stripe, PayPal and MoR providers compare

Processors do not review the LLC in isolation. They compare the website, checkout descriptor, customer geography, fulfillment model, refund terms, company documents, owner identity and bank account. If those elements tell different stories, the risk team may ask for evidence or restrict the account even when the underlying business is legal.

Cost is only one part of the gateway decision

Gateway fees are not just a pricing line. High refunds, international cards, currency conversion, dispute rates, reserve policy and payout timing can make a cheap-looking provider expensive. A serious setup models gross margin, cash buffer and failure scenario before relying on one processor.

Payment stack design: underwriting, banking route and evidence

Stripe, PayPal, Dodo, membership platforms, Hotmart and compatible processors are operational tools, not tax planning by themselves. Exentax connects each provider to invoices, client geography, product description, bank routing and documentary evidence so the payment story remains explainable when a bank, fintech, processor or broker asks for context.