How to accept user money without starting a business yet?
Hi, I am building cep2p.com to let people exchange money directly peer to peer. I don't charge anything for the services as of today. But I would like to be able to accept cards and refundable payments to insure peers from problems. Looking at the cost of starting an maintaining a new business, for example, in CA, I am astounded. Bay Area is a cradle of startups, but the system is no help for growing a small business. Am I missing something? How to people start? It's unfair to the startupers who work for free, to ask to pay lots of fees. Are there any budget aware ways to open a business or collect and temporarily hold customer money without opening a business?
I don't remember exactly but Neil Patel did a video about it in detail. I don't remember the title of the video. I'll try to find out.
Thanks so much for looking
You can look into Stripe Connect and see if it can do what you need in terms of holding and transferring money. I don't think you need a business, just a SSN. That said, if you're dealing with other people's money you should probably have a business for liability and trust reasons. There's also Stripe Atlas for setting up your company.
Thanks, tried them. They do need a business. They start with is a "provide details about your business" form, and I don't see any way around it.
Congrats on launching the site. Be careful you're not walking into a whole world of grief with this venture. I'm guessing there are regulations to conform to and your model looks open to abuse, e.g. money laundering. Having a company should at least limit your liability. To be blunt it seems a stretch to launch this whilst baulking at startup costs. I'm also surprised starting & maintaining a business in CA is cost-restrictive. Many countries have low charges for registration. What are the prohibitive costs?
Whilst this all may come across as negative it is offered in good faith and I wish you luck. This may be of interest
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/i-just-had-my-largest-failure-ever-shutting-down-my-1-year-project-before-launch-2c8b62b058
Thanks, man! That's why I am asking :) Exactly that, my expenses are very low at the moment, and I don't want any additional. The article is a good example of another case, lots of personal expense and a shut down as a result. Thanks for the article though. It's generally good to learn from others' experiences.
I disagree that my model is open to abuse. It's the same as airbnb. It's just the verification is not in my hands but in the hands of the participants as of today. For some small amounts people would not even care. Money laundering in the amount of $10? I am skeptical somehow. But surely, if they ask me to comply to a rule, why not.
People do buy and sell small amounts of paper money in USA and other countries. Look at ebay and craigslist for USA. Lots of posts. I don't see how my site is different. Except it's worldwide, and yes, I anticipate that if the traded amounts and popularity grow, I may need to add more compliance. I may even join a bank and act under their license. Who knows.
But thanks for your kind reply, I am also wishing you best in your endeavors. :)