FastSpring

Most AI founders think about monetization too late. They spend months perfecting their model, nail the product, get traction, then realize their payment setup can't handle global tax, usage-based billing, or the fraud patterns that are specific to AI products. The challenge is real: banks and processors may still treat many AI companies as high-risk. That means potential lower approval rates, more chargebacks, and margin pressure that compounds fast when you're already paying for compute on every transaction. A merchant of record changes that equation. Instead of registering for tax in hundreds of jurisdictions yourself, carrying fraud liability, and figuring out VAT rules in the Philippines or sales tax nexus changes across U.S. states, you offload all of it. We wrote the full breakdown for AI app builders navigating this for the first time. Worth a read if you're thinking about pricing, global expansion, or compliance. Link in comments.

The move toward direct-to-consumer models in mobile gaming represents a significant shift in how studios manage player relationships and revenue. In a recent interview with PocketGamer.biz, Christopher Bunk, CPTO at FastSpring, shared valuable insights on navigating the "global payments frontier," with a look at the technical and operational complexities that devs face when scaling beyond traditional app stores. A few highlights: • The Merchant of Record (MoR) Model: Why an MoR is more than just a payments layer since it handles tax compliance, fraud, and global regulations as well. It allows studios to operate internationally without needing a massive back-office finance department. • Seamless Developer Experience: To maintain conversion rates off-platform, studios need tools that are both flexible and highly stable. Providing componentized building blocks allows for customization without sacrificing performance. • Reliability and AI: Although AI is transforming development, systems handling revenue must remain strictly deterministic. Trust is built on predictability. Tap into how infrastructure can serve as a growth lever for the gaming industry, and read the full interview here: https://buff.ly/uDh1mMD #MobileGaming #GameDev #Payments #D2C

Free trials are a powerful conversion tool, but only when they're not being exploited. Trial hopping (when users repeatedly access cardless free trials with the same email) skews your metrics, inflates your funnel with non-serious users, and quietly erodes subscription revenue. FastSpring's Trial Hopping Prevention feature is built to stop this. It blocks repeat free-trial access by email, helping guide those attempts toward a paid plan instead, so your trial funnel reflects genuine intent. The result: cleaner conversion data, a fairer experience for real users, and better trial-to-paid outcomes. Our latest blog walks through how the feature works, best practices for pairing it with other retention tools like pause subscriptions and cancellation surveys, and how to track performance in the Trials dashboard. Read it here → https://buff.ly/NGQIGPe

Apple and Google restructured their fee models in 2026, and the 30% flat fee is no longer the whole story. FastSpring's Head of Gaming, Chip Thurston, is breaking down exactly what the new split fee structure means for your web store strategy at gamescom latam in São Paulo. "D2C in 2026: How New Policies Unlock Greater Web Store Growth" 📅 April 30 | 11:20 – 11:55am | Stage: Journey 2 Chip will cover how the shift from an all-in 30% fee to separate service and billing fees changes the D2C math — and how leading publishers are already adapting their strategies to take advantage. If you're in São Paulo for #gamescomlatam, this is a session worth adding to your schedule! Read more: https://buff.ly/mtsUA11

We're Hiring! Join FastSpring's Global Team 🚀 FastSpring is expanding across Engineering, Customer Operations, Product, and Sales, and we're looking for talented people! 🌟 6 Open Roles: 💻 Engineering • Staff Data Engineer – Remote-United States 🤝 Global Customer Operations • Technical Success Manager – Dublin 📊 Product Management • Senior Data Product Manager – Remote • Vice President, Product Management – Remote 💼 Sales (APAC) • Senior Sales Development Representative - APAC – Singapore • Senior Account Executive - APAC – Singapore From building data infrastructure to leading product strategy to driving APAC growth, these roles shape our future. Ready to make an impact? 👉 Explore roles: https://buff.ly/4y9Kq7c Know someone perfect for these? Tag them! 👇 #WeAreHiring #DataEngineering #ProductManagement #SalesJobs #TechnicalSuccess #RemoteJobs #Dublin #Singapore #APAC #B2BSaaS

Bonjour from Paris! ☀️ Day 2 of #AndroidMakers26 is here, and the FastSpring team is ready to roll. If you're at droidcon Paris today, stop by our booth! We'd love to talk app2web strategies, monetization, or just meet you in person. See you out there!

Stop renting user relationships from Google Play. We released our definitive guide on integrating app2web monetization into your Android app's user acquisition strategy. Inside: how to access first-party user data, implement compliant web payment flows, and keep up to 30% more revenue per transaction. If you're at droidcon Paris this week, stop by our booth or catch our Head of Product and Solutions Marketing , Braden Steel, speaking Thursday at 10:55 AM. He'll cover practical GTM strategies for Web2App and App2Web, how to leverage web-captured data for lifecycle marketing, and how to scale globally while staying compliant with Google Play's evolving policies. Whether you're just exploring direct monetization or ready to launch, the white paper breaks down exactly how to turn your website into a powerful acquisition channel. Download the guide → https://buff.ly/FcNxaSK See you in Paris! 🇫🇷 #AndroidMakers26

The opportunity to go global from APAC is real. But growth outside the region isn't automatic. Cultural differences, varied payment preferences, and rising user acquisition costs can trip up even great apps. Here's what actually moves the needle: In APAC, monthly subscription retention runs around 75%, lower than the 85–89% typical in Western markets. But annual plans perform just as well globally. That's a meaningful signal for how to structure your pricing. Payment methods matter just as much. Brazil's Pix now outpaces credit cards. China and India users expect Alipay, WeChat Pay, or UPI at checkout. If you're only offering USD and credit cards, you're leaving conversions on the table. On monetization: app store commissions eat 15–30% of revenue. Direct web monetization gives back 20–30% more per transaction and you own the customer relationship. We broke down five moves APAC mobile app makers can take to maximize global revenue, including how to localize beyond translation, build hybrid monetization models, and go direct without getting buried in tax and compliance complexity. 📖 Read the full guide: https://lnkd.in/gRF2dQdy

Hiring: Senior AE, APAC (Mandarin Speaking) at FastSpring APAC is not a starter zone. It’s one of the most exciting regions to build in — and one of the hardest to win in. No copy-paste motion, no auto-pathing, no easy campaigns. I’m hiring a Senior Account Executive to help grow FastSpring across APAC. In this role, you’ll work with SaaS, AI, and gaming companies on global monetization through our Merchant of Record model — helping solve for payments, tax, fraud, and compliance. We’re looking for someone who knows how to sell in APAC: commercially sharp, strong in complex sales, and able to navigate markets where relationships and local nuance matter. Experience in payments, SaaS, or gaming is a strong plus. Business proficiency in Mandarin is required. If you’re interested — or know someone who’d be a strong fit — DM me or apply via this link: https://lnkd.in/gGUDsCuX Location: Singapore Eligibility: SG PR / Citizen for now, as we are unfortunately unable to sponsor visas