Mangopay marketplace payments – overview of key features

If you’re running an online marketplace, you’d want to make it easy for sellers to receive cash and buyers to make payments. Building your own payment infrastructure might not be realistic because of the costs and time involved.

Partnering with a marketplace payment provider is thus an excellent choice. There are hundreds of companies that facilitate marketplace payments. This article gives you a detailed overview of one of these companies: Mangopay. 

Key points in this article:

• Background information on Mangopay: Valuation, competitors, and famous marketplaces using Mangopay to power their payments.
• Mangopay - Key marketplace features: Countries, currencies, payment methods, split payments, escrow, subscription payment, security, and tax reporting.
• Mangopay pricing and some things to consider before building a Mangopay integration.

Mangopay is an all-in-one payment solution mainly aimed at marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms. It lets marketplace owners set up e-wallets for buyers and sellers. Its top competitors include Stripe, Paypal for Marketplaces, and Adyen for Platforms.

Mangopay’s payment flows are customizable, allowing you to modify the marketplace transaction flow and payout experience to align with your brand. Another key benefit is multivendor shopping cart functionality, which many marketplace payment providers don’t offer. 

Mangopay marketplace payments was founded in 2013 in Luxembourg. It boasts over 2,500 customers in 170 countries and €50 billion in transactions processed since it was founded.

There are hundreds of online payment providers out there. In the specific area of online marketplaces, Mangopay's main competitors include:

• Stripe Connect
• Adyen for Platforms
• PayPal for Marketplaces
• trustshare
• WePay
• Zai
• Bluesnap
• Tipalti
• Balance 

Well-known marketplaces using Mangopay include:

• Vinted: A global platform for selling, buying, and swapping second-hand wardrobe items.
• Wallapop: A Craigslist-style classified listings marketplace for buying and selling secondhand goods. 
• Chrono24: The world’s leading marketplace for new and luxury watches.
• Malt: Europe’s leading freelance management system and marketplace.
• Rue Du Commerce: A marketplace for computing systems, gaming devices, and hi-tech home installations.
• Paris fashion shops: A French marketplace for fashion retailers and boutiques.
• Tracktor: An equipment rental marketplace for craftsmen and SMEs in the construction industry.
• Others include Pixmania, Maison & Objet, Beebs, Retif, Anaxago Capital, Total Energies, SamBoat, Ulule, Fundimmo, Sorare, Rakuten, Leboncoin, Mercateo, and Au Revoir.
  

Mangopay’s advantage is in its focus on marketplaces, which allows it to offer lots of advanced features and functionality specifically for online marketplaces. Its biggest limitation is its relatively small list of supported currencies. Below is an outline of its main features you’ll find helpful to your marketplace:

Every country has its own regulation related to online payments. Because of this, no payment service provider supports all their features in all countries. 

In terms of geographical restrictions, there are three main factors to consider. First, you need to be able to send payouts to bank accounts in the countries you want to support. Second, you need to handle payments in the currencies of the countries in question. Third, it’s essential that you can support the most important payment methods in those countries. You need all of these capabilities to offer a sufficiently good payment experience.

Mangopay works without restrictions in 200+ countries, and allows users from 20+ additional countries where it can’t process payouts. . 

The company supports payments in 15 major currencies, including EUR, USD, GBP, ZAR, SEK, PLN, NOK, JPY, HKD, DKK, CZK, CHF, CAD, AUD, and AED. 

Mangopay supports the following payment options: 

• Virtual IBANs 
• Cards: Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Maestro, Cartes Bancaires, and Bancontact. 
• Bank wires: BACS and SEPA
• Alternative payment methods (APMs): Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Multibanco, iDEAL, Giropay, Payconiq, MB Way, Multibanco, BLIK, and Satispay.

Most marketplace business models require the payment to be split between multiple parties. An example is Airbnb, where a larger part of the cash sent by the customer goes to the provider and a small cut goes to the payment service provider. This business model is called commission, and it powers some of the world’s most successful marketplaces.

In some cases, you may want to split the payment between more than two parties. Take the example of a multi-vendor shopping cart, where one customer purchases products from several sellers during a single checkout. Another example is where you run a referral program and you want to send part of the payment to the person who brought in the customer. 

Mangopay has got you covered regarding split payments. It allows automatic splitting of payments between as many parties as needed. This makes it possible to build a multi-vendor shopping cart – a complicated feature many other marketplace payment providers don’t offer.

Any marketplace payment provider should be able to hold the money for a while after the customer has made the payment. This process is referred to as escrow, and Mangopay offers this service. 

The cash is released to the seller once they’ve fulfilled their obligations. It’s an excellent way to reduce fraud and chargebacks, as sellers can’t disappear with payment before they offer the agreed upon services or products. 

Some marketplaces monetize through subscriptions and charge their users a monthly fee to use the platform. For this to be possible, the marketplace payment provider stores the customer’s credit card details and automatically charges them when the due date arrives without further action from the customer. Mangopay supports subscription billing. 

Data and transaction security is paramount in reducing marketplace financial crime. Mangopay has an E-Money Issuer (EMI) license granted by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). This is a financial regulatory authority that monitors financial activities in Luxembourg, enforcing laws that protect consumers against financial fraud.

Moreover, Mangopay marketplace payments recently acquired the AI fraud detection and prevention company Nethone to offer marketplaces anti-fraud solutions. This gives you even more assurance of its commitment to high security standards.

The company also follows strict know-your-customer (KYC) protocols. Sellers are required to provide the necessary documentation with details like name, email address, phone number, proof of business address, government-issued ID, and tax identification number for identity verification when they join your marketplace and link to your payment gateway. These details are proof that the seller is legitimate, minimizing the risk of fraud.

Another critical security measure Mangopay implements is the 3D secure 2 protocol. Once a customer enters their card details, they’re taken to a page hosted by the card issuer to provide a password. The transaction is then approved if the passcode is correct. If the system detects red flags, perhaps multiple wrong password entries, the purchase may be declined, minimizing fraud. 

While tax reporting isn’t a critical need for most marketplaces, large-scale platforms with sellers that receive substantial payouts may find it essential. 

Payment providers can track transaction data for all sellers, usually the sales volume. If a seller exceeds the tax reporting threshold set by the government, the payment provider generates a tax form, detailing the seller’s reportable income. The form is sent to both the seller and the tax officials. 

Remember, every country has a different tax reporting procedure. So, it’s quite complex for a payment provider to offer comprehensive tax reporting for hundreds of countries. Mangopay marketplace payments falls into this category, meaning you can’t expect comprehensive tax reporting features for all countries. Stripe beats Mangopay in this regard, as it has one of the most powerful tax reporting features.  

Most payment providers charge a small fixed fee per transaction plus a tiny percentage of the total amount paid. In addition to transaction fees, some – like Mangopay – charge a one-off setup fee.

Mangopay’s pricing is at the lower end of the scale. Its transaction fees start from 1.4% + €0.25, with some differences in the rates depending on the payment method. For example, WePay’s rates start at 2.9% + 0.25 USD per transaction, and Stripe Connect starts at 2.9% + 0.30 USD.

Unlike Stripe, for example, Mangopay charges a platform fee which starts from €249 per month. Payouts start from €0.20. If you process more than €400,000 per month, contact Mangopay for a tailored pricing offer. 

Sharetribe doesn’t offer a pre-built Mangopay integration (only Stripe is available out of the box, but it’s possible to build a custom integration to any third-party service). Some of our customers have integrated Mangopay, and from what we hear, they have been pleased with their choice.

Mangopay’s product is focused on marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms. Thus, their API is smaller, meaning developers can learn it quickly and integrate it into eCommerce platforms. Mangopay focuses on startups so they understand the need to move fast, and while their documentation isn’t quite as polished as Stripe’s, for example, they come pretty close. Integrating a 3rd party payment gateway can sometimes be complex, so if you’re working with an external developer, make sure you get their quote on building the integration. 

In your choice of a marketplace payment provider, it’s good to spare a moment to consider how easy it is to contact customer service teams and how effective they are in answering your questions. Moreover, it helps if they can speak to you in the language of your choice. 

While we don’t have direct experience with working with Mangopay, our general experience is that smaller players tend to win big names when it comes to quality of customer support. The best way to evaluate this is to contact their support with some screening questions and see how you rate the experience. 

Mangopay, launched in 2013, has rapidly grown to over 2 million active wallets, making it one of the most popular marketplace payment methods.

It’s available in 200+ countries globally, supporting 15 currencies. It offers all the most important marketplace features like split payments, delayed payouts, subscription payments, and premium security features. Unlike many competitors, Mangopay allows for building a multi-vendor shopping cart.

Mangopay’s transaction fees are generally in the lower end, starting at 1.4% + €0.25 EUR per card-in transaction. However, Mangopay does charge an additional, one-off  platform fee.