The verdict in three sentences
For a SaaS SME collecting 1.2M EUR a year, the fee gap between Stripe, Mollie and Adyen is usually a few thousand euros, while unrecovered failed payments can cost up to 9% of recurring revenue. The right test is therefore fees plus recovery rate, followed by VAT handling under OSS and e-invoicing readiness. Stripe is the easiest to plug in, Mollie appeals on SEPA, Adyen gets interesting beyond a few million euros processed.
Real 2026 fees by payment method
The CFO of a 30-person SaaS company in Dublin bills 2,400 customers on monthly and annual plans, 35% in Ireland, 65% across the EU and UK. Average monthly ticket: about 42 EUR ex VAT. He compares public and negotiated rates, order of magnitude 2026. European card fees rest on interchange capped by EU regulation at 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit consumer cards, which is why interchange++ pricing can beat blended rates.
| Item | Stripe | Mollie | Adyen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard European card | 1.5% + 0.25 EUR | about 1.8% + 0.25 EUR | interchange++: interchange (0.2 to 0.3%) + scheme fees + about 0.13 EUR + markup |
| Non-European card (incl. UK) | about 2.5 to 3.25% + 0.25 EUR | about 3.25% + 0.25 EUR | interchange++ by country |
| SEPA Direct Debit | 0.35 EUR | about 0.25 to 0.30 EUR | about 0.13 EUR + bank fees |
| Subscription module | 0.7% of billed volume (Billing) | API supports recurring, plan logic to build | build it or use a third-party tool |
| Minimum volume | none | none | often a monthly minimum invoice |
| Integration time | 2 to 4 weeks | 3 to 5 weeks | 6 to 12 weeks |
On a realistic mix (60% SEPA, 40% European card), Stripe costs about 1.3% of collected revenue including Billing, Mollie around 1%, Adyen between 0.6 and 0.9% once negotiated. On 1.2M EUR, the maximum gap approaches 8,000 EUR a year.
The real prize: failed payments
An expired card, a hit limit or an incomplete 3-D Secure challenge is enough to break a subscription. In SaaS, 5 to 9% of annual recurring revenue goes through at least one failure, order of magnitude 2026.
| Recovery lever | Typical recovery rate | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Smart retries (optimised day and time) | 30 to 45% of failures | low, often native |
| Automatic card updater | 10 to 20% extra | low |
| 14-day email + SMS dunning sequence | 15 to 25% | medium |
| Offer SEPA to annual customers | halves failures on that segment | medium |
| Login-free card update page (one-time link) | 5 to 10% | low |
| Account manager call for customers above 500 EUR a month | case by case | high |
This is where custom work pays: a dunning engine wired to your chosen provider, CRM and invoicing. Kolonell builds this kind of module: 2,500,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (3,810 to 22,870+ EUR) depending on complexity, maintenance 35,000 / 75,000 / 120,000 FCFA a month (53 / 114 / 183 EUR). Specific connectors and hosting are quoted separately. See our web app services.
VAT OSS and e-invoicing: the Irish and EU constraints
An Irish SaaS selling to consumers elsewhere in the EU charges the customer's country VAT and declares it through the One Stop Shop filed with Revenue. B2B customers with a valid VAT number fall under reverse charge, so your system must store country, status and a validated VAT number for every subscriber. On e-invoicing, the EU ViDA package phases in mandatory structured invoices for cross-border B2B from 2030, and several member states, France included, already require them domestically. Linking payments, invoices and a compliant e-invoicing channel now avoids a rushed rebuild later.
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Aoife, CFO of the company, sees 7% of recurring revenue hit by failures, 84,000 EUR a year. Native retries recover 35% today, so she still loses 54,600 EUR. A custom dunning engine (sequences, update link, SEPA switch) targets 65% recovery, an extra 29,400 EUR recovered each year. Cost: a medium-complexity project around 8,000 EUR plus 1,368 EUR of Standard maintenance a year. The module pays back in about 4 months, before counting the fee savings from moving from 40% to 60% of customers on SEPA.
FAQ
Is Stripe too expensive for a SaaS SME?
Not up to 2 to 3M EUR a year: its simplicity lowers integration and maintenance cost. Beyond that, negotiate or benchmark against Adyen on interchange++.
Does Mollie suit subscriptions?
Yes, its API handles recurring card and SEPA payments, but plans, trials and proration must be coded or handled by a third-party tool, roughly 3 to 5 weeks of work.
When should we move to Adyen?
Usually above 5M EUR a year or with a large international share. Plan 6 to 12 weeks of integration and a volume commitment.
Does SEPA really cut failures?
Yes, a SEPA mandate does not expire and avoids card limits. Failures often fall below 2%, against 5 to 9% on cards.
Does e-invoicing change the provider choice?
Little, but it forces you to connect payments and invoices to a compliant channel. Budget 3 to 6 weeks of integration work before your first mandatory deadline.
Let's scope your project. We audit your collection flow, failed payments and invoicing, then deliver the right dunning engine within weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
