MERCHANT OF RECORD
Merchant of Record for Indie Developers: Sell Globally in 2026
Anyway Team
· 8 min read ·
A Merchant of Record for indie developers lets one person sell software worldwide through a legal seller that handles checkout, payment collection, indirect tax, invoices, refunds, and payouts. Anyway adds a practical route for eligible individual merchants: create a product, share a payment link, and receive net revenue through an approved payout account.
Your code is ready. The payment operation is not.
The first customer rarely asks whether you have finished your sales-tax registration. They click the pricing page, enter a card, and expect the app to unlock.
Behind that one click sit several jobs:
A named legal seller on the receipt
A working checkout and payment record
The correct VAT, GST, or sales-tax treatment
Subscription renewals and cancellations
Refund and dispute handling
A payout route the developer can actually use
An indie developer can build each layer separately. They can also put the customer sale through a Merchant of Record and spend that time on the product.
Why indie developers use a Merchant of Record
Indie developers use a Merchant of Record to turn a software product into a lawful global sale without assembling a company, card processor, tax system, invoice service, and payout operation first. The MoR is the legal seller for covered transactions; the developer supplies the product and receives the available net revenue.
This is especially useful during the first-revenue stage. Incorporating abroad, opening a matching bank account, and maintaining annual filings can consume cash before the product has proved that anyone will pay.
A Merchant of Record gives the founder a clear starting line:
Verify the individual and the product.
Publish a checkout.
Accept a paid order.
Deliver access through the app.
Receive a payout after settlement.
Read the complete Merchant of Record guide if you want the legal-seller and tax model in more detail.
Anyway is built around the indie-developer path
Anyway Business combines product setup, hosted payment links, checkout, orders, subscriptions, balances, and payouts. It acts as the Merchant of Record on each covered sale and publishes a single transaction price of 3.9% + $0.50, with no monthly or setup fee.
Apply as an individual
Anyway's current verification flow offers Business and Individual account types. An individual submits their legal name, tax residency, personal tax or registration number, product URL, public pricing, support email, identity details, residential address, and the requested identity document.
For China, the documentation accepts the Chinese citizen-ID format for an Individual's registration details. The product must be live enough to review, with a secure website and a clear explanation of what the customer receives.
This is a real merchant application, not anonymous checkout. Verification protects the buyer, the developer, and the payment channel.
Create a payment link without building a checkout
In Anyway Business, the merchant creates a product with its name, description, price, and currency. Publishing the product returns a customer-facing URL such as:
That link can sit behind a pricing-page button, inside a product launch post, or in a direct sales message. The buyer opens a hosted checkout and the paid order appears in the merchant's records.
Sell once or charge a subscription
Anyway publishes support for one-time purchases and recurring subscriptions. Weekly, monthly, and annual plans can use the same product-and-checkout model, with invoices, receipts, and renewal records tied to the customer.
For a SaaS app, payment is only the trigger. Access should be controlled by server-side order status and subscription events.
Let Anyway handle transaction tax
Anyway states that it calculates, collects, and files applicable sales tax, VAT, and GST as the Merchant of Record. The buyer receives an invoice that names the legal seller, while the merchant sees the net amount recorded for the order.
This puts tax calculation and filing inside the sale. The founder keeps payout and income records under the rules where they live.
Receive the revenue through an approved payout account
Anyway's current payout documentation lists:
Alipay
Mainland China bank account
US ACH account
UK bank account
Hong Kong USD or HKD bank account
The Finance page separates total and available balances. Once verification is approved, a payout account is active, and at least $50 is available, the merchant can submit a payout request.
For a China-based solo founder, this connects global software sales to a local receiving route without requiring a USD bank account before launch.
How to connect Anyway to an existing webapp
You do not need to replace your user database or entitlement system. Keep those inside the app and pass a stable reference through checkout.
Anyway lets the merchant append URL-encoded query parameters to a payment link:
Anyway stores the first string value for each parameter in merchantMetadata. The special merchant_reference value is also promoted to merchantReference, which makes it suitable for one stable cart or purchase ID.
A safe integration looks like this:
Create the pending purchase in your own database.
Put its ID in
merchant_reference.Send the user to the Anyway payment link.
Receive the signed order webhook.
Query or verify the order on your server.
Compare the product, amount, currency, and paid status.
Grant access once, even if the event is delivered again.
Never put passwords, access tokens, or raw personal data in the query string. The buyer can see the URL, and it may be saved in browser history or logs.
From signup to first paid customer
Step 1: Prepare the product page
Show the product name, what it does, public pricing, delivery method, refund terms, and a working support email. Keep the site on HTTPS and make the purchasing entity easy to understand.
Step 2: Complete individual verification
Use the same legal identity and tax-residency details that apply to you. Upload a clear, unedited identity document and answer product-review questions directly.
Step 3: Create the product and price
Match the product description in Anyway to the offer on your website. A customer should see the same product and price from landing page through checkout.
Step 4: Publish and connect the payment link
For a simple download, one button may be enough. For a SaaS account, attach a purchase reference and connect the webhook before sending real traffic.
Step 5: Run a real lifecycle test
Test a successful payment, duplicate webhook, cancellation, failed renewal, refund, and payout reconciliation. Confirm that a refunded or unpaid order cannot keep premium access.
Step 6: Add the payout account
After approval, open Finance and add the receiving route that matches the beneficiary. Use the secure Finance form; do not send full payout details through chat or screenshots.
What to prepare before applying
The fastest applications are easy to verify. Prepare:
A live HTTPS product website
Public product pricing
A support email
A precise product description
Your legal identity and tax residency
The requested identity document
A refund policy and delivery flow
An approved payout account for the beneficiary
If your site uses AI-generated content or output, explain what the customer buys and how you prevent prohibited use. Clear product controls make the review easier to understand.
A Merchant of Record does more than a payment link
A hosted link can make the first sale. The MoR model keeps that sale connected to the records that follow it.
Moment: Before checkout; What Anyway records or handles: Product, price, currency, payment link
Moment: At checkout; What Anyway records or handles: Buyer payment and Merchant of Record sale
Moment: After payment; What Anyway records or handles: Order, invoice, tax, fee, net amount
Moment: During service; What Anyway records or handles: Customer and subscription records
Moment: At payout; What Anyway records or handles: Available balance, payout account, request status
That continuity matters when an indie developer is also the engineer, support desk, and finance team. One order ID should answer what was purchased, whether it was paid, what access was granted, and how it reached the payout ledger.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a company to use Anyway?
Anyway's verification flow supports Individual applications as well as Business applications. Approval depends on identity, product, website, tax-residency, and compliance review.
Can a Chinese indie developer receive an Anyway payout?
Anyway's official documentation lists Alipay and mainland China bank accounts among its supported payout account types. It also documents Hong Kong, US, and UK bank routes.
What is Anyway's transaction fee?
Anyway publishes a price of 3.9% + $0.50 per transaction with no monthly or setup fee. Finance records the fee and net amount applied to each eligible completed order.
Does Anyway handle SaaS sales tax?
Yes. Anyway states that it calculates, collects, and files applicable sales tax, VAT, and GST as the Merchant of Record for covered sales. This is separate from the founder's local income reporting.
Does Anyway support subscriptions?
Yes. Anyway publishes support for one-time purchases and recurring weekly, monthly, or annual subscriptions. Use order and subscription events to keep access synchronized in the webapp.
What is the minimum Anyway payout?
The current Finance documentation sets a minimum payout request of $50. The merchant also needs approved verification, an active payout account, and enough available USD balance.
Launch with one product and one payment link
Your first payment stack should help you test the product without turning a solo founder into a cross-border finance department.
Anyway gives an eligible indie developer a Merchant of Record, hosted checkout, subscriptions, transaction-tax handling, order records, and local payout routes in one Business workspace. Create your Anyway account and put the first approved product live.
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