It's different in the UK but it's even worse for mainland Europe. Many subscription billing services don't support businesses that don't have a registered bank account or address in the US or UK. Many payment gateways won't work with you unless you're located in the US or UK, especially the larger American ones like Braintree or Authorize.net. And unfortunately, it's these larger ones that have solved most of the integration and vertical problems that you end up still having to face in Europe. So you end up having to settle for a second-rate, customer-unfriendly, enterprise-oriented, backwards payment gateway like Ogone or Atos Worldline (both of which we had to settle for). The only reason these guys are still in business is because the American services haven't spread to Europe yet.
Thankfully, Spreedly does support European payment gateways, and that's why Spreedly kicks ass.
I remain stunned that neither Google, Amazon, or PayPal have brought serviceable solutions to the continent yet. It's 2011, for Christ's sake!
Maybe it's European banking regulations and laws that are the reason for a) the current sad state of affairs and b) the inability for Google and others to enter the marketplace? I don't know much about the situation, but given the size of the market, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what's getting in the way.
The fact that there's such trouble in handling something as fundamental as getting payments from customers really imposes a significant impedance on tech startups in the region. I can see why some Euro companies are compelled to relocate when they want to seek significant, unimpeded growth.
We techies live in a borderless world, but alas, the rest of the world doesn't. Sigh.
Thankfully, Spreedly does support European payment gateways, and that's why Spreedly kicks ass.
I remain stunned that neither Google, Amazon, or PayPal have brought serviceable solutions to the continent yet. It's 2011, for Christ's sake!