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The company
Is a relationship app built for couples who are already together, and want to stay that way.
Founded in 2019 after one of its co-founders found himself struggling in his own relationship and discovered there was almost nothing out there designed for happy couples to stay connected, Paired was built to fill that gap.
After monetizing on the web, Paired quickly encountered complexity they weren’t expecting. Here’s how they conquered it with Paddle.
The Challenge
After growing exponentially on the app stores, it was only a matter of time before the team sought an additional channel for growth and pursued monetization on the web.
Selling directly to customers online unlocked a new level of control: lower platform fees, flexible pricing and promotions, and the ability to capture users at every stage of the funnel, whether converting existing app users to higher-value web subscriptions (App2Web), or reaching brand-new customers through paid ads and SEO before they ever downloaded the app (Web2App). But this new opportunity brought with it new complexity. Payments and tax compliance, once all handled by the app stores, fell squarely on the shoulders of Magda and the team.
A payment processor wasn't enough
When Paired began selling directly through its own website, it used a traditional payment processor to handle transactions.
On the surface, that covered the basics. But collecting payments was one thing, everything that came after was another problem entirely. Tax compliance, registrations, filings and keeping up rule changes across jurisdictions all fell entirely on the internal finance team.
As Paired grew and started making sales across more markets, the burden grew with it.
We always had to do tax compliance in-house in terms of registrations and ongoing filings. Not only was it time-consuming, but it became complex pretty quickly.”
Magda Tulacz, Head of Finance, Paired
Failed payments were costing real revenue
While the compliance workload was mounting, a separate problem was quietly draining Paired's US revenue. Because the company operates from the UK, transactions processed through its payment provider were routinely flagged as higher-risk by US card networks, leading to a high rate of failed payments in their single most important market.
This wasn't a small edge-case issue. The US is where Paired makes the majority of its sales, and every failed payment meant a lost subscriber.
We were seeing quite a high failed payment rate - mostly because we had a UK account trying to make transactions in the US, which are normally flagged as more risky.”
Magda Tulacz, Head of Finance, Paired
Two problems, no single fix in sight
Paired explored several routes to solving these issues. Tax advisors could address compliance, but wouldn't touch payment infrastructure.
Stripe offered payment processing, but still left the tax problem squarely on Paired's plate. The finance team needed a solution that could handle both - without doubling the number of vendors to manage.
The Solution
After evaluating the options, Paired chose Paddle. The deciding factor wasn't any single feature, it was that Paddle was the only provider that solved both problems at once.
As a Merchant of Record (MoR), Paddle is the legal entity responsible for selling goods or services to the end customer, acting as the middleman and taking on all the risks and responsibilities associated with taking payments, honoring refunds and chargebacks, fraud protection, and sales tax.
That meant Paired's US payment acceptance issues and its global tax compliance obligations could both be handed off to a single partner.
What made the decision easier was how Paddle showed up before the contract was even signed. The sales and support teams were available for detailed discussions early on, and Paired was given direct access to a dedicated Slack channel - a detail that turned out to matter more than expected.
Implementation, which can feel like a daunting cross-functional project, went smoothly. Paddle's onboarding process was structured and well-supported, and the finance team was able to roll out without the disruption they had anticipated.”
Magda Tulacz, Head of Finance, Paired
The Results
Increased revenue
Higher payment acceptance in the US: With Paddle acting as Merchant of Record, Paired's US transactions are no longer processed as a foreign UK company attempting cross-border payments.
Paddle's smart payment routing handles transactions in a way that's optimised for acceptance in each market, and for Paired's most important territory, that meant a meaningful drop in failed payments almost immediately after going live.
More frequent payouts, in the right currency
Beyond acceptance rates, Paired also gained greater control over cash flow. Paddle offers more frequent payout cycles than the app stores and Paired's previous payment provider, giving the finance team better visibility into incoming revenue.
There was another, quieter win: currency. Previously, Paired received payouts in GBP regardless of where the revenue came from, which meant absorbing FX conversion fees on every cycle. With Paddle, the team can choose their payout currency directly.
We can now choose our own currency. Previously we were suffering from FX fees when receiving payments, so that's been a real benefit.”
Magda Tulacz, Head of Finance, Paired
Reduced risk and cost
30 hours saved per month on tax filings and compliance monitoring: Sales tax registrations, ongoing filings, and monitoring for rule changes across jurisdictions are now entirely Paddle's responsibility. Paired is safely compliant globally without the internal overhead that used to come with it: A fundamental shift in what the finance team can focus on.
The finance team no longer has to spend time on filings or monitoring sales tax changes across all jurisdictions. We can now focus on strategic projects while Paddle takes care of the tax compliance for us.”
Magda Tulacz, Head of Finance, Paired
Future Plans
Paired is focused on growing its global footprint, and scaling internationally looks very different now than it did before Paddle.
Adding new markets no longer triggers a compliance research project or a new round of tax registrations. The finance team can evaluate new opportunities on their merits, knowing that the infrastructure to support them is already in place.
For a team that spent years managing the administrative weight of global payments alongside everything else, that shift is a meaningful one and it's what Paired will be building on as it continues to grow.
