A subscription-based sale describes a situation where our web application provides access to a service for a fee on a recurring basis. This could be monthly, but it isn't always. In the digital world, weekly or even daily subscriptions might make sense.
The issue of payment is complicated in subscription sales by automatic renewals. Until recently, recurring subscription payments were not well supported in popular payment processors. This is changing quickly and both Amazon FPS and Google Checkout now offer built-in support for this type of payment.
A big advantage of subscription support in a payment service provider is that the renewal process is handled automatically. The customer is billed and given a receipt, while our applications are notified of the new order. Using some of the payment processing techniques discussed earlier in this book, very little human intervention is needed. The payment processor can also provide reminders, history, and other information to...