How Does Unisub Work?

David Kolmakhidze

• 4 min read
How Does Unisub Work?


Overview

UniSub allows Merchants to receive recurring subscriptions in crypto. There are some differences compared to traditional (credit card) subscriptions.

UniSub is a fully decentralized (web3) service. That means:

  1. Each Merchant creates an Order (subscription) on their own via our smart-contract using our web application. This is a one-time action - book the demo and we’ll help you.
  2. Each Customer subscribes to that Order via the same smart-contract (using a widget on Merchant’s website, or checkout link)
  3. All payments are sent directly from Customer’s wallet to Merchant’s wallet (minus UniSub Fee)
  4. Each Customer is able to unsubscribe from your Order on their own, using smart-contract or UniSub’s web application.

UniSub Advantages

  1. Improves product metrics compared to one-time payments:
  2. Increases retention/decreases churn -> increases LTV
  3. Price is lower compared to one-time payments -> bigger addressable market -> lower CAC
  4. Predictable cash flow
  5. Funds are sent directly from clients to your wallet
  6. Works on any EVM-compatible blockchain, such as Ethereum, Polygon, BSC
  7. Works for any ERC20 token, including USDT, USDC, and any other token (even yours, if you’re a tokenized company!)

How to create a crypto subscription?

1) Go to the app.unisub.io , select “Merchant”>“Add New” and connect your wallet;

2) Now select subscription options:

a) Network - can be Ethereum, Polygon, BSC, and so on;

b) Payment currency. You can choose from the list (USDT, USDC, and so on), or add any other ERC20 token by copying its address;

c) Amount;
d) Charge period (Month, Year, Minutes, weeks, etc.);

e) Number of periods (after this number of periods the subscription will automatically stop. Recommended: 36 months for a monthly subscription, but it can be any number).

3) Confirm and sign the transaction with your wallet;

4) Congratulations! You have created an order (Number 28 in our example).

Now that you have created a crypto subscription, you need to share it with your users. You have two options:

  1. Use the checkout link. You can find the URL inside the widget code. Just give users a link in any way convenient for you: by email, in a messenger, or even in your YouTube or Instagram description.
  2. You can customize the widget’s color and size and embed it on your website.

Congratulations! You can now accept recurring payments in crypto. What's next?

How can a user subscribe to an order?


There are only two simple steps:
1) Open the checkout link (or click on the “Subscribe” button in the widget) and connect your wallet. Next, a user needs to approve the token (this is the permission for the smart contract to be able to withdraw tokens from the wallet). If the User already has a token approval (i.e. used UniSub with that token before), he goes to step 2.


2) Now the user needs to subscribe to the order via smart contract. He also signs the transaction, and the payment for the first period is charged from his wallet.


Please note that it’s impossible to charge more funds from the user (or more often) than they have approved. Users also can unsubscribe at any time.

How to manage your crypto subscriptions and collect payments?

1) Go to app.unisub.io, “Merchants” > ”Subscriptions” and connect your wallet.

Here you will see a list of all your subscribers and detailed information on each of them.

2) To charge funds from users, you just need to select “Available for charge” and click “Charge”. Now you need to sign transactions via your wallet.

3) Done! Payment has been sent directly from the user’s to your wallet, minus the Unisub fees.
You can also see all the detailed information in the transaction in Etherscan or another blockchain explorer.


4) Repeat when the new payment period ends and collect your revenue!

Please note that if the user unsubscribes, has less money in their wallet than needed, or his next payment’s period is not yet there, you will not be able to charge the funds.

If you are looking to integrate crypto subscriptions for your business, increase the usage of your token, open access for crypto users, or are just curious how it works, book the demo!


Follow us on social media, and feel free to send us any questions at info@unisub.io