With the way the job market is set up globally, so many folks are turning to starting their own business to make ends meet. In Trinidad & Tobago, it’s no different but it’s tougher for us.
Local banks want the blood of your firstborn child, the sweat off the back of a unicorn and your great-great-great-great-great grandmother’s maiden name to open up a bank account (for good reason, don’t get me wrong!), while local business gurus swear by using a US address to get paid through payment processors like Wise.
But there are other ways to get paid in USD without the steep barrier to entry. They still require some administration (like having a separate bank account from your personal one, and a registered business), but they’re more accessible for folks dabbling and dipping their toes into the world of entrepreneurship.
Gumroad
what is Gumroad?
Gumroad is an online marketplace for selling digital products. Templates, guides, courses – even audiobooks and music – you can find them all on Gumroad.
While Gumroad isn't the prettiest or snazziest, it functions and functions WELL. Setup is pretty easy and you can start creating your products as soon as you create your account.
Every customer is sent an email with their purchase, and a portal where they can access the product. You also have access to send emails to customers, resend receipts, revoke permissions from products, issue discounts and more with Gumroad.
They also have pretty great documentation which is really helpful for a tinkerer like me!
how payouts work
Once someone buys your product, Gumroad takes their fees and leaves you the rest in your dashboard for payout. Payouts happen automatically and can be to PayPal if you have access, or to your local bank account in Trinidad & Tobago.
You can choose weekly, monthly or quarterly payouts on Gumroad. In my experience using monthly payouts, money up til the 21st of the month leaves Gumroad, and is in my account in JMMB by the 28th of the month. Of course, take into consideration weekends, public holidays, stuff like that.
You must have at least $100US in your account for a payout to happen.
fees + currency conversion
Gumroad takes 10% + 50¢ in fees PLUS 2.9% + 30¢ for credit card fees on each transaction. Compared to other tools I'm gonna share with you here this is the highest in fees, but there are so many other things to consider before you count Gumroad out.
This isn't anywhere in Gumroad's documentation (I checked lol) but Gumroad seems to convert USD to TTD at just a little under market value. So instead of converting 1 to 6.76 (market value as of writing this 10/05/26), Gumroad converts USD to TTD at 1 to 6.67 or 6.57.
setting up payouts on Gumroad
To set up your payout, head to Settings > Payments. Here, you’ll set up how often you want payouts to happen, and enter your bank details.
You’re gonna need a bank and branch code as well as your bank account number. Find your bank and branch code here. Set yourself up as an individual if you’re a sole trader (or not yet registered) and use the address that’s registered to your business.
Remember: you’re a consultant/freelancer and this money that you’re earning through Gumroad is from business, so act accordingly.
Gumroad tl;dr
payout schedule: weekly, monthly or quarterly - minimum $100USD
fees: 10% + 50¢ Gumroad fees PLUS 2.9% + 30¢ credit card fees on each transaction
pros: all-in-one platform with built in email marketing, sales analytics, email workflows and blog posts
cons: ~13% fees on each transaction, email marketing + workflows are not as robust as dedicated tools
best for: digital products like templates, courses, ebooks and guides
Lemon Squeezy
what is Lemon Squeezy?
Lemon Squeezy is an online marketplace for digital products like Gumroad! It’s more SaaS-y so I feel like it draws more of a techy crowd. I’ve seen Framer templates and SaaS subscriptions sold on Lemon Squeezy.
The UI is more modern than Gumroad, but it offers a lot of the same features: sales analytics, email marketing, discount codes, etc. I’ve found Lemon Squeezy’s product creation and editing less intuitive and more finicky than Gumroad, personally.
The Lemon Squeezy documentation is VAST – I mean makes sense if they’re marketed towards SaaS folks! So if there’s anything you need help with, there’s great documentation to help you out before you even open an account. (Compared to Gumroad’s documentation that takes a bit of digging around to find without an account.)
how payouts work
So admittedly, I never quite understood the Lemon Squeezy payout schedule. Payouts are made on the 1st and 15th of the month then held for 14 days before being paid out on the 14th and 28th of the month. They even included a chart so you can understand.
I couldn't get it and it became frustrating when I tried to do my personal bookkeeping and accounting. I’m sure this would make more sense with an accountant but I didn’t have access at the time.
Lemon Squeezy works with Stripe (Stripe Express) to payout to Trinidad & Tobago. It’s as if they borrowed Stripe for a minute to get you paid. That means there’s a bit of a longer time for you to get paid out on top of the aforementioned schedule:
Customer buys product > Lemon Squeezy receives and holds > Lemon Squeezy pays out to Stripe Express > Stripe Express holds > Stripe Express pays out to you > money lands in your account.
The payout minimum with Lemon Squeezy is $50 so I guess that makes up for the payout schedule a bit LOL.
fees + currency conversion
Lemon Squeezy’s fees are much less than Gumroad’s at 5% + 50¢ on each transaction. They do, however, have platform and credit card fees that get added depending on where the transaction happened and what kind of purchase it was.
Lemon Squeezy pays out to Stripe (Express) in USD and Stripe Express converts to TTD automatically. I haven't done the math on the conversion from USD to TTD, but you'd probably be okay using a 1 to 6.50 conversion.
setting up payouts on Lemon Squeezy
Lemon Squeezy also allows you to set up PayPal as your payout option. But with your local T&T bank account, it’s a little different than Gumroad.
Since Lemon Squeezy is using Stripe Express as the payment processor, when you set up your payout method, you’re basically setting it up with them. Stripe Express needs to know your information to make sure you’re not a liability to them (and Lemon Squeezy). You’ll set up an account with Stripe Express and use their dashboards to check on your payouts to your bank account.
It gets a little confusing at first, but take your time and don’t rush.
Just like with Gumroad, you’re gonna need a bank and branch code as well as your bank account number. Find your bank and branch code here. Set yourself up as an individual if you’re a sole trader (or not yet registered) and use the address that’s registered to your business.
Remember: you’re a consultant/freelancer and this money that you’re earning through Lemon Squeezy is from business, so act accordingly.
Lemon Squeezy tl;dr
payout schedule: 1st and 15th of the month then held for 14 days before being paid out on the 14th and 28th of the month
fees: 5% + 50¢ on each transaction, PLUS other fees that can be added on based on the transaction
pros: all-in-one platform for digital selling, email marketing, sales analytics, discounts, subscriptions
cons: long wait for payouts
best for: digital products like templates, courses, ebooks and guides, and sometimes services
LuniPay
what is LuniPay?
LuniPay is a payment platform for Caribbean businesses. I’ve only been trying it for a week or 2 as of writing this, but it feels like it’s geared more towards physical service providers like nail techs, contractors, hairdressers, etc.
You can create and send invoices from desktop and the app, send payment and booking links, get paid online, and get paid in person through the app!
It still seems to be in development with some key features missing for me. Like not having your bookings connected to your personal calendar, or not being able to mark invoices as paid through bank transfer/cash.
how payouts work
I haven’t tried LuniPay long enough to find out myself, and there isn’t any documentation about how payouts work.
It might be similar to Lemon Squeezy where funds are held in LuniPay for a time then paid out to Stripe (who then pays out to you).
But unfortunately LuniPay’s documentation seems to only be for developers wanting to integrate LuniPay with websites, not the layperson. I hope this changes in the future!
fees + currency conversion
Again, no documentation on fees exists, but I assume there are the relevant platform and credit card fees applied to each transaction.
As for conversion fees, there are none! Since this is built for Caribbean businesses, you can set your invoices and services to be in your regional currency. No conversions to think about when setting up your pricing.
setting up payouts on LuniPay
LuniPay pays out to your local Caribbean bank account through Stripe Express, just like Lemon Squeezy. You’ll set up an account with Stripe Express and use their dashboards to check on your payouts to your bank account.
It gets a little confusing at first, but take your time and don’t rush.
Just like with the other tools I mentioned, you’re gonna need a bank and branch code as well as your bank account number. Find your bank and branch code here. Set yourself up as an individual if you’re a sole trader (or not yet registered) and use the address that’s registered to your business.
Remember: you’re a consultant/freelancer and this money that you’re earning through LuniPay is from business, so act accordingly.
what you need to get paid online regardless of platform
a local bank account that isn’t the account you use to make personal purchases
I know if you’re starting out it’s just simpler to use your personal bank account, but trust me – you want a separate account. If/when sales pick up it’ll be simpler to do your bookkeeping, accounting and know where all your money went.
bank and branch codes
These might not be readily available on your bank’s website, so you can find them here – Bank and Branch Codes for Banks in Trinidad & Tobago
a system for tracking income and expenses
You need to be keeping track of everything to make sure you’re pricing appropriately and not spending more money than you need. As you grow, this’ll be great information for your future accountant to prepare any financial documents for you, and less headache for you!
understanding that what you charge is not what you earn
Each of these platforms has fees that eat into your earnings. While you charge $100US for a product, you’re really only going to earn $80US after fees and the conversion rates. Take that into consideration when you’re pricing your work.
quick platform comparison
getting paid internationally from Trinidad & Tobago is possible
Running a business is hard enough without trying to get paid too. And as access to legal income opportunities grows worldwide, it can feel like T&T is struggling to keep up. The good news is there ARE accessible options.
None of these tools are Thee Tool to get you started – but that’s okay cos they don’t need to be. As your business grows, so do its needs and these tools might suit you just fine to start.
I'll be updating this post as things change, so bookmark this and check back!
If you found this helpful, share it with another Trinbagonian freelancer or entrepreneur so they can get paid too!
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