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Just Russel and Mollie: Building a payments foundation for European growth
How Mollie helped Belgian brand Just Russel cut their payment failure rate, increase their conversion rate and scale across Europe.
How Mollie helped Belgian brand Just Russel cut their payment failure rate, increase their conversion rate and scale across Europe.
Ecommerce
“Mollie knows which payment methods are relevant in which countries and proactively advises us on this. They think and grow with us.”
Renaat Waeles, co-founder of Just Russel
About Just Russel
Great businesses are often built on simple observations. For Victor Mortreu, Co-Founder of Just Russel, it was this one: most pet owners want to give their animals the best possible care, but buying the right food in the right quantities is harder than it should be.
Their answer was Just Russel, launched in February 2020 – just two months before COVID turned the world upside down. Through their website, pet owners answer a detailed questionnaire about their dog or cat: breed, age, size, allergies, and even how many treats they get each day. Just Russel’s algorithm takes all of this into account and creates a personalised food plan, delivered directly to the customer’s door on a schedule that works for them.
The model is built around subscriptions. This means customers never unexpectedly run out of food, and they can pause, adjust, or postpone deliveries whenever they need to – for example, if they’re going on holiday.
A week before each delivery, Just Russel sends a reminder email, giving customers the chance to add toys or treats to their order. The system adjusts the payment automatically.
Customers love Just Russel as much as their pets, but scaling a business across borders and expanding into new European markets isn’t easy.
About Just Russel
Great businesses are often built on simple observations. For Victor Mortreu, Co-Founder of Just Russel, it was this one: most pet owners want to give their animals the best possible care, but buying the right food in the right quantities is harder than it should be.
Their answer was Just Russel, launched in February 2020 – just two months before COVID turned the world upside down. Through their website, pet owners answer a detailed questionnaire about their dog or cat: breed, age, size, allergies, and even how many treats they get each day. Just Russel’s algorithm takes all of this into account and creates a personalised food plan, delivered directly to the customer’s door on a schedule that works for them.
The model is built around subscriptions. This means customers never unexpectedly run out of food, and they can pause, adjust, or postpone deliveries whenever they need to – for example, if they’re going on holiday.
A week before each delivery, Just Russel sends a reminder email, giving customers the chance to add toys or treats to their order. The system adjusts the payment automatically.
Customers love Just Russel as much as their pets, but scaling a business across borders and expanding into new European markets isn’t easy.
About Just Russel
Great businesses are often built on simple observations. For Victor Mortreu, Co-Founder of Just Russel, it was this one: most pet owners want to give their animals the best possible care, but buying the right food in the right quantities is harder than it should be.
Their answer was Just Russel, launched in February 2020 – just two months before COVID turned the world upside down. Through their website, pet owners answer a detailed questionnaire about their dog or cat: breed, age, size, allergies, and even how many treats they get each day. Just Russel’s algorithm takes all of this into account and creates a personalised food plan, delivered directly to the customer’s door on a schedule that works for them.
The model is built around subscriptions. This means customers never unexpectedly run out of food, and they can pause, adjust, or postpone deliveries whenever they need to – for example, if they’re going on holiday.
A week before each delivery, Just Russel sends a reminder email, giving customers the chance to add toys or treats to their order. The system adjusts the payment automatically.
Customers love Just Russel as much as their pets, but scaling a business across borders and expanding into new European markets isn’t easy.
“If customers want to pause or postpone deliveries, for example, if they're on vacation, they can easily do so with their flexible subscription.”
Renaat Waeles, co-founder of Just Russel
The challenge
Running a subscription business means processing payments repeatedly, often via direct debit. The problem with traditional SEPA direct debit back then was the delay between initiating a payment and confirming it had been successful. For Just Russel, that confirmation window sometimes stretched to over nine days.
This created a cascade of operational problems. Shipments had to be held or sent before payment was confirmed, exposing them to failed payments. When payments failed – due to technical banking issues or customer confusion, the team had to manually chase up collections.
At its worst, Just Russel’s payment failure rate exceeded 5%, and the whole team was spending significant time and energy managing the fallout, troubleshooting failures, managing collections, and working through the friction that came with a high failure rate.
For a scaling business, that’s time that should be spent on growth, product, and customers.
The challenge
Running a subscription business means processing payments repeatedly, often via direct debit. The problem with traditional SEPA direct debit back then was the delay between initiating a payment and confirming it had been successful. For Just Russel, that confirmation window sometimes stretched to over nine days.
This created a cascade of operational problems. Shipments had to be held or sent before payment was confirmed, exposing them to failed payments. When payments failed – due to technical banking issues or customer confusion, the team had to manually chase up collections.
At its worst, Just Russel’s payment failure rate exceeded 5%, and the whole team was spending significant time and energy managing the fallout, troubleshooting failures, managing collections, and working through the friction that came with a high failure rate.
For a scaling business, that’s time that should be spent on growth, product, and customers.
The challenge
Running a subscription business means processing payments repeatedly, often via direct debit. The problem with traditional SEPA direct debit back then was the delay between initiating a payment and confirming it had been successful. For Just Russel, that confirmation window sometimes stretched to over nine days.
This created a cascade of operational problems. Shipments had to be held or sent before payment was confirmed, exposing them to failed payments. When payments failed – due to technical banking issues or customer confusion, the team had to manually chase up collections.
At its worst, Just Russel’s payment failure rate exceeded 5%, and the whole team was spending significant time and energy managing the fallout, troubleshooting failures, managing collections, and working through the friction that came with a high failure rate.
For a scaling business, that’s time that should be spent on growth, product, and customers.
The solution
When Just Russel was evaluating payment providers at launch, they were a bootstrapped startup with an eye on costs. But even then, Victor and the team understood that conversion rate matters more than processing fees. A slightly cheaper PSP that loses customers at checkout – or damages trust through a poor payment experience – tends to cost more than it saves.
Mollie stood out for a few reasons: clear product offerings, strong security, a smooth user experience, and an approach to the relationship that felt genuinely collaborative rather than transactional.
When Just Russel prepared to enter the German market in 2023, Mollie's team provided an overview of the German market: key players, local trust signals, the dominance of PayPal, and how to position Just Russel as a trusted, native brand rather than a foreign import, by using preferred local payment methods.
For Just Russel, this ecosystem access proved to be one of the most unexpectedly valuable aspects of the partnership. It saved them significant money and helped them enter new markets with confidence.
The solution
When Just Russel was evaluating payment providers at launch, they were a bootstrapped startup with an eye on costs. But even then, Victor and the team understood that conversion rate matters more than processing fees. A slightly cheaper PSP that loses customers at checkout – or damages trust through a poor payment experience – tends to cost more than it saves.
Mollie stood out for a few reasons: clear product offerings, strong security, a smooth user experience, and an approach to the relationship that felt genuinely collaborative rather than transactional.
When Just Russel prepared to enter the German market in 2023, Mollie's team provided an overview of the German market: key players, local trust signals, the dominance of PayPal, and how to position Just Russel as a trusted, native brand rather than a foreign import, by using preferred local payment methods.
For Just Russel, this ecosystem access proved to be one of the most unexpectedly valuable aspects of the partnership. It saved them significant money and helped them enter new markets with confidence.
The solution
When Just Russel was evaluating payment providers at launch, they were a bootstrapped startup with an eye on costs. But even then, Victor and the team understood that conversion rate matters more than processing fees. A slightly cheaper PSP that loses customers at checkout – or damages trust through a poor payment experience – tends to cost more than it saves.
Mollie stood out for a few reasons: clear product offerings, strong security, a smooth user experience, and an approach to the relationship that felt genuinely collaborative rather than transactional.
When Just Russel prepared to enter the German market in 2023, Mollie's team provided an overview of the German market: key players, local trust signals, the dominance of PayPal, and how to position Just Russel as a trusted, native brand rather than a foreign import, by using preferred local payment methods.
For Just Russel, this ecosystem access proved to be one of the most unexpectedly valuable aspects of the partnership. It saved them significant money and helped them enter new markets with confidence.
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“Subscriptions are convenient for our clients: they never unexpectedly run out of pet food. Thanks to their online profile, we also know exactly what they need.”
Renaat Waeles, co-founder of Just Russel
The results
Two numbers here tell a clear story. After shifting from SEPA direct debit to Bancontact Wallet Initiated Payments (WIP), the payment failure rate dropped from 5% to just 0.03%
The consequences of this success were just as far-reaching. Victor and his team now spend only one hour per month on payments operations – a welcome reduction from what was previously a significant and frustrating drain on their time.
Faster payment confirmation, a smoother checkout experience, and better-matched local payment methods also led to a significantly improved conversion rate.
The end result? Faster shipping and happier customers. With near-instant payment confirmation replacing the nine-day delay, Just Russel can ship orders immediately, while customers experience fewer delays and less confusion, strengthening the trust a subscription business depends on.
The results
Two numbers here tell a clear story. After shifting from SEPA direct debit to Bancontact Wallet Initiated Payments (WIP), the payment failure rate dropped from 5% to just 0.03%
The consequences of this success were just as far-reaching. Victor and his team now spend only one hour per month on payments operations – a welcome reduction from what was previously a significant and frustrating drain on their time.
Faster payment confirmation, a smoother checkout experience, and better-matched local payment methods also led to a significantly improved conversion rate.
The end result? Faster shipping and happier customers. With near-instant payment confirmation replacing the nine-day delay, Just Russel can ship orders immediately, while customers experience fewer delays and less confusion, strengthening the trust a subscription business depends on.
The results
Two numbers here tell a clear story. After shifting from SEPA direct debit to Bancontact Wallet Initiated Payments (WIP), the payment failure rate dropped from 5% to just 0.03%
The consequences of this success were just as far-reaching. Victor and his team now spend only one hour per month on payments operations – a welcome reduction from what was previously a significant and frustrating drain on their time.
Faster payment confirmation, a smoother checkout experience, and better-matched local payment methods also led to a significantly improved conversion rate.
The end result? Faster shipping and happier customers. With near-instant payment confirmation replacing the nine-day delay, Just Russel can ship orders immediately, while customers experience fewer delays and less confusion, strengthening the trust a subscription business depends on.
Looking ahead to the future
Just Russel’s immediate focus is on continuing to grow in Germany and France – two markets where the Mollie partnership has already proved its value.
Beyond that, Italy and Spain are firmly in the medium-term plan, and Victor is confident that Mollie’s existing infrastructure in those markets means the expansion won’t require starting from scratch.
The partnership between Just Russel and Mollie has evolved from a practical choice at launch to something more strategic: a relationship that has shaped how Just Russel approaches new markets, manages operations, and thinks about payments as a driver of growth rather than a cost to minimise.
As Victor puts it, “Mollie doesn’t just provide payment infrastructure. They think and grow with you”.
Looking ahead to the future
Just Russel’s immediate focus is on continuing to grow in Germany and France – two markets where the Mollie partnership has already proved its value.
Beyond that, Italy and Spain are firmly in the medium-term plan, and Victor is confident that Mollie’s existing infrastructure in those markets means the expansion won’t require starting from scratch.
The partnership between Just Russel and Mollie has evolved from a practical choice at launch to something more strategic: a relationship that has shaped how Just Russel approaches new markets, manages operations, and thinks about payments as a driver of growth rather than a cost to minimise.
As Victor puts it, “Mollie doesn’t just provide payment infrastructure. They think and grow with you”.
Looking ahead to the future
Just Russel’s immediate focus is on continuing to grow in Germany and France – two markets where the Mollie partnership has already proved its value.
Beyond that, Italy and Spain are firmly in the medium-term plan, and Victor is confident that Mollie’s existing infrastructure in those markets means the expansion won’t require starting from scratch.
The partnership between Just Russel and Mollie has evolved from a practical choice at launch to something more strategic: a relationship that has shaped how Just Russel approaches new markets, manages operations, and thinks about payments as a driver of growth rather than a cost to minimise.
As Victor puts it, “Mollie doesn’t just provide payment infrastructure. They think and grow with you”.
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Simplify payments and money management
Drive revenue, reduce costs, and manage funds with Mollie.
Simplify payments and money management
Drive revenue, reduce costs, and manage funds with Mollie.
Simplify payments and money management
Drive revenue, reduce costs, and manage funds with Mollie.
Simplify payments and money management
Whether you want to grow internationally or focus on a specific market, everything is possible. Mollie supports all known payment methods, so you can grow your business regardless of location.