If you’re serious about scaling in 2026, your payment stack and checkout flow can’t be an afterthought. Outdated payment setups lead to cart abandonment, unnecessary declines, and lost revenue for online businesses.

Maria breaks down the exact steps to modernize your payments for the new year — optimizing checkout, expanding payment options, and building a setup that supports growth, stability, and higher approvals.

____________________________________________

📌Must-Read Resources to Upgrade Your 2026 Payment Stack

🔗 10 Payment Trends That Will Transform Transactions in 2026

🔗 8 Pricing Page Optimizations That Seriously Boost Conversions

🔗 Payment Authentication Methods to Reduce Chargebacks

🔗 Most Common Credit Card Declines in December & January

____________________________________________

🟩 Payment Trends – What’s changing in 2026 and how merchants can stay ahead.

🟩 Credit Card Processing Optimization – Tips to reduce declines, increase approvals, and streamline your processing setup.

🟩 Preferred Payment Methods – How to offer the options your customers actually want and prevent lost sales.

🟩 How to Implement & Modernize – Add additional payment methods, boost security, and upgrade your stack for scale.

🟩 Customer-Centric Checkout – Ensure your payments and checkout flow meet customers where they are to maximize conversions.

____________________________________________

📣 Follow Me

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariasparagis.directpaynet/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mariasparagis

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariasparagis

____________________________________________

Thanks for listening! If payments, approvals, or processor issues are slowing your business down, that’s exactly what we help with at DirectPayNet. Our team works with online businesses to create payment setups that actually support growth. Contact us today!

Your holiday sales are booming — but what happens when Stripe freezes your account right in the middle of peak season? You’re not imagining it: Stripe is more sensitive during the holidays. Spiking fraud, unusual transaction patterns, and seasonal chargebacks make accounts more likely to be flagged.

In this video, Maria breaks down why Stripe freezes happen, how to spot early warning signs, and the proactive steps you can take to keep your payments flowing and your holiday revenue safe.

Whether you’re running an ecommerce store, subscription business, or selling high-ticket items, this is the holiday survival guide every merchant needs. Maria also highlights how marketers and business owners can plan around these risks to avoid lost sales and customer friction.

What you’ll learn:

🟩 Why Stripe freezes accounts more often during the holidays

🟩 How seasonal trends and fraud spikes trigger account reviews

🟩 Early warning signs your account might be at risk

🟩 Steps to protect your revenue and keep sales running

🟩 Why having a backup processor is essential this holiday season

Don’t let Stripe hijack your holiday revenue! Need help optimizing your payments? Contact the team!

If you’re running an ecommerce store, subscription business, or online shop, you’ve probably noticed December declines spike during the holiday season. Banks tighten risk in Q4 because disputes, chargebacks, and fraud claims historically rise in Q1 — which means more transactions can get declined right when you’re trying to maximize holiday sales.

In this video, Maria breaks down:

✅ Why declines spike during December and the holiday rush

✅ Most common causes of payment declines during this season

✅ How to respond to each type to increase approvals and protect revenue

✅ The #1 action you can take immediately to save declined transactions and recover sales

Understanding these patterns helps you stop losing revenue to holiday declines, optimize your checkout, and make smarter decisions during the busiest season of the year.

If you’ve been stumped by December declines and how to fix them, this is the clearest, most actionable breakdown you’ll find — built to help real merchants make the most of their ecommerce and subscription sales.

Need a payment solution that protects your revenue during high-risk periods like the holidays? Contact my team!

If you’re seeing “Do Not Honor,” “Pick Up Card,” Code 05, Code 04, Code 07, or “Issuer Decline” in your transaction logs, this video breaks down exactly what they mean — and how to fix them before they wreck approval rates and revenue.

This video uncovers what these decline codes actually signal and why banks trigger them. Whether you run subscriptions, upsells, or a high-ticket funnel, these declines can quietly kill revenue if you don’t know what’s behind them. Maria explains what merchants can do to recover the sale, reduce future declines, and stabilize cash flow.

If decline codes spike during billing cycles, promotions, or traffic surges, this guide shows you the real root causes — and the strategies that actually work.

What you’ll learn:

✅ What “Pick Up Card” REALLY means today

✅ Do Not Honor vs Issuer Decline — and why banks use them

✅ Why these declines happen (fraud patterns, velocity, AVS mismatches, processor changes, and more)

✅ How to save the sale when these codes hit

✅ Best practices to prevent declines and increase approval rates long-term

If you’ve been stumped by these decline codes and how to fix them, this is the clearest breakdown you’ll find — and it gives you the insight you need to read your data like an expert and make smarter decisions for your checkout flow.

Struggling with declines? DirectPayNet helps merchants improve approval rates and prevent these codes from tanking revenue. Reach out if you need support!

Most “chargeback alerts” still make you refund the order, so you lose the sale anyway. RDR, CDRN, and Ethoca only notify you after a dispute is filed. Order Insights is the only alert that stops the dispute before it exists, giving the bank enough info to verify the charge instantly.

Most alert programs (RDR, CDRN, Ethoca) don’t actually save the sale — they tell you a dispute happened and push you to refund it. That kills your revenue and can even hurt your VAMP ratio.

Order Insights works differently. When a customer tells their bank “I don’t recognize this charge,” the bank pings your Order Insights data in real time. If the details match, the dispute never gets created. No alert, no refund, no chargeback.

In this video, you’ll learn who should use Order Insights, how it works behind the scenes, and why it outperforms traditional alerts for ecommerce brands, subscription businesses, and high-risk merchants.

► How Order Insights prevents disputes before they happen

► Why RDR, CDRN, and Ethoca alerts cost you revenue

► How real-time bank data stops friendly fraud

► Why other alerts can increase your VAMP ratio

► Which businesses benefit most

► How to get set up fast

If you’re tired of paying for alerts that force refunds, this is the only tool that actually protects your sales.

Need help getting set up with Order Insights?

DirectPayNet can enable it for you and make sure your alerts, descriptors, subscription setup, and fraud tools are optimized so you actually prevent disputes — not just refund them. If you want fewer chargebacks, better VAMP performance, and higher approval rates, reach out and we’ll get you properly configured.

Stripe holding your money or freezing payouts? Here’s why reserves happen — and what ecommerce brands, subscription businesses, and online sellers can do to get their funds released faster.

If Stripe is suddenly holding your money, placing a “% reserve,” freezing payouts, or delaying transfers, you’re not alone. Thousands of ecommerce brands, subscription businesses, coaches, SaaS companies, and online sellers get hit with Stripe reserves every year.

When Stripe thinks your business model, refund rate, dispute patterns, or chargeback risk are too high, they lock down your funds — and once a reserve is in place, getting your money back can feel impossible.

In this video, we break down why Stripe freezes your funds, the difference between a fixed reserve and a rolling reserve, the most common reserve triggers, and what actually helps you get payouts released faster.

You’ll learn:

► What a Stripe reserve really means

► How reserves work (rolling reserve, capped reserve, and upfront reserve)

► The risk signals Stripe uses to flag merchants

► How long reserves typically last — and when you’ll get your money back

► What YOU can do to show Stripe you’re reducing risk

► Why now is the time to add a backup payment processor before things get worse

Stripe reserves rarely come out of nowhere — but they definitely feel like it. If you want stability, predictable cash flow, and fewer frozen payouts, it might be time to look at a high-risk merchant account that won’t surprise you with sudden fund holds.

Are you ready to switch to a merchant account and protect your payment processing? Reach out to DirectPayNet today!

Are you sinking thousands into third-party invoicing tools — when your accounting software and payment gateway can handle everything without extra fees or subscriptions?

In this video, Maria breaks down the high costs of popular invoicing platforms like Bill.com, Chargebee, and Chargezoom — from monthly subscription fees to the extra percentages they take off every transaction. She explains how connecting your existing accounting software (like QuickBooks or Xero) directly to your own payment gateway can eliminate those costs, simplify billing, and give you full control of your client data.

Maria compares popular third-party invoicing software to the modern-day solution, uncovering why these tools have become an unnecessary layer.

✅ Solve your invoicing woes by integrating your gateway directly with your accounting system — it’s faster, cheaper, and smoother than you think.

💡 Modernize your billing system, keep full control of your customer data, and stop paying for invoicing tools you don’t need.

What You’ll Learn:

1. The real cost of using platforms like Bill.com, Chargebee, and Chargezoom
2. Why third-party invoicing tools create double work for your team
3. How to connect your accounting software directly to your payment gateway
4. The benefits of owning your data and reducing unnecessary software layers
5. How modern payment gateways make invoicing easier, faster, and more secure

🚀 Need help setting up your gateway or finding the right merchant account?

Visit DirectPayNet.com to get expert guidance and unlock better control over your payments today.

The BNPL world just changed — and if you’re a merchant, you’re not as safe from it as you think.

The CFPB’s new Buy Now, Pay Later regulations are aimed at BNPL providers, but the fallout will hit sellers next. Expect higher fees, tighter approvals, and more limits on who can use these services — especially if your store falls under “high-risk”.

And it doesn’t stop there. These changes will also affect how customers see and use BNPL. As fees rise and approvals drop, BNPL could become a less appealing checkout option — hurting conversions and your overall payment flexibility.

In this episode, payments expert Maria Sparagis breaks down what’s happening behind the scenes, how these new BNPL rules will impact merchants directly, and what you can do right now to stay ahead — from reviewing your BNPL performance to adding better alternative payment methods before costs skyrocket.

Because when BNPL fees jump or customers start getting declined… it’s your sales that take the hit.

✅ You’ll learn:

1. What the CFPB’s BNPL regulations actually change
2. Why merchants will feel the ripple effects first
3. How rising BNPL fees can erode profit margins
4. Why high-risk stores may lose access entirely
5. Smart next steps for merchants in 2025

If you’re offering Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm, this is your BNPL wake-up call.

As BNPL rules tighten, flexible payment options will matter more than ever.

DirectPayNet helps merchants diversify with ACH, international, and high-risk payment solutions built for growth. Get in touch today!

Using Stripe — or thinking about it? Here’s what most business owners don’t realize about how Stripe really works compared to a merchant account.

If you process payments online, you’ve probably come across Stripe payments — one of the most popular tools for eCommerce stores, SaaS companies, and digital entrepreneurs. But is Stripe really the same as having a merchant account, or do they work differently behind the scenes?

In this video, Maria breaks down everything you need to know about how Stripe works, what a merchant account actually is, and the key differences that affect your business when it comes to payment processing, fees, account control, and scalability. Whether you’re building an eCommerce store, managing recurring payments, or running a high-risk business, understanding how these systems operate will help you choose the setup that best fits your growth goals. 📍

What You'll Learn

1:09 What is Stripe and how Stripe payments work

3:23 What is a merchant account (and how it differs from Stripe)

4:50 Why choose a merchant account over Stripe for ecommerce

7:09 The key differences between Stripe and your own Merchant Account

12:16 Which payment setup is right for your business

17:07 How to transition from Stripe to a dedicated merchant account

Once you understand how Stripe and merchant accounts really work, you’ll see why picking the right setup matters so much for growth, stability, and getting paid on time—especially as your business scales.

👉 If you’re outgrowing Stripe or need a payment setup built for your business, DirectPayNet helps you get approved with the right merchant account for long-term growth.

Whether you’re applying for your first high-risk merchant account or looking to add a backup payment processor for extra stability, this video walks you through every step to set your business up for success.

Maria covers exactly how to get a high-risk merchant account approved, what documents underwriters expect, and how to position your business to present the best first impression to merchant account providers. Even established merchants using Stripe, PayPal, or Square should maintain a secondary processor to protect revenue and avoid downtime.

What you’ll learn:

✅ Required documents for high-risk merchant account approval

✅ How to prepare your website and business before applying

✅ Choosing the right high-risk payment processor for your industry

✅ What to do in your first 90 days to keep your account healthy

✅ Why every high-risk merchant should have a backup processor or multi-MID setup

Whether you’re in supplements, coaching, subscriptions, adult, crypto, travel, or any other high-risk vertical, this step-by-step guide will help you optimize your payment processing strategy and keep your transactions flowing smoothly.

You’ll learn insider tips for staying compliant, improving approval odds, and maintaining strong relationships with your processors — so you never have to worry about frozen funds or sudden terminations again.

If you want to scale your high-risk business with reliable, long-term payment processing, this video is your complete roadmap.

👉 Need help getting approved a merchant account?

Connect with our team of experts and get matched with the right high-risk processor for your business.