Author: Maria Sparagis

Maria Sparagis is President of DirectPayNet, where she's spent over 20 years helping businesses scale to six-, seven-, and eight-figure revenue through optimized payment processing. She works hands-on with business owners to solve merchant account challenges, reduce processing costs, and implement payment strategies that support real growth. Maria is a regular speaker at fintech conferences and writes about practical approaches that help businesses break through revenue plateaus.

What Is an MID and Why You Need One

The acronym “MID” stands for Merchant ID, Merchant Identification Number, or even Merchant Number. It sounds pretty straightforward and simple, but the MID plays a major role in the flow of funds. Not every merchant has an MID and merchants who do have one might not know it. Knowing your Merchant ID and understanding how it’s used can help you in the […]

What Does Visa’s NFT Purchase Mean for Crypto? A Momentous Move for the Payment Industry

The world’s most popular credit card network just bought an NFT for $150,000 for the first time. The price isn’t surprising (it’s not even among the most expensive NFTs). What is surprising is Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, stated in a blog post the purchase is to understand the growing NFT market, the mechanics behind making a […]

The Top 5 Tips for Disputing a Chargeback as a Merchant

The hard truth is that banks rarely favor the merchant when it comes to disputing a chargeback. The process tends to follow the oft misguided phrase of “the customer is always right”, which can leave a customer with more money than they started with and your product in their hands. It’s easy to understand why […]

Influencer Marketing: How to Maximize TikTok Video Monetization

TikTok is the latest social media platform, and that means another great opportunity for you to market your brand and monetize your TikTok videos as an influencer. Not all social platforms work the same when it comes to monetization, though, and TikTok is one of the more complex. This is because TikTok as a platform […]

Applying for a high-risk merchant account in the USA? Here’s what you need to know.

Any financial application has its challenges to overcome and applying for a high-risk merchant account in the USA is no exception. Staying on top of those challenges by anticipating them can minimize the time spent during the application’s processing and maximize your approval odds. You’ve taken the right first step with having an interest in […]