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.

How to Navigate US Federal Regulations on CBD Sales from Shopify and Online Storefronts

CBD often sounds like the miracle substance, cure-all that everyone hopes to find. There are so many health, mental, and sleep benefits that come from using CBD, opening an online store, whether on Shopify or elsewhere, is incredibly appealing. It’s a potentially lucrative industry to be involved in if you can navigate through the complex […]

Why Merchant Accounts Are Best for Firearm Sellers

Despite the controversy around gun control over these past years, gun sales have been on the rise throughout the US. The guns and ammo industry is lucrative for those who can keep their footing. That means understanding local laws related to firearms and making online firearm sales. You’d be hard-pressed to think that understanding gun […]

FAQ Friday Part II: How These Chargeback Prevention Strategies can Help Your Business And Keep More Money In Your Bank Account

On our last FAQ Friday, I started sharing some easy tips and tricks you could employ right away to avoid chargebacks from happening. These provide the biggest bang for your buck in preventing chargebacks, so if you missed that post, you can go here to read it. Here’s just a recap of some of the […]

Tapping into the Next Big Marketplace: Facebook Live Stream Shopping

Remember the days of infomercials and QVC shows that exhibited products “live” with an “act fast or you’ll miss out” Call-To-Action? It’s back in a surprising form: Facebook Live stream shopping. Better yet, this feels like the future of e-commerce and Direct Response that taps directly into buyer impulse that mixes proof of concept with immediacy (beneficial […]

Overcoming Payment Gateway Issues for Droppshipping Merchants

There are plenty of benefits to starting a drop shipping store. The lack of a brick-and-mortar storefront plus zero need for inventory warehousing takes away most of the cost of having your own business. And while there are certainly some downsides (that can usually be avoided), the pros far outweigh the cons. However, an issue […]