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.

Account Updaters: Recover 3–5% of Your Subscription Revenue

Account updaters from Visa (VAU) and Mastercard (MAU) automatically update expired card details so your recurring charges don’t get declined. Most subscription businesses haven’t activated them — and it’s costing them 3–5% in lost revenue every month.

Agentic Commerce in 2026: What Merchants Need to Know About AI Payments

Agentic commerce is moving fast — Stripe’s new Machine Payments Protocol, Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, and Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol are all live. We break down the protocol race, the stablecoin angle, and a practical readiness checklist for e-commerce merchants.

A Merchant’s Guide to Visa’s VAMP Program

Visa’s VAMP program is already enforcing penalties on merchants with high fraud and dispute ratios — and thresholds drop again in April 2026. This guide covers the updated VAMP ratio calculation, current thresholds, and the practical steps you can take now to stay compliant and protect your processing.