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.

Terpenes: What Every Online Business Owner Needs to Know

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CBD has so many potential benefits, it’s no wonder we discover (or develop) something new with it every year. This time, terpenes are the new focal point. Terpenes are aromatic compounds offering businesses a brand new set of opportunities for product development and marketing. Let’s explore everything you need to know about terpenes, from sources […]

Boost Conversions with These Mobile Checkout Best Practices

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Move over desktop, mobile is taking over. With smartphones now the primary device for online shopping, businesses need to start prioritizing mobile-friendly payment experiences. Consumer expect speed and ease at checkout on their mobile devices, moreso than on the desktop experience. One-click checkouts, autofill payment data, and fewer input fields just scratch the surface of […]

Stripe MALPB Charter Won’t Lower Your Rates

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Stripe is taking their next big financial leap. The move will effectively remove the need for a middleman and give them direct access to card networks. What we’re talking about is Stripe’s application for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank charter in Georgia. This specialized banking charter grants Stripe direct access to payment card networks […]

8 Pricing Page Optimizations that Seriously Boost Conversions

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Many businesses think the pricing page is the final step. Customers reach it knowing they want to make a purchase; they just haven’t chosen which level yet. On the contrary, this page is not the final step. But it is a touchpoint in the customer’s journey. It serves as the moment where hesitation turns into […]

Is Stripe Safe? What Every Online Business Owner Needs to Know

Stripe is safe for customer data — PCI Level 1, AES-256 encryption, tokenization. But for merchants, sudden account closures, fund holds of 90–180+ days, and a 1.8 Trustpilot rating tell a different story. Here’s what business owners need to know.