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.

6 Ways to Turn AI Agents into a Revenue Machine

Robot relaxing on a chair surrounded by coins. Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash

Amazon and Visa announced a partnership to develop agentic tools that transform how consumers shop and pay online. The two giants plan to offer software development resources through Amazon’s web services marketplace, enabling developers to create autonomous AI-powered shopping experiences that let ai agents transact on behalf of consumers. Agentic commerce is moving from concept […]

Use Order Insights 3.0 to Slash Your VAMP Ratio, Chargebacks

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Visa’s Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) puts merchants under intense scrutiny. Financial institutions now face mounting pressure as Visa tracks fraud metrics more aggressively than ever. One misstep triggers an advisory period that can devastate your business. Order Insights 3.0 changes this equation entirely. This enhanced fraud prevention tool intercepts disputes before they become chargebacks. Use […]

Stripe Reserves & How to Get Your Money Back

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3:02 PMStripe can withhold 10–25% of every transaction — or freeze your entire balance for 180 days or longer. Learn how Stripe reserves work, what triggers them, how to get your money back, and why a dedicated merchant account eliminates reserve surprises for good.

Visa Mastercard Settlement Lowers Fees, Save Money NOW

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Visa and Mastercard recently submitted a revised $38 billion settlement proposal to end a 20-year legal battle with merchants over credit card processing fees. The Eastern District Court of New York will review this new agreement after U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie rejected a previous settlement in 2024. This class action lawsuit focuses on interchange […]

New BNPL Legislation Means Big Changes for Your Business

Businessman is using credit card for on line payment on laptop"

Buy Now Pay Later is one of the most used payment methods across the globe. It’s flexible, doesn’t carry the baggage of owning a credit card, and doesn’t give consumers a blow to the gut when they see their bank statement. For years, BNPL operated as a wild west with minimal oversight, few protections, and […]