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.

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 […]

How to Sell Your High-Risk Products via PayPal ChatGPT Integration

The ChatGPT chatbot on a mobile phone screen in neon light. ChatGPT language model utilizing Open AI's state-of-the-art technology, is accessible through any device.

PayPal just became the first payment wallet to integrate with ChatGPT. So where does that leave higher risk businesses—supplements, digital products, coaches, and more? With over 700 million people using ChatGPT every week, this news creates a massive new sales channel that you can’t afford to ignore. Let’s cover exactly how you, as a high-risk […]

Stripe Payment Methods to Boost Global Sales

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Stripe’s 125+ payment methods help you reach international customers through local options like iDEAL, PIX, UPI, and Klarna. But using Stripe for everything — including domestic transactions — means overpaying where you don’t need to. This guide covers which payment methods to enable by region, how Stripe handles multi-currency pricing, and why a hybrid strategy pairing Stripe with a merchant account is the smartest move for growing businesses.

Save Big, Direct Link from Your Payment Gateway to Accounting Software

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It makes sense that your payment gateway should link to your accounting software. So, why pay the middle-man fee when you can do it directly? Many companies pay hefty fees to invoicing platforms like Bill.com, ChargeZoom, or Chargebee. These platforms are popular but essentially act as middlemen. They might charge flat rates or, worse, take […]

How to Ensure Your Merchant Account Application Is Approved: Step-by-Step Guide

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Any business that wants to accept credit and debit card payments needs a merchant account. Without one, you can’t accept payments. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the essential steps to increase your chances of merchant application approval. START YOUR MERCHANT ACCOUNT APPLICATION Checklist Before Your Application Answer these questions before submitting your […]