I think you’re safe assuming a disruptive player will eventually discover why what they disrupted was such a pain in the ass in the first place
Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
31–40 of 53 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#32So many big tech companies are like this - suspending users for violating some term of a contract, but without saying what. Ostensibly this is hurt scammers but for more of the burden seems to fall on legitimate to users to the point that the companies themselves appear to be scamming their own userbase. It's long past time that regulators forced public-facing businesses to provide candor and allow for remedy when alleging contract violations. My whole adult life I've been hearing of or occasionally encountering companies using 'computer says no' as a way of ducking personal and professional responsibility toward customers.
Edit: A lot of people responding are missing OP's point. It's not that Stripe has made a decision about what kind of business they want to deal with (wholly legitimate), it's that they won't tell OP what part of their agreement Stripe considers to have been violated.
Mindlessly repeating that 'Stripe has the choice of with whom they do business' (which OP has never disputed) is just reflex behavior at best and shilling at worst. Either address the actual question raised by OP or don't comment.
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#33You are doing something they don't allow. Calling them paypal and saying they are canceling without explanation is disingenuous.
Doing payments is hard. They can't give everyone white glove service at the prices they charge. The ways folks using these services against the posted rules while convincing themselves they are something else is hilarious.
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#34[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I’m sure we could spot what the high risk behavior in question is with your business if you provide us with the url. Sleuth away: https://www.SupernerdMedia.com
Probably related to soliciting donations (See "Businesses that are prone to abuse by fraudulent actors" on that Stripe link) A lot of payment processors do not like it when individuals (versus certified nonprofits) take donations. Because, well, it is more prone to fraud. It's a really easy way to cash out stolen credit card numbers. The systems are set up for a transaction, not a one way transfer of funds.
"taking the wife out on date night" sounds like the kind of thing a regular nonprofit wouldn't be able to solicit donations for. I have no reason to believe that the OP is not representing that honestly or abusing it, but Stripe is not going to care.
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
> My advice is to cut your losses with stripe and get a real merchant account. I thought Stripe was a real merchant account.
Nope. Sort setup, short teardown, same as PayPal Stripe is a minimal to no vetting payment processor. A real merchant account will require contracts and pre-vetting that includes a review of your payment processing history and suitability to the rules of the card networks in question.
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Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#37[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#38This happened to me twice in the last week — for a Kickstarter project I was collecting shipping fees via Backer Kit. I had 2 backers that “decided” they do not want to pay for the shipping, and they started disputes after the product was already shipped. I sent screenshots and proof of service to Stripe, but I still lost the dispute with no appeal option.
Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#39I’m sure we could spot what the high risk behavior in question is with your business if you provide us with the url. But truth is, stripe decides who they want to be in business with. They have decided they don’t want to be in business with you. Tough, but they also aren’t placing you on the MATCH list or other common nightmare senerios many non-compliant businesses find themselves in when dealing with violations of…
> I’m sure we could spot what the high risk behavior in question is with your business if you provide us with the url. Sleuth away: https://www.SupernerdMedia.com
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Re: Ask HN: Is Stripe the new PayPal, cancelling user accounts without explanation?
#40I’m following /r/stripe and there are more horror stories over there. If you read carefully and between the lines it is often pretty logical that a ban/freeze is given (shady business, 35k per day within a week, etc)
The good thing is that Stripe is also monitoring that subreddit. And they often reply and mention heretohelp@stripe.com as a quick and easy way to get someone to speak to you. Maybe you can try that next time?
Happy 10+ years customer of theirs btw!