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What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

kalzumeus.com

201–210 of 280 posts

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#201

I mean this in the most constructive way possible. As a stripe customer for 6 years, I effectively only care about reducing transaction costs. Period. Stripe's core business is being a part of a "credit card sales tax" that is substantial. Much of this is the fault of Visa/Mastercard/Amex, but that is the problem-space they exist in. Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. If they want to "mak…

Exactly. Fraud doesn’t exist. So why should I have to pay for it.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#202

I mean this in the most constructive way possible. As a stripe customer for 6 years, I effectively only care about reducing transaction costs. Period. Stripe's core business is being a part of a "credit card sales tax" that is substantial. Much of this is the fault of Visa/Mastercard/Amex, but that is the problem-space they exist in. Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. If they want to "mak…

You barking wrong tree here, what USA needs is new competitors to credit card giants if you go about anywhere world there is already pretty good competitors with superior user experience to credit cards eg Mobilepay(Denmark and Finland),Swish(Sweden) and of course Alipay(chnina) etc.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#203

I mean this in the most constructive way possible. As a stripe customer for 6 years, I effectively only care about reducing transaction costs. Period. Stripe's core business is being a part of a "credit card sales tax" that is substantial. Much of this is the fault of Visa/Mastercard/Amex, but that is the problem-space they exist in. Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. If they want to "mak…

This is another phrasing of what jackdeansmith says, but this is not right: > Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. Payments is taking on a short term risk that the (slow) transaction between a customer's bank and a vendor's bank will not settle, because of (a) fraud, (b) chargeback-like issues, (c) insolvency. This isn't exactly right, but overally its not quite 0 risk without crypto, which…

_credit card_ payments are like that, but there is no technical reason for payments to work like that anymore.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#204
post #134

I mean this in the most constructive way possible. As a stripe customer for 6 years, I effectively only care about reducing transaction costs. Period. Stripe's core business is being a part of a "credit card sales tax" that is substantial. Much of this is the fault of Visa/Mastercard/Amex, but that is the problem-space they exist in. Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. If they want to "mak…

It seems like a lot of people are defending credit card pricing, but the idea that they’ve been charging the same % since before the internet and are still absorbing the same “cost” of fraud protection is absurd. I would love Stripe to start advocating for lowering credit card fees, either through regulation or providing more avenues for competition.

Has the internet decreased or increased fraud.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#205
post #200
post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At many American gas stations, (I don't know how applicable this is in other countries) there is a lower "cash" price because the station doesn't have to pay credit card fees on the transaction. It's less convenient, because you have to park, go to the cashier, give them cash, go back to your car, fill up, go back to the cashier, get your change, and then go - versus put credit card in pump, fill up, go. It's ultimat…

That doesn't have to be how those transactions work. In the UK that goes: park, fill, go to cashier, pay. It's still a little bit more inconvenient.

You pay the same price though. Some stations will also insist on prepayment at certain times of the day.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is another phrasing of what jackdeansmith says, but this is not right: > Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. Payments is taking on a short term risk that the (slow) transaction between a customer's bank and a vendor's bank will not settle, because of (a) fraud, (b) chargeback-like issues, (c) insolvency. This isn't exactly right, but overally its not quite 0 risk without crypto, which…

One thing that often gets overlooked with respect to payments is consumer preference (and this is actually the primary driver of cost). Why do credit cards cost 2-3% to process? Because of expensive rewards programs given to the consumers who use the card. Why are there expensive rewards programs? Because consumers like them! And they insist on paying with a credit card because of them. Except in edge cases, merchant…

That’s because the price is not allowed to be cheaper even if you post with “cash” like debit cards on the internet so of course consumers will use 5% credit cards when the price is the same.

In Europe there is quite often a fee for credit cards, cheap airlines come to mind. Why would a save consumer not decrease risk and get something back for the same price?

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#207
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like when you see a dozen Glassdoor reviews for an employer where the only recommendation to management is to "keep doing what you're doing" and that any complaints are "sour grapes" or from employees who can't handle "growing pains".

Any positive glassdoor post should be suspect. You generally visit glassdoor for three reasons. 1. You are researching a company. 2. You own or work in hr at a company or have been told to post a review by management. 3. You are angry/unhappy at your current role or that you were let go. You go on to warn others / get even. Rare is the person who is working a company and is happy who decides to visit glassdoor and te…

Glassdoor asks to leave a review for your current company or share your pay before looking up in detail about other companies. I wrote a review about my current company just for this reason but it was a honest review and not overly positive etc.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#208
post #134

I mean this in the most constructive way possible. As a stripe customer for 6 years, I effectively only care about reducing transaction costs. Period. Stripe's core business is being a part of a "credit card sales tax" that is substantial. Much of this is the fault of Visa/Mastercard/Amex, but that is the problem-space they exist in. Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. If they want to "mak…

It seems like a lot of people are defending credit card pricing, but the idea that they’ve been charging the same % since before the internet and are still absorbing the same “cost” of fraud protection is absurd. I would love Stripe to start advocating for lowering credit card fees, either through regulation or providing more avenues for competition.

Be careful what you wish for the EU mandated reduced fees - the backs just stopped doing cashback cost me almost £20 a month.

Of course the reduced savings where not passed on to the end consumer

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#209
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like a lot of people are defending credit card pricing, but the idea that they’ve been charging the same % since before the internet and are still absorbing the same “cost” of fraud protection is absurd. I would love Stripe to start advocating for lowering credit card fees, either through regulation or providing more avenues for competition.

It’s too late. Much of that extra savings on fraud protection has already been funneled back to the card owner in the form of cash back or reward points. Not a whole lot can be done to break that unless the government comes in and legislates something as they do in Europe.

The benefit went entirely to the merchant the consumer lost out in the EU

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#210

I mean this in the most constructive way possible. As a stripe customer for 6 years, I effectively only care about reducing transaction costs. Period. Stripe's core business is being a part of a "credit card sales tax" that is substantial. Much of this is the fault of Visa/Mastercard/Amex, but that is the problem-space they exist in. Payments are transferring bits, and should be effectively free. If they want to "mak…

Adyen is probably cheaper, but maybe not enough to matter: https://www.adyen.com/pricing
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