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What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

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Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#261

Post by arcticbull »

eigenvector wrote: post #216
arcticbull wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interac Online in Canada offers this, for Canadian merchants with Canadian customers. It’s basically cash over the internet. Makes sense you wouldn't have tried this if you weren’t :) [1] [1] https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/products/interac-debit/e...

Interac Online appears to have been deprecated by most major Canadian banks in favour of Visa Debit. My understanding is the Visa Debit cards issued by banks like TD and Scotia are dual-mode: transactions will be processed through the Interac network when possible, with the lower Interac fees applying, and through the Visa network otherwise. I don't know if the merchant fees for Visa Debit are any different to using…

Looks like its 50/50. Banque Nationale and BMO only issue vanilla Interac cards, and in RBCs case, you get two debit cards: an Interac and a virtual Visa Debit. To your point dual mode Interac/Visa Debit are not eligible for Interac Online.

When at a physical point of sale, a Visa Debit card is processed over Interac rails, and I believe Interac interchange prevails. At one point back in 2009 Visa was going to set up their own debit network in Canada, but as of 2010, my understanding is they gave up on the plan. The value add from the Visa Debit rails is for international online purchases, for phone purchases and for international point of sale purchases, neither of which are well supported by Interac-only cards.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#262

Post by arnvald »

mam2 wrote: post #212
billclerico wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Its 2% in europe too where theres no real reward programs.

The difference is actually wider, for example:

* Singapore 3.4% (https://stripe.com/en-sg/pricing)

* US 2.9% (https://stripe.com/pricing)

* Poland 1.4% (https://stripe.com/en-pl/pricing)

(+ some fixed amount in every country)

In some cases it can be even more expensive (see Adyen pricing for Amex or Diners cards: https://www.adyen.com/pricing)

This is a large difference and partially explains why the loyalty programs in Europe are not that attractive

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#263

Post by nswest23 »

desas wrote: post #200
thaeli wrote: 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.

Obviously it used to be like that everywhere (except where you can't pump your own gas by law) but I'd rather pay a little bit more to not have to wait in line behind all the people buying cigarettes, chewing tobacco and lotto tickets.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#264

Post by Waterluvian »

wolco2 wrote: post #184
Waterluvian wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Debit e-transfers in Canada are free (and have been around a long time). It makes the Venmo thing a real head scratcher.

I pay for each etransfer what bank are you with?

Really? I thought it was universally free.

Simplii, TD, Scotiabank.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#265

Post by mam2 »

arnvald wrote: post #262
mam2 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its 2% in europe too where theres no real reward programs.

The difference is actually wider, for example: * Singapore 3.4% ( https://stripe.com/en-sg/pricing ) * US 2.9% ( https://stripe.com/pricing ) * Poland 1.4% ( https://stripe.com/en-pl/pricing ) (+ some fixed amount in every country) In some cases it can be even more expensive (see Adyen pricing for Amex or Diners cards: https://www.adyen.com/pricing ) This is a large difference and partially explains why the loyalty p…

I also kinda feel europeans would find reward programs stupid and call bullshit.

In the sense that someone would readily build a "no reward" chain and get adoption real quick.

I mean there IS reward programs somehow, but it's not like they give you 30% off sometimes like in the US. I always found them outrageous in a way when I was in the US.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#266

Post by rurp »

billclerico wrote: post #177
singhrac wrote: post #132

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…

> Why are there expensive rewards programs? Because consumers like them!

I'm not convinced of this. The credit card costs are already baked into prices and so as a consumer I can either play the cc rewards game and get back a decent chunk of those fees or I can use cash and a few % of each purchase I make goes towards subsidizing the folks who do play the rewards game.

This is not a situation that can be resolved by consumer choice, because you'll never get millions of people to all voluntarily agree to give up hundreds of dollars a year in the vague hope of some change down the line.

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#267

Post by Judgmentality »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #192
Judgmentality wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going back to nsenifty: > A week later, instead of the offer, they just said they ran out of headcount. Never heard back from them again (even though they said they'll reach out when they get headcount back). Saying you'll get back to a candidate, especially when that candidate has already been told to expect an offer, and then ghosting is not polite. Any framing of this as acceptable behavior, be it polite or impoli…

They did not ghost him. They came back to him to tell him his application was rejected. That was obviously the end of it. I don't understand the anger here.

No - you are being far too generous towards Stripe here. If they say they cannot hire due to headcount, after saying they were going to make an offer, and they'll reach out again once they have headcount again - they are ghosting if they never follow up.

They lied, full stop, don't apologize for how "polite" it is (and it's not polite, it's disrespectful).

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#268

Post by neilparikh »

wolco2 wrote: post #187
gamblor956 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible for both (a) people to enjoy working at a company and (b) for that company's recruitment process to be abysmally bad. The people handling the recruiting functions are usually not the people you would be working with (unless you go into HR), and generally if HR starts ghosting you during the recruiting process it's because they're putting their efforts into the candidate they are trying to hire. EDIT: Co…

That's a tough choice. In the end a functioning hr/payroll department beats a good experience. I've worked in both. When the company with a good environment closes we were all let go. They mishandled my last paycheck so I'm still waiting. No way to get references. Had to contact government to get seperation papers. The bad environment place that stressed you out and then let your department go for something out of yo…

At most companies of this size, HR/payroll is separate from the recruiting department.

I'm definitely in agreement that a functioning HR/payroll department is a prerequisite for a good experience though. I had an employer that kept paying me after I left company, and they only stopped because I told them that this was the case. Obviously, afterwards, they sent me a letter saying they had "discovered" an overpayment, and I should send them back the money to exact cent, with no allowance for the cheque/mailing costs...

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#269

Post by ficklepickle »

emodendroket wrote: post #237
phist_mcgee wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally never understood the America style of paying for petrol first, and then presumably getting a refund at the end? As an Australian, I remember filling up in the US and the whole system baffled me (especially because the US bowsers did not accept my Australian Mastercard). Here, we just pull up, fill up, pay, and then leave.

There was an explosion of people driving off without paying like ten years or so ago, when prices were very high, and they changed to the pay-first system. It used to work the way you described.

Similar in BC, Canada. A gas station attendant was killed trying to stop someone from gas-and-dashing. Grant's law[0] was made in his memory.

[0] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-to-imple...

Re: What Working At Stripe Has Been Like

#270

Post by PickledJesus »

billclerico wrote: post #177
singhrac wrote: post #132

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…

Or unless there's regulation, as happened in the EU. Rewards programs got largely killed in the EU by the interchange fee limits in the last few years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interchange_fee#European_Union Card fees can be below 1%
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