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This is more a function of the fact that I don't want my business to be identifiable from this post than that it's a sketchy business. You'll have to take my wo

This is more a function of the fact that I don't want my business to be identifiable from this post than that it's a sketchy business. You'll have to take my word for it, but it's exceedingly benign.

Exuma 4y ago
Are you sure it's not a medium risk business that IS benign, but STILL is considered medium to high risk? For example, selling video game digital products like a strategy guide is benign, but gaming industry is ripe with fraud so most processors will give you shit if you're in the gaming niche, let alone (non-crypto) digital currencies, crypto, health products, non-snakeoil supplements, etc.
- pmx 4y ago
  Even if this is the case, it doesn't mean that Stripe should just be able to turn off a 3rd of the guy's business with no warning or reason. If they don't like what he's doing, tell him and give him notice to switch to another provider rather than just tanking his business over night.
  - m4jor 4y ago
    Yeah that isn't how payment processors work. If his clients are in breach of Stripes TOS it puts Stripe at odds with the compliance teams at Visa/MC/Amex immediately if they are processing his payments. Source: I used to run adult websites which is considered 'high risk' and also these days responsible for overseeing 1M/m in CC processing for a state agency.
  - kevinmchugh 4y ago
    They only reason theyd do this is for reputation. They don't want a good reputation with people in risky business.
deng 4y ago
I believe you, but I was also triggered by this line here > They know exactly who our customers are and what services we offer, and have approved it as such. which sounds like you offer services out of the ordinary.
- politelemon 4y ago
  Which is besides the point.
  - deng 4y ago
    It is not. A company like Stripe is free to decide it does not want to be associated with certain services. You may disagree with that, and I would certainly agree they should at least be upfront about it, but it is not beside the point.
    - bombcar 4y ago
      It certainly sounds like it’s some sort of e-pimp business based on what we know so far.
      - bogwog 4y ago
        Source for that? OP is usign a throwaway account and hasn’t said anything about the business.
        bombcar 4y ago
        That's most of it; having clients that have their own sub-stripe accounts that are triggering fraud detection and not mentioning the business. It's not much to go on but it's all we have.
    - remram 4y ago
      It is free to do that, but if it decides it wants to kick customers out immediately without explanation, we are free to tell one another and use a different provider. That is the point we're discussing, whether the dev community can still consider Stripe reliable and professional.
jessaustin 4y ago
Since HN is a community, you might have more luck getting this fixed if you posted this with your regular username? Never mind this suggestion if you have previously posted "sketchy" opinions that would harm your business, although you may be past that point now...
- trollied 4y ago
  Agree. The OP account was created today. If it was a long-standing user with lots of comment history, then I’d be more inclined to wonder what was going on etc. Creating a new account on here to potentially get support is just plain wrong, and needs dealing with IMO. Should never hit the front page.
  - yaythefuture 4y ago
    The problem is that my real HN account is my actual name. It'd be like 2 clicks to figure out what my business is.
    - jessaustin 4y ago
      Yeah, me too. I was wrong to suspect that you wanted to avoid associating your business with your HN content. So, are you trying to avoid leaving an online record of "this business helped Stripe screw over its customers"? Unless your customers have strong incentives not to talk publicly about their experiences, that ship has sailed...
      - yaythefuture 4y ago
        Ha, not quite. It's more I'm concerned that people considering using my product will see this in the future (hopefully when this issue is resolved) and be wary of doing business with us.
        etcet 4y ago
        Is it an animal, a mineral, or a vegetable? Surely you can give us enough generic information that we can know roughly what kind of business you run without making it searchable.

This is more a function of the fact that I don't want my business to be identifiable from this post than that it's a sketchy business. You'll have to take my word for it, but it's exceedingly benign.

Exuma 4y ago

Are you sure it's not a medium risk business that IS benign, but STILL is considered medium to high risk? For example, selling video game digital products like a strategy guide is benign, but gaming industry is ripe with fraud so most processors will give you shit if you're in the gaming niche, let alone (non-crypto) digital currencies, crypto, health products, non-snakeoil supplements, etc.

pmx 4y ago
Even if this is the case, it doesn't mean that Stripe should just be able to turn off a 3rd of the guy's business with no warning or reason. If they don't like what he's doing, tell him and give him notice to switch to another provider rather than just tanking his business over night.
- m4jor 4y ago
  Yeah that isn't how payment processors work. If his clients are in breach of Stripes TOS it puts Stripe at odds with the compliance teams at Visa/MC/Amex immediately if they are processing his payments. Source: I used to run adult websites which is considered 'high risk' and also these days responsible for overseeing 1M/m in CC processing for a state agency.
- kevinmchugh 4y ago
  They only reason theyd do this is for reputation. They don't want a good reputation with people in risky business.

deng 4y ago

I believe you, but I was also triggered by this line here > They know exactly who our customers are and what services we offer, and have approved it as such. which sounds like you offer services out of the ordinary.

politelemon 4y ago
Which is besides the point.
- deng 4y ago
  It is not. A company like Stripe is free to decide it does not want to be associated with certain services. You may disagree with that, and I would certainly agree they should at least be upfront about it, but it is not beside the point.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    It certainly sounds like it’s some sort of e-pimp business based on what we know so far.
    - bogwog 4y ago
      Source for that? OP is usign a throwaway account and hasn’t said anything about the business.
      - bombcar 4y ago
        That's most of it; having clients that have their own sub-stripe accounts that are triggering fraud detection and not mentioning the business. It's not much to go on but it's all we have.
  - remram 4y ago
    It is free to do that, but if it decides it wants to kick customers out immediately without explanation, we are free to tell one another and use a different provider. That is the point we're discussing, whether the dev community can still consider Stripe reliable and professional.

jessaustin 4y ago

Since HN is a community, you might have more luck getting this fixed if you posted this with your regular username? Never mind this suggestion if you have previously posted "sketchy" opinions that would harm your business, although you may be past that point now...

trollied 4y ago
Agree. The OP account was created today. If it was a long-standing user with lots of comment history, then I’d be more inclined to wonder what was going on etc. Creating a new account on here to potentially get support is just plain wrong, and needs dealing with IMO. Should never hit the front page.
- yaythefuture 4y ago
  The problem is that my real HN account is my actual name. It'd be like 2 clicks to figure out what my business is.
  - jessaustin 4y ago
    Yeah, me too. I was wrong to suspect that you wanted to avoid associating your business with your HN content. So, are you trying to avoid leaving an online record of "this business helped Stripe screw over its customers"? Unless your customers have strong incentives not to talk publicly about their experiences, that ship has sailed...
    - yaythefuture 4y ago
      Ha, not quite. It's more I'm concerned that people considering using my product will see this in the future (hopefully when this issue is resolved) and be wary of doing business with us.
      - etcet 4y ago
        Is it an animal, a mineral, or a vegetable? Surely you can give us enough generic information that we can know roughly what kind of business you run without making it searchable.