(Reclaim The Net) As digital payments have become increasingly popular, many of the largest companies in this sector have used their dominant position to censor users, harvest their private financial data, and threaten them with huge fines if they violate vague and subjective rules.
Here are some alternative payment services that promote freedom, reject censorship, and/or have privacy-preserving features:
GabPay
A person-to-person payments network from the free speech software company Gab.
Gab uses the First Amendment of the United States (US) Constitution to guide its content moderation and describes GabPay as a solution that “allows you to spend your processing dollars with companies who share your values rather than major monopolies who’ve hijacked our payment processing sectors.”
With GabPay, users can instantly transfer money from supported bank accounts to anyone with a cell phone or email address. Funds can be quickly transferred from a bank into a GabPay account and this GabPay balance can be used to make payments. Users can also withdraw their GabPay balance to supported bank accounts.
GabPay supports both consumer and merchant accounts. GabPay says its merchant accounts allow businesses to “accept payments without the fear of charge backs, indefinite holds, or reprisals for political beliefs.” Merchant accounts can also integrate with many e-commerce, membership, and website-building platforms.
GabPay also offers vanity addresses which let users create an easy-to-remember link to their GabPay account.
GabPay’s fees are competitive and flexible. The service charges 1.9% + $0.15 per transaction which is lower than both Stripe (which charges2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) and PayPal (which charges between 1.9% and 3.49% + $0.49 for most transaction). When making a payment, users can choose whether they pay the fee, the other party pays the fee, or the fee is split equally between both parties.
You can sign up for Gab Pay here.
GloriFi
An “unapologetically pro-America, pro-freedom, pro-capitalism” financial lifestyle app that offers credit cards, banking, and loyalty rewards.
GloriFi supports the US Bill of Rights and says it’s “non-negotiable.” GloriFi opposes “the corporate elite telling you how to think,” “woke companies,” and “big government” and describes its app as “a financial lifestyle app designed for We the People.”
Users can access GloriFi’s services via its mobile app which can be used to open accounts, apply for cards, monitor spending, and track loyalty rewards.
The company offers credit cards in several designs including a design that’s made from brass. These credit cards offer up to 2% in loyalty points with every purchase along with other merchant-specific rewards. Users can redeem loyalty points for cash and other rewards or award them to a law enforcement charity.
In the future, GloriFi plans to offer additional financial services including certificate of deposits (CDs), mortgages, and insurance.
GloriFi charges an annual fee on some of its credit cards. It also charges a balance transfer fee of the greater of either $5 or 3% per transaction and a cash advance fee of the greater of either $10 or 5% per transaction. Additionally, some of GloriFi’s cards charge a 3% fee on foreign transactions.
You can sign up for GloriFi here.
Second Amendment Processing
A veteran-owned and operated payment processing company that supports “American standards and values” and stands for “capitalism, free speech, and our children’s education.” It donates 20% of its fee profits to organizations that help protect Second Amendment rights.
Second Amendment Processing has vowed to fight for the rights of businesses that are blocked by other financial institutions and merchant processors for selling firearms legally or expressing opposing political ideologies. It believes that every American business owner has the right to run their business “how they see fit regardless of ideologies or agendas.”
Second Amendment Processing can process credit and debit card payments. It offers PayFac as a service, point of sale processing, mobile payment processing, online e-commerce processing, and desktop terminal processing. It also has partnerships with dozens of like-minded banks and financial institutions.
Its processing fees range from 1.5% to 2.9% for swiped cards and 3.5% for keyed-in transactions. The rate is influenced by the card network, card provider, processing volume, and type of business. However, Second Amendment Processing says it will guarantee users “the absolute best rates possible.”
You can sign up for Second Amendment Processing here.
Parallel Economy
A “censor resistant” payment processor that has received investment from the free speech video sharing platform Rumble and was co-founded by conservative commentator Dan Bongino.
Parallel Economy was founded in response to “tech tyrants [who] have hijacked our economy through the digitization of our world.” The company is “committed to fighting for a free, fair, and open internet.” It also vows to “respect your sovereignty” and never sell user data.
Parallel Economy has partnerships with major retail, hospitality, restaurant, sporting goods, and manufacturing point of sale companies. It also integrates with over 250 gateways and supports shopping carts such as Shopify, BigCommerce, Woocommerce, Authorize.net, Magento, 3D Cart, and Volusion.
Some of Parallel Economy’s other features include free next day funding, a free virtual terminal account, chargeback assistance, invoicing tools, expense tracking tools, and 24/7 merchant support. There are also no contracts and no surcharges.
Parallel Economy endeavors to “match or beat any competitor” on fees. Its advertised rates are 2.98% + $0.15 for card not present transactions and 1.49% + $0.15 transaction for card present transactions.
You can sign up for Parallel Economy here.
Revere Payments
A company that promises to process payments “without bias” and protect business owners’ “right to do business.”
The company’s founder, Wendy Yurgo-Kinnney, said she created Revere Payments in response to the growing number of US-based businesses that are losing payment processing services because of their conservative or religious beliefs.
Reverse Payments provides an entire tech stack that’s customized to fit a wide range of businesses. This tech stack is compatible with many major payment solutions including Authorize.net, Shopify, and WooCommerce. It also supports multiple payment types including online payments, retail payments, point of sale payments, and donations.
In addition to the payment processing tech, Revere Payments’ virtual terminal can analyze data from sales channels, handles invoices, and more. The company also provides security tools that can detect and decline suspicious transactions, fight fraud, mitigate risk, and protect customers.
Revere Payments vows to “meet or beat anyone’s pricing.” It offers a competitive retail processing fee of 1.79% + $0.10 on qualified transactions and 2.79% + $0.10 on unqualified transactions. Its online transaction fees are comparable to Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30. It also offers special rates for non-profits and faith-based organizations.
You can sign up for Revere Payments here.
