Unless this is your first rodeo with purchasing kratom, then you’re already well-aware of the payment problems in the industry. There’s a good chance that you’ve been to a kratom vendor’s website before, placed the kratom selection in your shopping cart, and went to the checkout process, finding that the credit card option was no longer available. It’s happened to all of us. Most people prefer using a debit or credit card when purchasing items online—no matter what they’re buying.
For those who are new to the kratom industry, this can seem a bit sketchy whenever it happens. And if it happens when it’s your first time getting kratom from a particular company online, then it might make you hesitant to complete your purchase with that vendor. It’s a normal response to that type of scenario. You begin wondering to yourself if the kratom company’s website is legitimate or not. Even after Googling the company and finding reliable reviews, you’re still on the wire about buying their products or continuing your search for another company with credit card capabilities.
But rest assured, it’s almost-always never a scam. That’s just how the kratom industry is forced to operate. And even the kratom vendors that do have online credit card payment options will lose their payment gateways at some point throughout the company’s tenure. That’s just the name of the game. So don’t be surprised when you find your go-to kratom business’s credit card payment processor goes down.
High-Risk Merchant Industries
Businesses that operate an online e-commerce store need to have payment gateways set up on the business website for accepting payments with a customer’s credit card. Those e-commerce stores, for the most part, are considered low-risk merchant accounts. However, there are a few industries that are judged to be part of a high-risk industry. For those types of businesses, it can seem like an ongoing chore to find a merchant account that will work with those companies, providing a gateway system for payments. And unluckily, the kratom industry falls under that particular umbrella.
It’s not that using or buying kratom is deemed a high-risk purchase for any bank—kratom sales were once allowed through PayPal, prior to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) picking a fight with the industry. Since that moment, the entire banking and financial industry have shunned the kratom businesses from using any services offered to other traditional companies. The feds want the banks to blackball the industry since it can’t pass legislation to ban the substance. And no banking services want to poke the bear, so they have all fell into line, one by one.
Kratom companies aren’t the only businesses that are backed into a corner for payment options. The cannabis and CBD companies are also in the same boat. While most high-risk businesses have legality issues as the root cause, kratom and cannabidiol oil are both completely legal. So it’s unfair those industries face the same dilemma as others.
The Dangers of Using a Credit Card Payment Processor in the Industry
Without having legitimate payment gateways that are accessible through our US-based banking system, the kratom industry has to look toward other ways of getting access to credit card merchant accounts. And that places kratom companies in a precarious situation by searching for merchant vendors that are located offshore in other countries. But the problem with these international banks is that they usually ask the kratom companies for large reserves—where they hold a portion of the vendor’s profits to cover any chargebacks. And those rolling reserves are only released after a 6-month hold.
But the problem with these offshore banking services is that most are fly-by-night operations. These companies open up shop and close their doors within limited periods of time. That means kratom vendors are always looking for another merchant account as soon as the last one gets shut down. And some of them are trying to scam the kratom industry. Those merchants will allow a kratom company to open up an account with them, but it will disappear just prior to the 6-month rollover period taking effect, essentially stealing a large portion of money from kratom companies.
And not only do those shady practices run off with the kratom industries hard-earned money, but those nefarious banks also have your credit card information that you supplied to them. Some of those businesses pop up for that sole purpose alone—getting banking information from businesses and customers alike to sell on the black market. It’s just not worth the risk.
Cryptocurrency
There’s always another option for customers looking to purchase kratom online. Kratom customers should start using cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. But I understand there is a lot of negative connotation connected to the practice for many people who have never used digital coins before. The press and media have made sure people think that cryptocurrency is only used by criminals who purchase all types of illegal goods off of the dark web. But quite frankly, that’s “fake news.”
The largest holders of cryptocurrency are investors that are purchasing digital coins to hold in their wallets to sell for a profit at a later time. Those people are in the industry to see a return on their investments like stock traders—they’re nothing like the criminal masterminds that primetime news channels will claim uses the digital platform. So you don’t need to fear being associated as such for choosing to use cryptocurrencies for your purchase.
You can purchase cryptocurrency online using your debit or credit card, and then you can use the digital coin to pay for your kratom purchase to the business of your choice (almost all of them accept cryptocurrency: most prefer it). And you never have to worry about the volatility of the coins because you only need to purchase the exact amount you need at that given moment. Plus, through the technological advantage of the blockchain, your purchase and personal information are more secure than using the traditional card payment services that are normally offered.
Consumers Should Switch to Cryptocurrency
As long as the FDA and DEA are waging war on kratom, then the US banking system will never accept kratom purchases through their payment processing systems. I mean, we’re talking about a banking system that looks to the government whenever the economy crashes for a bailout, so that same industry will never bite the hand that feeds them—even though, technically, it’s the taxpayer’s money that actually bails them out every single time.
That means, the kratom industry—as a whole—should start pushing its consumers to start using the cryptocurrency platforms. For starters, it’s cheaper for kratom vendors to use cryptocurrency payment options: there are fewer fees associated with the purchase. And those savings can be passed on to you—the consumer. It’s also a better system for security and privacy concerns for anyone wary of making an initial purchase with a new kratom business—whether or not a vendor’s website is secure is inconsequential if utilizing blockchain technology.
And with the banking system giving the kratom industry the cold shoulder, it’s high time that kratom advocates stood together to return the favor by throwing their middle fingers up to that same corrupt system. Kratom purchases will continue as long as the plant is legal. But we have the power to allow our money to be spent on platforms that accepts the substance. So, if you’ve never used cryptocurrency to make a kratom purchase in the past, give it a shot on your next kratom purchase.
