Payment Options

The current state of payment processing for the kratom industry

Why is it so hard for kratom vendors to keep payment processors? If you’re wondering why we’ve been having so much trouble with payment processing lately, or why other vendor’s processors are always down, then read on this is for you. In 2012 the FDA issued its first import alert on kratom calling it an unapproved drug, and therefore subject to regulation. In 2013 the US Department of Justice began an initiative named “Operation Choke Point”. It was first intended to cut off financial funding for firearm dealers, payday lenders, and other businesses they had decided where at high risk for fraud and money laundering. It made banks and other financial services legally obligated to refuse services to those industries.  It was however quickly expanded to include kratom and other businesses. In 2014 the FDA issued it’s second “import alert” on kratom stating that it was “a new dietary ingredient”, and then forbidding it entry into the country when marked for human consumption. Obviously, that wasn’t very effective. However, Operation Choke Point was. Because of the previous import alerts, they were able to force the Visa and Mastercard brands themselves to refuse service to kratom vendors. Because the Visa/Mastercard brands are so powerful they were able to force any company that has a contract with them to do the same, refuse service to vendors, i.e. Paypal. Even though Operation Choke Point was officially ended in August 2017 the Visa and Mastercard companies have decided to still prohibit the use of their brands to sell kratom because of the impending scheduling by the DEA, and the two previous import alerts by the FDA. Even if the DEA ultimately decides to regulate kratom as an herbal supplement it may take a long time before Visa and Mastercard lift their prohibition.

If your worried about using any of the payment methods below because your concerned what will happen if you have a problem with your order remember to contact us! We are always willing to resolve any issues with your order. We have been doing this three years, and we have never once has an issue we couldn’t resolve to a customer’s satisfaction in an expedient manner. If you have a problem, let us know. I hope this gives you little more information on one of the largest difficulties facing kratom vendors.

Current payment methods accepted

Debit/credit card by email invoice:

Our current solution to the card processing problem is one that’s being used by many other kratom vendors effectively. With this option we will send you an invoice by email after you checkout. Please note, this does not mean we are asking you to send us card information by email! The invoice will be sent through a large secure payment processing company. When you click on the link in the email it will take you to the card processors secure server where you will enter your card information. We will never see it or store it on our website, and it will not be passed through unsecure email.  When you get your invoice, you’ll notice that instead of listing your exact strain names there will be the name of an item of jewelry tacked on to the end. Because we must send these manually it means at certain times of day there may be a delay in it being sent during the night when we’re asleep and late morning to early afternoon when we pack orders. Typically, it will be sent within a half hour. You will get an email saying we’ve sent the invoice once we do. Also, because we’re entering them manually it introduces the possibility of mistakes. Please check your invoice carefully to make sure it’s for the right amount. It doesn’t matter if the items are not perfect if the amount is right.

Debit/credit card at checkout:

This payment method is currently down! Hopefully, it will be back up shortly!

Our new onsite card processor is up and running. It’s not perfect, but in most cases works well. Since we first installed it they’ve made massive upgrades to their server. It’s working much better now. If you tried it before and couldn’t get it to work now’s the time to give it another chance. The maximum allowable transaction is $345. There is a $2.49 fee for using their payment gateway. The good news is unlike most merchant accounts that accept kratom vendors they’re located in the United States which means they must comply with U.S regulations for financial services. They’re, a company which specializes in payment processing for cannabis and cannabis product companies. So, you’ll notice more layers of protection then would typically be offered for kratom vendors. Final payment is made through Paypal. Which means you have all the protection that Paypal offers. This isn’t a perfect solution. If you have trouble with your card being declined, or any other problem please contact us at customerservice@treasurehousebotanicals.com. We can send you an invoice payable by email that should accept your card. We’re also trying to keep track of what cards are being declined so that information would be appreciated.  If you have a billing or shipping address in a banned state, please contact us to discuss your options. This processor does not allow payments from either of these, and we’ll have to cancel your order.

Echeck:

This is one of most common options for vendors to take payment because it is not prohibited in anyway, and hence won’t get shut down. The down side is it takes longer to process. It works through the same systems as traditional checks, and it’s very secure. You’ll need to enter your banks routing number and bank account number at checkout. Then complete your order. One of the down sides to this is if the echeck company refuses your check it won’t generate an error message on the checkout screen. This can leave you feeling confused or hitting the payment button more then once. If you do hit the payment button more then once don’t worry your account won’t be charged twice. You will not be charged until you see the order completion page, and then only for the one time it went through. If you have a billing address in a banned state your transaction will automatically be declined. All echecks are processed at 9:00am and 2:00pm eastern time by the check company every business day. You should get an email when your echeck has been processed. After being processed it will take business 1-2 days for your check to be deposited in our bank account. Your order will ship the following day. We cannot ship until your check clears. It is by far the longest way to pay, but it is the most reliable (won’t be shutdown).  Effective immediately we are now waiting for the check to actually clear. Before we were sending them out the day it was suppose to clear. Now that echeck has bigger discount and is a better deal our volume has increased drastically. We’ve seen a large spike in bounced checks since then. We are now waiting until the check completely clears before shipping. This means it will be an extra business day before your order ships. Please, plan accordingly.

Bitcoin:

This brings us to our final payment option. Much has been said about Bitcoin and crypto currency in the last couple years. While we believe the days when you can easily become a Bitcoin millionaire are over we also don’t believe Bitcoin is going to drop to zero.  The fact is it’s far to useful. Particularly, for any legal industries that are refused access to financial services, i.e. kratom. It may be with the current increase in government pressure to deny payment processing to kratom vendors the last way that will be available to buy kratom if all other methods are shut down. With that said it’s worth learning how to use. The easiest and safest way for people new to Bitcoin to purchase it is Coinbase.com. The instructions are like this:

• Make an account with coinbase.com. You’ll need to provide whatever information they ask for identification, phone numbers, and such. You’ll also need to download Authy app for two factor identification (it will generate a separate code you enter when you login).
• Once you get set up purchase slightly more Bitcoin with your debit card then you’ll need for your order. It needs to be slightly more because there are transaction fees, and the price may fluctuate.
• Complete your order choosing the coinpayments.net option. It will take you to their page where you fill out your information.
• After completing everything they will give a Bitcoin address where to send payment to (a long string of letters and numbers)
• Copy the address to your clipboard. Go to coinbase and under your accounts page find your bitcoin wallet. You should see two options send and receive. Select send and paste the address where it belongs, and enter the exact amount of bitcoin shown on the coinpayments.net checkout page( it has to be the exact amount or it won’t go through.)
• Press send, wait usually about an hour for it to process, and your done

It’s a lot easier then it sounds, and once you’ve done it a couple of times it’s much easier. It’s worth at least learning how to do even if you never use it because if it takes a couple of years or more for the DEA to make their scheduling decision on kratom payment processing likely will become much more difficult. The one nice part about bitcoin and crypto currency is there’s no easy way for the government to stop anyone from sending it to each other meaning you’ll always have a way to buy kratom. If your having trouble with coinpayments we’re willing to accept payments directly. Contact us. We’re hoping to add payment options for other popular cryptos soon!