--- title: Sezzle's Slashing Merchant Fees and Taking Names description: Sezzle's Slashing Merchant Fees and Taking Names --- Close - Programs - [Twin Cities Startup Week](https://www.tcstartupweek.com/) - [Accelerator](https://www.beta.mn/join-a-cohort) - [Showcase](https://www.beta.mn/programs-showcase) - [Portfolio](https://www.beta.mn/portfolio) - [Partners](https://www.beta.mn/our-partners) - [Get Involved](https://www.beta.mn/how-to-help) - [Donate Now](https://donate.stripe.com/4gw9CLfHN5GN0RW144) [![Primary\_DkGray-Orange](https://blog.beta.mn/hs-fs/hubfs/Beta%20Logos/Primary_DkGray-Orange.png?width=200&height=50&name=Primary_DkGray-Orange.png)](https://blog.beta.mn/) [![BETA Logo-1](https://blog.beta.mn/hs-fs/hubfs/BETA%20Logo-1.png?width=200&height=50&name=BETA%20Logo-1.png)](https://blog.beta.mn/) - Programs - [Twin Cities Startup Week](https://www.tcstartupweek.com/) - [Accelerator](https://www.beta.mn/join-a-cohort) - [Showcase](https://www.beta.mn/programs-showcase) - [Portfolio](https://www.beta.mn/portfolio) - [Partners](https://www.beta.mn/our-partners) - [Get Involved](https://www.beta.mn/how-to-help) - [Donate Now](https://donate.stripe.com/4gw9CLfHN5GN0RW144) [The Social Lights](https://blog.beta.mn/author/the-social-lights) Sep 15, 2016, 8:12:39 AM 2 min read # Sezzle's Slashing Merchant Fees and Taking Names [Previous Post](https://blog.beta.mn/realvision-enables-a-new-angle-to-real-estate-photos) [Next Post](https://blog.beta.mn/local-crate-takes-the-hassle-out-of-home-cooking) ![sezzle](https://blog.beta.mn/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Sezzle-1500x903.png?width=1500&height=903&name=Sezzle-1500x903.png) Modern-day apps for making payments to businesses and individuals continue to make the transaction process easier and easier, but the antiquated fee structure - reaching as high as three percent for each transaction - continues to impede on mass adoption of these services. Charlie Youakim spent five years at the helm of Passport, a mobile payment system within the transportation industry, making repeated attempts to reduce these payment processing costs. Ultimately, Charlie was unable to do so at Passport, despite continued annual growth. Leaving in December of 2015, Charlie devoted his time to reflection and to research, continuing his focus on the problems with merchant processing. Enter Sezzle. Charlie and Paul Paradis found the solution to this expensive problem by reverse engineering the transaction process. By eliminating the middlemen and unnecessary buffers used by other credit card companies, Sezzle cuts competitors’ processing fees in half, even incentivizing bank-to-bank transactions with a one-percent rewards program. Their optimization of the transaction process is rapidly attracting customers, signing 32 merchant partners within 9 months of the brands launch. The party is just getting started for the Sezzle team, which anticipates integration in over 200 online merchants within the next year, along with a consumer base of over 10,000 users. In the meantime, the startup is raising cash to accelerate growth (already accruing over $1.35 million to date). Interested in bringing [Sezzle](https://sezzle.com/) to your business? Want to learn more as a potential customer? Catch the Sezzle team at the upcoming Beta.MN / Showcase event. The event will be held at the Target Commons on Sept. 19th from 5:30-8 pm CT. [Secure your ticket today](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-week-kick-off-event-betamnshowcase-tickets-27352998555?ref=ebtnebtckt), as remaining tickets are in short supply. ## RELATED ARTICLES ##### [The Social Lights Sep 17, 2016, 11:34:41 AM 2 min read Awear Technologies is Set to Close the Education Achievement Gap Across the nation, 30 percent of students score below their grade level in reading comprehension testing, with approximately 3 ... Start Reading](https://blog.beta.mn/awear-technologies-is-set-to-close-the-education-achievement-gap) ##### [The Social Lights Sep 15, 2016, 8:14:24 AM 1 min read Murol's Photosharing Helps Users "See the Big Picture" Henry Amoloja was tired of social apps limiting the creativity and dimensions of photo sharing. Spending last summer in ... Start Reading](https://blog.beta.mn/murols-photosharing-helps-users-see-the-big-picture) ##### [The Social Lights Sep 14, 2016, 9:15:05 AM 2 min read Get Bizzy at the Beta.MN/Showcase Before it was the best-selling cold brew concentrate on Amazon, Bizzy coffee began in a search for an energy supplement to ... Start Reading](https://blog.beta.mn/get-bizzy-at-the-beta-mnshowcase) [![BETA Logo](https://blog.beta.mn/hubfs/Beta%20Logos/BETA%20Logo.svg)](https://blog.beta.mn/) The Beta Group (BETA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing Minnesota's technology startup founders the resources + relationships required to scale their companies. Office Hours: 10 am - 4 pm, Mon-Thurs [![Beta-grey](https://blog.beta.mn/hs-fs/hubfs/Beta%20Logos/Beta-grey.png?width=66&name=Beta-grey.png)](https://www.beta.mn)  [![TCSW-grey](https://blog.beta.mn/hs-fs/hubfs/Beta%20Logos/TCSW-grey.png?width=105&name=TCSW-grey.png)](https://www.twincitiesstartupweek.com)    - Beta.mn - [About](https://www.beta.mn/about) - [Contact](https://www.beta.mn/contact-us) - [Subscribe](https://info.beta.mn/subscribe) - Programs - [Accelerator](https://www.beta.mn/join-a-cohort) - [Showcase](https://www.beta.mn/programs-showcase) © 2026 The Beta Group \- All rights reserved - [Terms / Privacy](https://www.beta.mn/terms-of-service-privacy)