Transformative Transactions
Welcome to Transformative Transactions,We want to get you the best information about the payments industry so you can make decisions that are right for your business.As a collective of educators and payments specialists, we are dedicated to social equity, transparency, and keeping money local. Rooted in Montréal’s NDG neighbourhood, we are doing community outreach to share our knowledge and find out what our neighbours needs.
If you, too, are excited to cultivate thriving local economies built on accessible tools, transparent information, and great service, keep reading!
Mission Statement
Equity Driven
Creativity Fuelled
Community Rooted
Here at Transformative Transactions, we believe in a future where small Canadian businesses can thrive; employees can earn living wages; and we, as merchants, have the information, tools, and economic agency we need to make decisions that align with our values. We also know that the only way to get the future we want is to roll up our sleeves and build it ourselves. This is why we aspire to provide merchants with the services, tools, and knowledge they need to thrive.Social equity and economic agency are at the core of our decision-making processes. We are part of a growing movement of businesses that prioritize local community development and sustainability over profiteering. When it comes to payment processing (much like telecoms), Canadians are getting the short end of the stick. Transformative Transactions knows we can do better.
Services Provided
As Community Educators first and Payment Processing Partners second, our goal is to provide quality information, useful tools, as well as better rates.
Educational Services
- Processing Statement Analysis: find out what you're really paying for! - Community Day Clinics: Get informed about our work in the industry - Answering your payment queries: Got questions? Send us an email!
Consulting
We have a variety of knowledge and skills to add to your resource pool.- E-commerce: tech, set-up, gateways, security and more.- AI for Merchants: prompting technique, privacy and AI, SLM use for businesses and more.- Values Aligned Business Practice: Switching to open source, prioritize data security or customer privacy, learn to support your customer service team.- Inclusive + Supportive Customer Service: Support your team in dealing with tough customers, amend customer service policies to be more inclusive, train your team to respond to conflict with your business's values and more. For more info check out our full consulting page.
Payment Partners
We are researching our options for payment providers that most align with our values. We will announce our official payment processing partner(s) with our official launch
FAQ
Got Questions?
Check out our FAQ and Merchant Resources Page.
About Trans Trans
We are a group of community members who've pooled our knowledge, skills, and resources to create a different kind of service provider. We are Community Educators first and Payment Processing Partners second. We strive to build community wealth over personal wealth. We aren’t looking to squeeze every last nickel and dime out of your business. Instead, we want to offer you the best info, better rates, easy-to-use tools — possibly even a sense of community, while providing living wages to our staff.Turns out in the payments industry there is enough to go around!
Contact Us
We'd love to hear from you!
Educational Offerings
Community Days
Community days are a way for us to stay connected and responsive to our community. We want to understand what our locals need and want from payment processing and other merchant services. We intend to tailor our tools and services to the insights gleaned from working with you.
What you can expect from a community day:
A 30-minute meet and greet with our teamA 20-30-minute presentation about the payment industry and our role in it1 hour of Q&A with the option to get questions answered 1-on-1Our first Community Day will take place in February 2026, details to come!
Co-ops What Are They?
Transformative Transactions intends to incorporate as a co-op in 2026.The United Nations (UN) Defines Cooperatives as:"Cooperatives are businesses owned and controlled by the very members they serve. This member-driven model distinguishes cooperatives from other types of enterprises, ensuring that decisions are made to balance both profit and the needs and interests of their members and communities. Whether the members are the customers, employees or residents, they have an equal say in what the business does and a share in the profits."The UN established 2025 as the year of the coop. Learn more about the year of the coop here
Legal Disclosures
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Legal Disclosures go HERE
Know your rights as a Canadian merchant
Merchant rights under the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canadahttps://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/merchants/rights-merchant.htmlCanadian 2024 credit card fee reductions for small business ownershttps://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2024/10/government-reduces-credit-card-fees-by-27-per-cent-for-small-business-owners.html
Additional Consulting
We offer a diverse range of knowledge and skills to enhance your resource pool.
Our Offerings
- E-commerce: tech, gateways, set-up, security and more.- AI for Merchants: prompting technique, privacy and AI, SLM use for businesses and more.- Values Aligned Business Practice: Switching to open source, prioritize data security or customer privacy, learn to support your customer service team.- Inclusive + Supportive Customer Service: Support your team in dealing with tough customers, amend customer service policies to be more inclusive, train your team to respond to conflict with your business's values and more.
Knowledge + Skills our Team Brings to the Table
Beash: Payment Processing + Tech Development
- 10+ years of experience in payment processing, E-Commerce, Tech Development, and Operations & Automations.Kristy: System Optimization for Managing Teams + AI for Business
- 5+ years managing a customer service team, 5+ years in sales.Alyse: Community Education + Advocacy + Accessibility
- 10+ years experience in Community Education + Advocacy.Jorge: Customer Service Skills
- 10+ years of experience working in customer service offices + IT support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would I want a free statement analysis
You want to ensure you aren't being taken advantage of by companies getting around policies meant to protect Canadian business owners.
You want to know what your true effective rate is.
You want to understand the industry better to make more informed decisions.
You want to find hidden fees or fees you can opt out of.
You want to check that what you think you're paying is what you are actually paying.
To see if you have the right kind of account for your specific business. We can help you figure it out!
Why do you offer free statement analysis with no obligations?
Our #1 priority is to ensure that merchants in our community aren't being taken advantage of unwittingly and to offer value-aligned alternatives to profiteering payments companies.
We are learning from your statements. This industry is ever-changing with fluctuating interchange, hidden fee structures, and policy changes; it can be hard to keep track of the landscape.
We believe that whether or not Merchants want our services, you deserve to understand what is actually happening with your statements. Our primary goal is to provide support to our community by making sure we all have the info we need to make the best choices we can.
We have a medium to large e-commerce operation. Why do we need or want the help of Transformative Transactions?
If value alignment and great rates aren't enough, we also do a variety of consulting to help businesses make informed decisions, take on values-aligned practices, and incorporate new technology, while prioritizing data security.Check out our consulting page to find out more!
How easy is it to switch, though?
I need it to be simple!
Easier than you think! We are happy to guide you through the process.
It's kind of like switching your phone provider, a little effort up front to save money monthly.
For E-commerce, all we need to do is switch plug-in/add-on/modules.
Got a storefront? You do NOT need to change your bank account, you'll get a new device shipped to your business which is simple to set up within a few minutes.
Our in-house customer service providers are happy to help you with any snags along the way.
We would love to hear from you ways that we can make the switch as seamless as possible.
How are we committed to your privacy?
We don't use tracking tools. There are no trackers added to this website!
We prioritize using open-source and privacy-forward tools with every decision.
Our upcoming SLM AI tools do not use compromised providers like ChatGPT. We utilize SLM hosting providers to ensure that no data is saved or used for training purposes. The front end is built by TransTrans and hosted by us on our servers.
We do not use a third-party for the front end interface (where data is stored and processed); this means all files are saved to our server and not sent to security-compromised providers. Instead, we analyze it all in-house.
I'm with Stripe / Shopify / Square / PayPal, why should I care about a merchant account?
These companies are called Payment Facilitators (PayFacs), which means you’re set up as a CLIENT or “sub-merchant” under their master account, NOT as a FULL MERCHANT with your own account. That detail actually matters for your rights, your funds, and how much control you really have.
Why is this important? Canadian law offers clear protections and dispute rights to businesses with direct merchant accounts, especially small businesses . These protections don’t always apply or are less direct for clients of PayFacs, because your funds flow through the facilitator's aggregate account, not a separate, bank-held merchant account in your name.
How is this possible? PayFacs create "sub-accounts" for each client under one master account, relying on ledger tracking rather than individual merchant accounts. This setup means you don’t receive all the perks or legal protections connected to merchant status, and if the PayFac faces risks or regulatory pressure, all clients—including you—may share the consequences.
What does this look like in practice? During the pandemic, for example, PayFac clients often encountered unexpected rate hikes, frozen funds, account bans, and unclear chargeback processes. This happens because PayFacs must protect their pooled funds, applying strict, automated risk controls that can affect many businesses at once.
What security do Merchant Accounts offer? With a merchant account, you have your own distinct account that legally belongs to your business. This means the funds are yours, you have direct contractual relationships with your acquiring bank, and your account is less vulnerable to pooling risks or broader market problems affecting other businesses. It also often means more predictable terms and clearer paths to dispute resolution.
I'm with Stripe / Shopify / Square / PayPal, why should I care about interchange or my effective rate?
These companies are called Payment Facilitators (PayFacs), and the way they are structured as aggregators means they are taking on more risk and therefore require more liability protection. PayFacs make it easy, fast and convenient to sign up (with minimal vetting upfront), but to cover that risk, they usually charge higher fixed rates to compensate for the risks they are taking. PayFacs almost always use a fixed rate model to ensure their monthly liability protection.
Why is this important? As you might have already guessed, you are paying for this risk protection with higher fixed rates compared to someone with a merchant account who is using an interchange pricing model.
What is interchange? Visa describes Interchange as: The transfer rate exchange between the retailer’s financial institution (an acquirer) and the cardholder’s financial institution (an issuer) every time a Visa payment product is used. So, Interchange is the base cost of a transaction (a.k.a. the sum of the fees that each institution takes when a credit card transaction passes through its system). Interchange rates are affected by factors such as: what region you are in, the types of credit cards being used, the transaction method, and the size of your business.
Interchange vs Fixed Rates? When payment processors use Interchange, we add a small fee (a fraction of a percent on the transaction) in addition to the base rate of the transaction (interchange). We can customize these rates to your unique business needs; It's location, whether you sell online or in person, your average sale/ticket price, etc. This allows us to save you more money where possible.
And for Fixed Rate? When payment processors use fixed rates, they have to ensure that they are making more than the interchange for all regions while covering higher liability and risk. Sometimes they have high fees, sometimes there are hidden costs, but when it comes down to it, for many businesses, they could get a better deal with an interchange model.
Interchange pricing is seen as more transparent and fair. Payment processors that use fixed-rate pricing have to ensure that they are making more than enough to cover fluctuations in transactions, and so generally comes with higher charges.
How is Interchange more transparent, fair, and reliable? You get custom pricing based on the unique factors at play for your business.
Know your rights as a Canadian merchant
Merchant rights under the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canadahttps://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/merchants/rights-merchant.htmlCanadian 2024 credit card fee reductions for small business ownershttps://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2024/10/government-reduces-credit-card-fees-by-27-per-cent-for-small-business-owners.html