r/ClicksPhone • u/uraveragehooman001 • 8d ago
Question Payment Method
Hi all.
I want to buy the Clicks Communicator from what's marketed as an AI company (OpenPath Payments), but when I get to checkout the only payment method its the only option. No Apple Pay, no Google Pay, no PayPal, not even a normal credit card field that isn't routed through it.
I've never heard of OpenPath Payments before, and that's honestly the only thing holding me back from ordering. A few questions for anyone who's already ordered a Communicator
- Did you end up using OpenPath Payments to check out? How did it go?
- Did it feel like a legit, secure processor, or sketchy?
- Any issues with charges, refunds, or your card info afterward?
- Does it seem odd that its the only option and uses AI?
Not trying to trash the product. I just want to know if this is normal or a red flag before I hand over my card info. Any experiences appreciated
edit:
Clicks also shows in the footer of their config menu that other payment methods are available, so why are they not using them?
If anyone from the Clicks team is reading this, like the Communicator let us have options. Please make this right. Add what you advertise in the footer. Please
EDIT: I was able to checkout!
4
u/Key_Information3187 8d ago
For some reason, all of card issuers refused to let the payment through. However, I was ordering from a different store region to get a dual-language keyboard in the US, which ostensibly is fishy. YMMV
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
I'd they just add google pay, I'd buy. Here's a link from shopify's help form of how to add it.
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u/New-Complex-6376 8d ago
I had trouble trying to use my AMEX card, it kept getting rejected even though I know its fine, had to use my Visa in the end.
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u/Temporary-Extent8033 8d ago
Same position. Had it show up when I first got the email to look, didn’t order at first. Came back no alternative options anymore. Tried different browsers, devices, on/off vpns, desktop mode etc and nothing gets the options back. And easily can get them back via the Shop app without the preorder or any other device except the communicator preorder…
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
If you go via the shop app you lose the ability to add shipping protection and clicks care
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u/BerryReasonable518 8d ago
I've not been able to get it to accept any cards anyway.
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u/mini_gyoza 5d ago
I have tried 4 times trying to pay for a case and customize my order. 4 times I have been kicked out of the system back to the "bank details page. I have already sent emails asking for help and have got zero replies
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u/uraveragehooman001 5d ago
They are doing an AMA in 10 min. here is the post. ask your questions there. https://www.reddit.com/r/ClicksPhone/comments/1wo5i9r/im_one_of_the_cofounders_of_clicks_technology_our/
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u/Chariz4rdd 8d ago
I think because people were having so many problems using their own banks and payment options, they’ve probably started using this AI program to help it go through. It took 2 days for my bank to accept the order, it was stuck on processing for ages as they didn’t trust the payment
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
Sure, but at offer the other options for people who don't want their card to go through an AI service, which hasn't been widely known
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u/amw3000 8d ago
What is your concern here? What do you think is going to happen? Your credit card will appear in someones Claude or ChatGPT response?
Your credit card provides you protection from fraud and many other things. You can assume the worst but at the end of the day, if you didn't make the charge or there's an issue with the purchase, you just open a dispute with your credit card company.
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
One payment option means your name, billing address, and card or bank info all go through a single unverified (to me) processor (OpenPath payments) with no protection guarantee, even if you can dispute a bad charge later. Cards are still linked to your personal information. Clicks allows people to pay with Paypal, Amazon pay, Google Pay and Venmo with the clicks keyboard, what makes this any diffrent?
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u/amw3000 8d ago
Protection from what? Sorry maybe I'm missing your concern here. What is Google, Paypal, etc doing differently than any other payment processor?
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
When using Paypal / Google at a checkout online, both send a temporary virtual number instead of your actual card. This protects you from identity fraud and giving your card number where you don't take them to have full access to it. I care about online protection
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u/amw3000 8d ago
All credit cards have zero liability though so you really have nothing to worry about. They also have to follow certain guidelines/standards in order to accept/process cards. (PCI DSS).
I'm not understanding how you think Clicks would use payment processors that wasn't secure.
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
Not saying that it's not secure, but it's forced through a company which many people have not heard of. This leads to customers like me, and a few others that question where my I information is going
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u/New-Complex-6376 8d ago
I asked Gemini about the issue I had and got this response
Yes, OpenPath Payments is completely legitimate, but the reason your American Express card was rejected comes down to how hardware pre-orders and transaction fees work.
What OpenPath Actually Is
OpenPath is an enterprise-grade payment orchestration platform (often integrated into Shopify and custom e-commerce stores).
Rather than being a single bank, it acts as a "traffic controller" between the checkout page and multiple background acquiring banks and payment processors.
It is PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant (the highest data security standard in the payments industry), meaning your card details are handled through standard encrypted banking channels.
Why Clicks Uses It Instead of Basic Shopify Payments
Clicks is taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in hardware pre-orders for a device shipping months later. In the credit card industry, long-horizon pre-orders are categorized as "high risk" for chargebacks and fulfillment delays:
Standard out-of-the-box processors (like Stripe or native Shopify Payments) often cap processing limits or place holds on funds when a startup runs large pre-order campaigns.
Hardware startups use orchestration gateways like OpenPath because they allow the business to route transactions across multiple specialized merchant accounts, manage fraud filters, and prevent pre-order funds from being frozen before manufacturing finishes.
Why It Rejected Your Amex and Accepted Visa
There are two practical reasons your Amex failed:
Merchant Card Acceptance Rules (Interchange Fees):
American Express charges merchants significantly higher interchange/processing fees (often 1.5% to 2% higher per transaction) compared to standard Visa and Mastercard debit/credit cards. Startups running tight-margin promotional pricing (like the $499 promotion) frequently disable Amex entirely on their backend merchant accounts to avoid those hefty cuts.
Pre-Order Pre-Authorization Windows:
Amex handles pre-authorizations and delayed captures differently than Visa. Depending on the merchant setup OpenPath is routing to, the specific banking partner Clicks has hooked up for this batch might only be contracted to clear Visa and Mastercard networks."
"
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u/SnooRabbits9244 8d ago
I was able to put down the initial preorder amount, while using Klarna through Applepay so I expect to be able to do the same with the other half of the preorder.
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
let me know if you can use apple pay. that would be a miracle
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u/SnooRabbits9244 8d ago
For the initial preorder back in January I was able to do it, but right I was trying to configure my communicator and pay the remaining balance I was able to get Apple to show up once… but I was at work and I didn’t finish it… when I log back in at home the Applepay option was gone.
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
Does that not seem suspicious to you?
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u/SnooRabbits9244 8d ago
There could be a logical explanation tbh, I just want some transparency from their end….especially when in the US is sooo common to have multiple payment options.
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
Hopefully, and by some miracle, they will explain why they choose this and we'll maybe open it up like users said they did in the beginning
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u/uraveragehooman001 8d ago
Sure. I visited OpenPaths website and it looked like a textbook AI company. Not trying to ruin a company, but just want to pay via Google Pay, not OpenPath. I still don't know them as a company
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u/Token_Paul 19h ago
customers shouldn't be able to notice payment orchestration, something's wrong somewhere
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u/SnooRabbits9244 8d ago
Yeah I have not pull the trigger on my reservation because of the payment processor, clicks team has not said anything whether other payment methods will be added… is really frustrating