US • Card Payments
Credit/Debit Card → CoverWell Credits (USA): The Reliable Way to Complete Your Order
Card in hand, research ready—and the payment stalls. If you work in a regulated research niche, you’ve probably seen it: legitimate orders flagged as “high risk,” perfectly valid cards declined. This guide explains why that happens and walks you—clearly and visually—through the solution we’ve built for U.S. customers: choose Credit/Debit Card, place the order, purchase CoverWell Credits ($1 = 1 credit) on our partner’s secure page, then finalize by paying with those credits. It’s fast, compliant, and designed to keep your work moving.
Why research payments face friction—and what that means for you
Traditional payment processors are optimized for everyday retail; specialized scientific goods fall into categories that automated systems often label as “exception.” That can trigger extra screening or blanket rejection—even when the buyer, the card, and the order are entirely legitimate. The result is a paradox: the more serious and specialized the work, the more likely a mainstream processor is to hesitate.
Our mandate is simple: give researchers a stable path to pay by card without turning checkout into a second job. The Credits flow does exactly that by separating two actions—card authorization and final settlement—and handling them in a channel built for this niche.
Good cards, declined. Orders in limbo. Timelines at risk.
For customers, the experience can feel arbitrary. For labs, it’s costly: experiments delayed, procurement back-and-forth, shipping windows missed. The underlying issue isn’t you—it’s infrastructure that wasn’t built for specialized procurement.
What we did do: build a compliant, card-friendly lane with our partner so your purchase clears on the first try.
Credit/Debit Card via CoverWell Credits—built for consistency
You still pay with your preferred card. The difference is where the authorization is captured. After you select Credit/Debit Card and place the order, you’re redirected to our partner’s secure page to purchase the exact number of credits needed. Those credits then settle your order in one click.
- Higher reliability: a lane designed for regulated categories, not retail assumptions.
- Transparent: $1 = 1 credit; any activation/processing fee is shown before you pay.
- Fast: card → credits → finalize; most orders complete in minutes.
- Compliant & secure: PCI-aligned card entry; strong data isolation; no card data stored by Sigma.
From checkout to confirmation—what you’ll see on screen
Step 1 — Choose Credit/Debit Card and place your order
After you place the order, you’re automatically redirected to our partner to purchase credits equal to your total.
Step 2 — On the partner page, add your card and purchase credits
- Use a card in your name; ensure billing address matches your statement.
- Any activation/processing fee is displayed transparently before you confirm.
Step 3 — Finalize by paying with your credits
Don’t see the new balance yet? Refresh the page after 30–60 seconds—some issuers report authorizations with a short delay.
Security, transparency, and data separation
Card details are entered and processed on a PCI-aligned page operated by our partner. Sigma does not store your card number or security code. Credits function as a transparent ledger—1 credit = $1—so you always know the value you’re authorizing before the settlement click.
- Compliance: modern PCI standards for card entry and transmission.
- Visibility: order total, required credits, and any fees are shown upfront.
- Control: your credits balance appears before you settle; nothing is deducted until you click Pay with Credits.
When something slows down—quick fixes
“My card was declined.”
Call your issuer and ask to authorize the transaction; verify that the billing address matches your statement exactly. Then retry the purchase. If your bank uses aggressive fraud filters, a second attempt after authorization typically succeeds.
“I bought credits but don’t see them yet.”
Refresh after 30–60 seconds. Banks sometimes take a moment to confirm authorization. If the balance still doesn’t show, check for a payment email and share the order number with support so we can sync the ledger.
“How will fees be shown?”
Any activation or processing fee is listed on the partner page before you confirm payment—no surprises.
Common questions
Why not run everything through a standard processor?
Standard processors are optimized for mass-market retail and apply blanket rules that misread specialized scientific procurement. The Credits lane gives legitimate research orders a stable path to approval without compromising security.
Do my credits expire?
Credits are intended to settle the active order. If you have a residual balance after settlement, it remains on the account ledger for future use consistent with our terms.
Which cards work best?
Personal or business Visa/Mastercard/AmEx in your name, with an exact match on the billing address. Avoid virtual/prepaid numbers when possible; some issuers throttle them for partner transactions.
From friction to flow—in minutes
The Credits flow preserves what you want—card convenience and speed—while routing authorization through a system that understands the research economy. Choose Credit/Debit Card, place the order, buy the exact credits you need, and finalize with one click. Your work shouldn’t wait for a processor to catch up.
For U.S. customers. Products are for laboratory research use only; not for human or veterinary use.