Sovereignty notes from Artega
Writing on payment privacy, data sovereignty, and what independent practitioners are owed by the infrastructure underneath them.
22 September 2026
The Importance of Privacy: Protecting Your Personal Space Online
Online privacy is really about keeping control of your personal space. This piece explains why that matters, and where everyday tools can quietly take it away.
22 September 2026
What Is an NFT? A Deeper Dive Into Digital Ownership
NFTs are often misunderstood. This guide explains them as ownership records, and sets out the difference between what they can prove and what they cannot.
22 September 2026
Polygon: A Beginner’s Guide to the Network
Polygon is the network Artega uses to make receipts fast and affordable. This beginner’s guide explains the basics without assuming technical knowledge.
22 September 2026
Spending Crypto in Your Everyday Life
Crypto spending is becoming more ordinary. This guide looks at the practical ways people can use digital money day to day.
22 September 2026
Understanding Stablecoins: A Guide to Digital Money
Stablecoins are built to feel familiar: digital pounds or dollars that do not swing wildly in price. This guide explains the basics in plain English.
22 September 2026
Copyright and NFTs: How Art and Metadata Are Sold on the Blockchain
Buying an NFT does not automatically mean buying the copyright. This article explains what usually changes hands when blockchain art is sold.
16 September 2026
Other Privacy-First Organisations
A short directory of teams building search, messaging, browsing, payments and networks with privacy as a starting point, not an afterthought.
30 July 2026
Does Your Payment Processor Sell You to Advertisers?
Stripe, PayPal, Square and SumUp have all disclosed selling or sharing data for behavioural advertising under California privacy law. Artega never holds a balance, so there's nothing on our side to feed an ad system with.
30 July 2026
Booking Tools vs Payment-Only Processors - What's Actually Included
Stripe and PayPal are payments-only: you'll need a separate plugin for bookings. See how Artega, Square and SumUp compare on native scheduling.
30 July 2026
What Happens to Your Payment History on Stripe, Square, PayPal and SumUp
Stripe builds a purchase-history score and shares it with every other merchant on its network. Artega never sees a balance, so there's nothing to score or share.
30 July 2026
How Processors Decide What Counts as "Acceptable" Work
Stripe, Square, PayPal and SumUp can close your account over work they personally deem unacceptable, even when it's fully legal. Artega only asks: is it legal?
30 July 2026
Why Payment Processors Freeze Funds - And What Actually Stops It
PayPal, Stripe, Square and SumUp can all freeze or hold your money because they act as custodians. Artega never holds funds, so there's nothing to freeze.
30 July 2026
How It Works: From Order to Payment
A plain-English walkthrough of what happens from order to payment on Artega: verification, stablecoin conversion, and what's visible on-chain vs. never collected.
30 July 2026
Self-Serve Sign-Up vs Real Onboarding - What the Difference Costs You
Stripe and Square onboard you with an algorithm and a support ticket queue. Artega gives every new seller a real, 1:1 concierge onboarding call.
30 July 2026
Artega vs Square
Artega vs Square: account deactivations, name leaks on statements, and how native booking stacks up between the two platforms.
30 July 2026
Artega vs PayPal
Artega vs PayPal: fund seizures, default name display, Companies House exposure and payments-only booking. A full side-by-side comparison.
30 July 2026
Artega vs Stripe
Artega vs Stripe: reserves, legal-name exposure, restricted businesses, automated onboarding and booking add-ons, compared side by side.
30 July 2026
What Actually Shows Up With Your Name On It (Across Four Processors)
See exactly what shows up on a client's bank statement with Stripe, PayPal, Square and SumUp vs. Artega, where only Wert's discreet merchant name ever appears. Includes a firsthand SumUp test transaction showing the seller's phone number exposed to the client.
30 July 2026
The Freeze/Reserve Playbook - Stripe, Square, PayPal, SumUp Compared
Stripe reserves, PayPal seizures, Square deactivations, SumUp holds: a side-by-side look at how four processors can keep your money from you.
30 July 2026
Can Stablecoin Payments Be Frozen?
Can Artega or Wert freeze your stablecoin payment? No, neither ever holds your funds. Here's the one narrow exception, and why it isn't their call.
30 July 2026
Artega vs SumUp
Artega vs SumUp: fund holds, statement name exposure, and how SumUp's new Bookings feature compares to Artega's built-in flow.