Yes, I had the exact same issue trying to pay with my Visa. Got the same error message. Then I used my bank debit card (which goes through like a Visa card) and that was accepted. The next day, however, I got notified of a hold on my card due to suspicious activity. I had to call them to verify that it was a valid purchase. Apparently large sums of money sent to a foreign country raise red flags at the banks (as it should).
One other down side to this new process was that my bank whacked me with a surprise "foreign transaction" fee, which wasn't a small amount due to the size of my order. I presume this didn't happen with PayPal.
Like you, I wasn't completely comfortable paying Ray directly and not having the protection of the AliExpress escrow.
Can't wait for RJ to establish that relationship with a US dealer for Smart Strings for any future purchases so that this process is a lot easier.
-Mike