High-Risk Merchant Account – How to Avoid Account Termination?

What is merchant account?

A business account in which the financial institution allows the account holder to accept payment through online money transactions using credit/debit card is called a merchant account.

What is high-risk merchant account?

The merchant account with a high risk like frauds in transactions is considered as a High Risk Merchant Account. When such risks the involved the merchant bank charges high premium and also charge extra fees for their services and card networks charge to try and minimize the risk involved.

Apply for a High Risk Merchant Account

When are you high-risk merchant?

Following are the few possibilities when your account is considered a High-Risk merchant account:

1. If you start a brand new business, there is no previous online transaction processing history.
2. The reputation of the business, if the business is anytime previously known for dissatisfaction of costumers, transaction frauds, etc.
3. Low Credit Score, you are considered a high risk merchant if your credit score is low as there are possibilities that you find it hard to repay your negative balance.
4. Service Provision, if in case there frequently is a lengthy time span for your business to provide proper service or deliver a product to the costumer, your business may be categorized as high-risk.
5. Transactions over phone, if your business uses a virtual medium for transactions this causes the costumer not being aware of details.
Along with all these there are a few more criteria’s of getting a status of high-risk merchant account, like- Chargeback History, Frequent refunds, Automated Billing, etc.

Which type of businesses are included in High-Risk Status?

Following is the list of High-Risk Merchant Consideration-
1. Adult Entertainment
2. High Volume Transactions
3. Pharmaceuticals
4. Travel and Lodging
5. Gaming
6. Marketing through network
7. Firearms and so on

How to avoid?
There are chances depending on the reputation on your account, the account may get freezes for a short span or permanently in which you cannot have any transactions in this account.

The best way to avoid all these problems is to be completely upfront and honest in the Merchant Account Application about the services and products you will provide the customers through your business.

How To Obtain A Forex Merchant Account?

Foreign Exchange is also known as Forex is through which foreign currencies are traded, sold, bought and speculated over the counter in the global market. Forex is the largest market for liquid trading in the world. The total no of transaction in a day is over $5 trillion.

There are two levels of Forex market:

1. Interbank market which involves large banks trading currencies.

2. The individuals trading through online trading platforms or brokers in the over the counter market.

A Forex Merchant Account is created for the forex traders, forex informational services and forex trading platform. Possessing a forex credit card accounts allows you to accept credit and debit cards from the traders. There are alternate methods available as well in the forex payment processing services.

Apply for a Forex Merchant Account

Forex merchants’ accounts are of two types:

• Informational Services: The US and International companies both readily have payment processing service. If Forex software or binary options, newsletter, market research or industry information is provided one can acquire merchant account services through the international or US banks.

• Trading Platforms: An extensive network of international acquiring banks allows processing the payment for trading platforms. The processing solution of choice for the Forex trading platforms are the high volume of international merchant accounts.

Applying for a Forex Merchant Account

• The forex merchants account application is free without any obligations. The account approval needs 7 to 14 business days from the time the application is submitted. This is owing to the industry classification of high risks.

• It is a straight-forward process to apply for forex credit card account. An application is to be submitted along with the supporting documents. Documents required for the same are a copy of passport or driver’s license for the signer on the account.

• Bank’s void check for the processing funds settlement, Business bank statements of 3 months, payment processing statements of 3-6 months and articles of Incorporation or other business formation documents. • US and international companies can apply for educational and informational services accounts. To qualify for the account a processing history of a minimum of $50k per month is requisite. While to qualify for the Forex merchant accounts International trading platform a processing history of $250K per month is obligatory. Once the approval is confirmed you can proceed with processing as much volume as you want.

Check Processing Services for High Risk Merchants

Getting paid is the ultimate priority for a business. In order for it to happen consistently with ease, keeping customers satisfied is important. Just like how customer preferences are taken into consideration in terms of the products being sold, their payment preferences should also be taken into account.

Most merchants are aware of the variety of payment methods and tools available in the market today. While online payments have rapidly gained popularity, some folks still choose to go the traditional way i.e. check payments.

Shocking? Not really! Checks are still seen as a reliable form of payment. As a merchant, it is in your best interest to determine if accepting checks is critical for your business.

Check Processing Services

With the more popular payment solutions available to customers & businesses, Merchant Check Processing Services are relatively little known.

Electronic Check Processing or E-check is a type of payment method available to merchants receiving check payments. Herein, paper checks received through customers are converted into electronic checks with the amount being transferred into the merchant’s business account. Merchants also have the option of receiving checks over phone as well as online.

Payment via checks comes with its fair share of risks for merchants; Bounced or returned checks and other fraud cases result in high chargebacks for merchants. With check processing services, check payments are managed effectively, efficiently and securely. E-Checks have made facilitating check payments simpler, faster and safer for businesses.

Consider Electronic Check Processing Services for your High Risk Business

High risk merchants always have to go through several hurdles to secure a fitting credit card processor that serves their business needs. Due to their risky business nature, approval rates for high risk merchants is low and those getting approved have to pay high processing fees. After all of this, the threat of chargeback and frauds still looms large.

Check Processing Services have proven to be the best option to save merchants from the hassles of acquiring a credit card processor.

So why should high risk merchants consider integrating check processing services with their business? Here are some benefits:

-Quick Approval

For starters, the approval process for high risk businesses is faster and the chances of getting approved are higher. As long as you are a legal business, merchant account providers should easily provide you with the desired services no matter the business type or product sold.

-Lower Costs

Fees are a big concern for high risk merchants. Merchant account providers charge an exorbitant amount to process credit cards of high risk businesses. Whereas, monthly costs for processing e-checks is much lower comparatively.

Also, if you are a business receiving payment majorly from checks, with check processing services save yourself the trouble of taking multiple trips to a bank.

-Same Day Funding

Unlike paper checks, merchants do not have to wait for days to get your e-check passed. Authorization happens in real-time and funds are deposited within 24 hours once the checks are processed.

-No Chargebacks

High risk merchants dread the word ‘Chargebacks’. It’s a major risk associated with credit card processing. Electronic check processing eliminates the risk of chargebacks by avoiding bad checks and other frauds.

-All Business Types

Check processing services is also available for all business types under the high-risk category including large-ticket items and high volume transaction businesses at a small monthly processing fee.

To conclude, Check Processing Services is a great alternative payment method for high risk merchants wanting to escape the tedious process of acquiring a merchant account or even simply looking to introduce a new payment option.

Get started with e-checks and expand your business!