Merchant Account | IBS Payment Solutions

Using a Mobile Merchant Account for your Business

Small businesses are the highest number of businesses that operate in any given market economy. Merchants are not left out since they make up a majority of small business owners.

Efficiency is the key when it comes to operating any business to ensure that the business makes the optimum amount of profits it can. Payments for goods and services are made in a number of ways depending on the particular merchant’s discretion. But with the increasing competitive business environment, customers’ preferences and comfort have now taken priority over merchant choices.

With the advent of credit cards and its following popularity, it is now the most preferred mode of payment among both consumers and merchants.

Why do I need a Mobile Merchant Account?

Mobile devices have become an unprecedented part of the modern economy, driving it forward.

According to Forrester’s 2018 Retail Best Practices: Mobile Web study, smart phones will be used in over one-third—or more than $1 trillion—of total U.S. retail sales at some point in the process of buying something, including research, price comparisons and purchases.

Recent data indicates that consumers are becoming more comfortable finalizing transactions on their smart phones. In fact, in-store mobile payments are expected to top $500 billion by 2020.

Customer awareness, the many options and benefits that mobile wallets offer coupled with growing acceptance for the same; merchants have naturally started acknowledging mobile payments as a legitimate form of payment.

The meteoric rise of online business giants like Amazon that offers instant purchasing power and somewhat immediate gratification, is a testament to the customers’ increasing demand for faster fulfillment.

Now, have you thought about what your business does to fulfill this criterion? How will your business adapt to customer expectations to accept payments on the go?

Mobile Merchant Account Solutions:

Mobile merchants are merchants who are always on the go and largely conduct their services in a door-to-door kind of setting.

Businesses that fall under the mobile merchants include; businesses like food delivery, food trucks, taxi cab drivers, repair, plumbing, door-to-door sales, trade shows, lawn mowing services among a number of other retail businesses find the need to accept payments at any location.

Are you a merchant that does on-field business and requires take payments anywhere, anytime? A Mobile Merchant Account solution is what you should instantly look for!

A mobile merchant account works similarly to a regular merchant account but structured to suit a mobile merchant. Some of the available methods of accepting and processing credit cards available for the mobile merchant account include the wireless swipe terminal, which may be quite costly. It typically works on the spot where the merchant swipes the client’s credit card on the wireless terminal for immediate transfer of funds. For mobile merchants with internet access, a virtual terminal would be ideal where the transaction is processed in a secure website. There are also PDAs attached to swipe devices, which can be used to process transactions by mobile merchants.

Last but not least, a merchant could simply use their cell phones or tabs, which is the cheapest option.

In summary, a mobile merchant account exists to help small business owners’ to transact credit card processing with ease. Dissolve barriers and simply accept payments beyond the walls of your business!

High Risk Payment Solutions: E-Cigarette & Vape Merchant Account

Electronic cigarette has proven to be an excellent alternative to traditional cigarette.

Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik first commercially launched e-cigarette in 2003 with the brand name Ruyan. Since then the industry has only grown in leaps and bounds and is currently valued at more than $3.5 billion. The popularity of e-juices, hookahs and vaporizes has only further enabled the industry.

Millions have found a healthy alternative with E-cigarette and Vaping. With the explosive consumption of these alternatives, retail markets and online businesses have come up and become almost mainstream. With even big tobacco firms joining to make profit of off this blooming and dynamic industry.

As with every business, demand should be met with supply. And supply, not just in terms of products or services but also in terms of customer payment preferences.

The need for merchant services and online credit card processing will only grow exponentially with the growth in the industry.

Why is E-Cigarettes a risky business?

Since it is a relatively new industry, debate on whether e-cig is safe for health since the research done regarding the same is limited.

Changing policies- Legislators introducing new rules or changing existing policies that could affect selling as well as buying the products either way.

The existing industry regulations are quite stringent wherein banks should strictly ensure that those are applied to e-cig businesses during the reviewing process. Which means extra procedure & precaution taken on behalf of the bank that banks do not want to offer.

Undecided regulations on packaging and sale of e-fluids

The industry also has a lot more political involvment making processors wary.

Age Regulations- There are serious concerns over sale of e-cigs to minors.

Just like every other high risk business, E-Cigarette industry is also prone to high chargebacks. Customer unsatisfaction, denying product order or delay in delivery are a few causes resulting in chargebacks.

Financial institutions see the uncertainty surrounding the industry & its pending regulatory status will result in potentially high chargeback rates, frauds and other risks.

Obtain High Risk Merchant Account Solutions for E-Cigarette Business

Offering merchant account services would be a policy violation for most banks and processers.

But with an expanding industry that is in its top form, there are certainly a lot more merchant account providers welcoming e-cig merchants with open arms since its inception.

Merchant Account Services are not just limited to e-commerce businesses but also retails stores selling E-Cigarettes and related products, with processors offering Point-of-Sale (POS) systems and Virtual Terminals.

Businesses also need to understand that some merchant account providers will impose certain limitations like a specific monthly volume processing cap or rolling reserves due its risky nature. They are the risk mitigation tools used by providers to manage potential credit risks.

But over time, with healthy & stable processing history, low chargebacks and positive relationship with the merchant account provider, a merchant can negotiate on those points.

Businesses that are offered High Risk Merchant Account Solutions:

Online & brick-and-mortar electronic cigarettes business,
Vape stores,
Hookahs parlours,
Cigars and other related accessories

Find a merchant match for your business and book a consultation soon!

Why Do I Need A High Risk Merchant Account For Fantasy Sports?

Millions of young die-hard sports enthusiasts are hooked to fantasy sports. Baseball, Football, Hockey, Cricket, Soccer being the most popular fantasy sports websites.

What better way to make yourself a part of a sport you absolutely love? It only gets better with your friends and family joining in the virtual game.

This recreation sport may have only begun as a means of fun among friends but is now a booming billion dollar global industry. Billions of dollars are being invested in virtual game platform across various sports pursuits and last checked, the industry is generated $7.22 billion revenue according to a research conducted by Ipsos Marketing.

Fantasy sports are played both on a desktop as well as on smart phones. With a demographic consisting of largely young players, the use of mobile phones to play the game has increased significantly in the past years. Online platforms being the primary source of fantasy sports, it becomes vital to provide online credit card processing services to its participants.

Although with the industry being categorized as high risk, obtaining regular merchant services for credit card processing is an uphill task for fantasy sports merchants.

Why is Fantasy Sports considered as a High Risk Industry?

Despite being a flourishing money making industry, financial institutions refuse to engage with these merchants and are quick to decline their applications.

Fantasy sports business is also known as the most popular type of virtual sports betting. With the games being largely viewed as form of gambling, its nature of business becomes controversial and hence placed under the high risk bracket by banks.

Another major issue being the industry is plagued with customer-initiated chargebacks due to its high ticket price.

Recurring billing or subscription-based billing results in a lot of cancellations and refunds.

As with games, there are winners and losers. While some are a good sport about being on a losing team, merchants also encounter a significant percentage of defeated players who file fraudulent chargebacks after losing to avoid paying.

Betting is a greedy game. In an attempt in rack in more, players end up with a huge bill and then try to cheat the chargeback system to play for free. This is called friendly frauds.

With the industry being heavily regulated, ensuring strict compliance of rules by merchants puts tremendous burden on the underwriting team processing the application.

Sponsor banks follow a strict policy against high chargeback ratio. If a merchant’s chargeback exceeds a certain limit, the bank is quick to shut down the account as well as charge the processor a heavy fine.

When chargebacks go unpaid by the merchants, it causes a huge financial risk to banks and credit card processors making them extremely cautious about accepting businesses with a possibility of high chargebacks.

The payment methods that fantasy sports merchants heavily rely on are online, virtual terminals or MOTO which are susceptible to fraud.

Excessive liability coupled with uncertainty makes it a high risk industry.

How do I obtain a High Risk Merchant Account for Fantasy Sports Business

You have your fantasy sports website up and running but no way to accept payments since you have discovered that the industry you operate in is considered high risk. What are your options now?

Instead of running pillar to post searching for a decent bank or credit card processor to take on your business or getting accepted and later having your account frozen during the reviewing process by online payment aggregators like PayPal or Stripe, start seeking reliable merchant account providers offering high risk merchant account solutions.

Now, you may have a long list of providers to offer their services but it is important to scope out and pick one who knows the ins and outs about fantasy sports business and have experience with the industry at large. Those being familiar with the nuances of the industry certainly help during the underwriting process of your business. Processors with a long-standing relationship with their sponsoring banks are an additional advantage.

When determining risk, an underwriter will study various factors and seek reassurance that the processor will not be saddled with the responsibility of clearing chargebacks caused by the merchants. High chargebacks and faulty business with questionable practices is the recipe for quick merchant account denial.

Reputable, law-abiding and a smooth functioning website with regular updates are the basics required from a merchant’s end for a smooth merchant account approval process.