High Risk Credit Processing and you

Sometimes you will find yourself in a position where you are entering into a high risk business, or potentially your credit may not be the best. Thankfully in this position there are merchant account providers who are willing to do business with you despite the high-risk nature of your business. There are of course some drawbacks to being in this particular situation, but high-risk credit processing can be the last option available to the intrepid business owner.

Merchant account service providers determine risk based on a variety of different factors, from credit to the amount of potentially fraudulent transactions your company may encounter. Some companies may not accept your business at all, while others will happily take your business. In some cases a home-based business will automatically be assigned a high-risk designation, based purely on that single piece of criteria. The lesson here is to shop around before settling on a single rate or determining that you’ll be turned down by everyone based on a few encounters.

Getting a merchant account to handle your high risk credit processing can be a bit tricky, and some of the options bring significant risk to the business owner. One possibility is to have a business entity overseas provide underwriting services to your transactions, but this lacks oversight committees and proper regulation, meaning the possibility for abuse is remarkably high.

You should be aware coming in that high risk credit processing comes with higher fees and premiums. The nature of your business means that they are in fact anticipating a certain amount of loss from doing business with you, and that means that you’ll be subjected to different rate structures and merchant accounts. Anticipate that the overall cost per transaction is going to be significantly higher than you might find were your risk level lower. Don’t let yourself be taken in by companies that are going to charge you potentially abusive rates.

The services that fall into the category of ‘high risk’ is remarkably broad, and contains some categories of business that you may not expect. The list of industries considered to be ‘high risk’ are rather remarkable, including event tickets, incense, herbal supplements, calling cards, real estate, and many more. So don’t be surprised when you go looking for a Merchant account if you find out that your business is among those to show potential for being a high risk credit processing situation.

Make sure you check for reasonable fees and any possible charges that may be set up on a recurring basis. Check for well-organized customer service, and a lack of skepticism to potentially high dollar sales moving large amounts of merchandise, and make sure that they have fraud protection options available. One of the problems that can come with dealing with unscrupulous high risk credit processing, is the merchant account service provider not being willing to provide you with protections against the sorts of activities that make you high risk. Most of all, make sure you know where in their spectrum you fall, so you know which fees and such apply to your company.

When shopping for a high risk merchant account, you can see that there will be a great many problems you can come across. The best way to avoid many of these pit-falls is as simple as making sure you read thoroughly through their contracts before committing to one. Just like any business transaction, you want to make sure you thoroughly understand the fine print. The company you are looking at should provide you with friendly customer service willing to discuss the details of your contract with you at length.