The modern world of business is so demanding now and one of these demands is to accept credit cards. If your business is classified as high risk, you want to make sure that you have the best high risk merchant account provider to help you run your company.
A 2016 consumer survey showed that 40% of the 1,000 respondents approve of credit cards as the safest payment method. About 35% of them chose debit cards with only 11% preferring cash. There is a five percent increase in the trust placed by consumers on credit cards based on the same survey performed in 2015. On the other hand, debit cards decreased by a shocking 65%.
The Federal Reserve stated that Americans made over 33 billion transactions involving credit cards. The number is up 31 billion compared to 2012. The whole amount of transactions totaled to $3.16 trillion. With these numbers, merchants should know how critical it is to accept credit card payments.
How You Can Process Credit Card Transactions
First of all, if you are involved in a high risk business, it means that you are exposed to a higher degree of managed risk. Therefore, you require specialized attention in setting up your payment processing account. High risk merchant account providers are exactly what you need. They will help you run your business while taking into account the heightened risk in your industry.
With a merchant account, you can accept credit card payments. You have a number of options when it comes to the payment processing companies. It is crucial that you choose the one that best suits your business, which can be a challenge.
Nevertheless, you can use the following tips to help you in choosing the high risk merchant account provider:
- Find the provider for your type of business. There are several operations regarded as high risk, including health and weight loss, pharmaceuticals, telemarketing merchants, tobacco shops, and automotive brokers. When you search for the firm, save time by finding a company that specializes in your type of business.
- Know about the charges. You should be aware that when you create a merchant account, it will cost you some money. You obviously have to pay for the services rendered. Some high risk merchant account providers charge less than others but you will most likely have to pay up to five percent for every credit card transaction. Therefore, it is wise to analyze the fees associated with creating and using the merchant account. If the charges are not reasonable, it is time to move on to another option.
- The payment service provider should offer as many payment types as possible. A merchant account is not only about accepting credit cards. You want to maximize your sales, so plastics are not enough. The best provider should be open to process payments from your customers that are made through other methods.
- The provider should offer tools that will help secure your revenue. Choose a firm that assists you in managing fraud and chargebacks, while taking care of the payment information of the customers so that you can generate customer profiles. Of course, security is crucial, especially with cybercrime as one of the major problems today.
- The firm should have excellent customer support. It may be easy to find high risk merchant account providers that have friendly fees and several services. However, if their customer service is questionable, all those features will not matter. When you apply for a merchant account, make sure that the customer support of the company is outstanding. You can call and ask a few questions to determine and get a feel of how they handle their potential and existing clients. If the provider is not willing to answer your questions, is impatient, and is incapable of providing help, move on to the next company.
Many providers offer a demo, which you can schedule so that you can evaluate their payment processing solutions. Take advantage of such offer and find out whether or not the company is right for you.
Some Things to Consider When Choosing a Payment Processor
As you may have learned by now, being a high risk merchant can affect acquiring a merchant account. It is a much harder and costlier process compared to businesses that are considered low risk. Despite the competition in the industry of merchant account services, there is no complete guarantee that you will get approved for a merchant account.
Many high risk merchant account providers are willing to help you but some will look for balance on the risk that you present to them versus the potential profit they can gain from your account. For instance, if you sell marijuana-related products, some merchant account processors may not approve you.
DigiPay a High Risk Merchant Account Provider
DigiPay offers solutions for high risk merchants like you. We know it can be a hassle to go from one bank to another to open a merchant account, only to find that you will not get approved of your application. Some organizations may be willing to accept you but there is usually a high price that comes with it.
With DigiPay, you will never have to worry about paying high processing rates. We only offer competitive rates and we make sure that you will get the best services from us. We have all the tools you need from preventing chargebacks to stop fraudsters from attacking your account and business to keeping your merchant account active and tidy.
Among our features include a data vault where we help you securely store the information about your customers to use for their future purchases, layaway plans, and subscriptions. We also help you accept domestic and local currencies, which you will find useful if you are trying to widen your customer reach.
If you are not accepting mobile payments yet, now is the time to do that and we can assist you with the whole process. You can increase your sales, especially if you are planning to run a store online.
No matter what kind of high risk business you operate, DigiPay is the best high risk merchant account provider that has your needs covered. Give us a call and request for a demo today.
About The Author: Sandy Travers
Payment technology executive Sandra Travers is Co-Founder & Co-CEO of DigiPay Solutions, Inc.. Her years of experience in early-stage technology ventures brings a unique perspective to payments. Sandra manages operations and risk in addition to new product development.
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