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NUTRACEUTICALS

HIGH RISK MERCHANT ACCOUNTS FOR NUTRACEUTICALS.
FASTER APPROVALS. COMPETITIVE PRICING. BETTER SERVICE.

Payment Processing for Nutraceutical Companies

To help nutraceutical entrepreneurs, DigiPay Solutions has created a “nutraceutical primer” with important information about setting up a merchant account, controlling chargebacks, managing risk and keeping merchant accounts in good standing.

Who is DigiPay Solutions?

The processor of choice for the world’s leading nutraceutical companies, DigiPay Solutions has a global network of partner banks, payment experts and an elite portfolio of tailored solutions. Thousands of merchants, from start-ups to enterprise-scale organizations, leverage DigiPay’s curated knowledge of high-risk payments to securely process hundreds of millions across an array of vertical industries. DigiPay provides trial offer and straight sale processing partners with advice and solutions for banking and payment card industry compliance.

DigiPay’s team of payment experts, combined with the company’s proven record of successful nutra offerings, will ensure a successful launch and scaling of your nutra business.

Nutraceutical Payment Processing Primer

A Brief Guide to Nutraceuticals:

Enabling Nutraceutical Commerce:

Growing and Scaling Your Nutraceutical Business:

Get a Free Nutra Merchant Account Consultation

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A Brief Guide to Nutraceuticals

Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods Market Projections

The global nutraceutical market should reach $285.0 billion by 2021 from $198.7 billion in 2016 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%, from 2016 to 2021.

The functional beverages market should reach $105.5 billion by 2021 from $71.5 billion in 2016 at a CAGR of 8.1%, from 2016 to 2021.

The functional food market should reach $92.3 billion by 2021 from $64.6 billion in 2016 at a CAGR of 7.4%, from 2016 to 2021.

*Dublin, March 2017 Research and Markets

SIC, NAICS & MCC Codes

Nutraceutical and Functional Foods Merchants are categorized by SIC Code, NAICS Code and Visa Merchant Category Code (MCC) to comply with payment card industry requirements.

Proper classification is vitally important to prevent funds from being held in reserve for misrepresentation. Of note, to date, Functional Foods, Nutritional Beverages, do not have a designated SIC Code or NAICS Code.

Additional information on Visa MCC can be found in this downloadable guide.

Here are some examples of nutraceutical industry codes:

Primary NAICS Code: 325411 – Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing

Primary SIC Code: 2833 – Medicinal Chemicals and Botanical Products

Leaders and Rising Stars

In the nutra industry, publicly traded companies and sole proprietors are equally committed to education, transparency and growth.

Here’s a look at some common categories and brands.

  1. Nutraceutical International Corp

    (NASDAQ: NUTR): Nutraceutical Int’l Corp. trades at a forward-looking P/E ratio of 13.25x and had a market cap of $227,160,000 in February 2016. Its family of brands includes Solaray, KAL, NaturalMax, VegLife, Premier One, Solar Green, Action Labs, Natural Sport, Monarch Nutritional Laboratories and Great Basin Botanicals.

  2. MediFast Inc.

    (NYSE: MED): MediFast trades at a forward-looking P/E ratio of 15.30x. The company’s market cap is $332,700,000.

  3. Herbalife

    (NYSE: HLF): Herbalife trades at a forward-looking P/E ratio of 9.34x; its market cap is $4.02 billion.

  4. USANA Health Sciences Inc.

    (NYSE: USNA): USANA Health Sciences trades at a forward-looking P/E ratio of 14.54x and has a market cap of $1.59 Billion.

  5. Your Name Here:

    With your great brand story and DigiPay Solutions as your processing partner, there’s no limit to how far you can scale your company. DigiPay’s diverse, extended family of nutraceutical companies process anywhere from $20,000 to millions in monthly revenue.

Interested in learning more about Publicly Traded Nutritional Supplement, Vitamin and Sports Companies listed on Major U.S. Exchanges? Use this link to view by Large-Cap Stocks, Mid-Cap Stocks and Small-Cap Stocks.

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Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods Insights

Nutraceutical industry forecasts reflect the measured optimism of Euromonitor International, which expects the U.S. vitamin and dietary supplement segment to grow by 53 percent to $28.7 billion by 2021. Functional Packaged Food Sales are considered the fastest-growing and largest category in health and wellness. By changing its focus from nutrients that are essential to survival to value-added nutrients that promote optimal health, the nutraceutical industry has escalated its growth curve. Food and nutrition science companies and practitioners have transitioned from correcting nutritional deficiencies to designing nutra products, including functional foods.

Knowledge is power in the competitive consumer market. A growing body of evidence clearly demonstrates the relationship between food and health, attracting consumers to a range of nutraceutical products and services. Functional foods are emerging as a primary method for preventing disease and increasing health, vitality and wellness.

Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods Definitions

What is the definition of nutraceuticals? Nutraceuticals, broadly defined, are dietary supplements and fortified food designed to provide health benefits. The category may include dietary supplements, nutricosmetics and functional foods and beverages such as powder drink mixes, bars and snacks.

What is the definition of functional foods? A functional food contains one or more food-derived ingredients that provide enhanced benefits beyond basic nutritional value. Functional foods and beverages may be fortified with a nutrient or ingredient such as probiotics, plant stanlos, sterols or protein fortification.

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Opportunities and Challenges

Nutraceutical and functional foods attract consumers from an array of demographic backgrounds, from Millennials seeking enhanced performance and health to baby boomers with a strong desire to stay young in body and mind. The young industry’s rapid growth makes it susceptible to challenges, which include changes in the evolving regulatory environment and potential legal actions due to misrepresented endorsements or overstated health claims of various products.

The industry has achieved a 37 percent growth rate and is predicted to exceed $200 billion in 2017. U.S. nutraceuticals alone achieved sales of $74 billion in 2015, accounting for almost 40 percent of international sales. Even with these healthy numbers, nutra companies are unable to apply for a merchant account at many sponsoring banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co. These financial institutions would rather not deal with the regulatory risks associated with nutritional products and their distributors.

Because banks tend to place nutraceutical companies in the same bucket or avoid them altogether, they don’t understand this growing segment. And many high-risk processors don’t understand the business any better than banks. They may also be afraid of chargebacks, especially those related to free trial offers.

Enabling Nutraceutical Commerce

How do I create an eCommerce merchant account?

Establishing a merchant account to process payments is the first step in enabling nutraceutical commerce. Nutraceutical businesses are classified as high-risk, which makes them ineligible for merchant accounts at numerous sponsoring banks. DigiPay’s expanded network of banking relationships accepts the nutraceutical business category and provides competitive rates, terms and conditions.

Nutra entrepreneurs find it advantageous to work with processing partners who are familiar with the industry, its jargon and common business practices. Sales representatives who do not know the difference between straight sales and trial offers will be less effective managing relationships due to their learning curves. Working with a knowledgeable processing partner can save time and money while helping nutra companies attract and retain customers and subscribers.

Why are Nutraceutical and Functional Food merchants considered high-risk?

Many banks will not accept nutra businesses because of the industry’s higher-than-average number of chargebacks. Nutraceutical businesses, especially entrepreneurial start-ups, may be unfamiliar with the risks associated with recurring billing, free trial offers, and products that consumers expect to significantly enhance their health or cure an illness.

Here are some risks commonly associated with nutraceuticals and functional foods:

  1. Subscriber Remorse:

    Consumers who opt in for recurring billing may forget that their credit card will automatically be billed every month. They will then dispute the charge that appears on their credit card statement. Many card issuing banks require consumers to contact the merchant before they process a chargeback request.

  2. Exaggerated Claims:

    Consumers who do not receive the dramatic results they expect from a nutra product may initiate a chargeback. They do not even have to prove the company made an exaggerated claim. They only need to demonstrate that a nutra company hinted at a great result to win a dispute. Regulatory compliance regarding health claims and truth-in-advertising creates additional exposure for nutra companies.

  3. Lack of Infrastructure:

    Many nutra entrepreneurs who are just beginning to get established as businesses may not have the appropriate levels of customer service support to deal with consumer complaints and inquiries. Consumers who are unable to communicate their concerns to merchants are at increased risk of turning to payment card issuers for refunds and chargebacks.

Can DigiPay acquire nutra merchant accounts?

Yes, at DigiPay nutra is in our DNA. Because we “get” nutra’s unique framework and diversity of categories, business models, SIC and NAIC codes and VISA MCC, we underwrite our merchants before sending the applications to our sponsor bank. Once new merchants establish credibility and trust with DigiPay banking partners, they receive personalized attention and ongoing risk management from DigiPay’s team of payment specialists. This personalized service, coupled with the sheer volume of transactions we process through multiple banks, ensures our merchants receive the highest level of service and support.

Choosing the right payment processing partner is critical, because without the ability to accept payments, merchants are out of business. DigiPay’s merchant onboarding process combines sophisticated technology with human oversight. Experienced underwriters who understand the nutraceutical industry, and have expertise in payment card brand and banking industry compliance, bring a refreshingly holistic approach to new account set-ups.

Whether a nutra business is straight-sale or trial, publicly-traded or a start-up entrepreneur, DigiPay Solutions will give every merchant the attention and resources they deserve and a one-stop shop for processing solutions. The nutra industry is growing and DigiPay can accelerate that growth. The first order of business is eliminating any barriers to progress. Look no further than DigiPay Solutions, where getting a nutra merchant account is step one of our process.

Why is so much information required when opening a nutra merchant account?

Because of the higher risk associated with nutraceutical products, more due diligence is required during the new merchant onboarding process. This means underwriters need to review a range of documents to assure the business is compliant, financially sound, and a good credit risk. DigiPay is unique because we underwrite merchants in-house before we submit their applications to the bank. Because our team of underwriters is experienced in high-risk, your business is presented to the bank with all required documents and full disclosure, to engender trust and stability.

Presenting your business in the best possible light from point of first contact is important because merchant accounts are essentially a line of credit from a processor. Because high-risk merchants have higher chargeback ratios and regulatory exposure, financial institutions are concerned they may violate card brand rules, laws and regulations. Complaints to the FDA and the FTC against a merchant create liability not only for merchants, but can also hold processors accountable under Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.

DigiPay’s in-house team of underwriters and risk managers have curated knowledge in all areas of high risk. We are best qualified to guide you through the process efficiently and painlessly while helping to present your business to increase approval and gain credibility.

How do I increase my processing limits?

Once a high-risk nutra merchant account is approved, payment processors set monthly processing limits, typically between $25,000 and $100,000 per month, for the first three-to-six-months. This gives processors time to develop a customer risk profile by evaluating payment flows, average ticket sizes, processing levels and chargeback ratios.

Most nutraceutical companies that maintain a stable, consistent performance throughout their initial trial periods can increase their processing limits. DigiPay’s risk management team works closely with merchants and sponsoring banks to shorten trial periods and raise processing limits.

Managing Alerts, Refunds and Chargebacks

Maintaining a low chargeback ratio is key to maintaining a healthy merchant account. When chargebacks exceed card brand maximums, your merchant account is at risk of being shut down. If a merchant category has consistently excessive chargebacks, banks will sometimes shut down an entire vertical industry. For this reason, it is critical for high-risk verticals to self-regulate, track chargeback and refund ratios and work collaboratively to establish industry best practices.

Get a Free Consultation about a High-Risk Nutra Merchant Account

How can I track my chargeback and refund ratios?

Keeping track of your Transaction Chargeback Ratio as well as your Volume Chargeback Ratio is critical because these categories are what Visa, Mastercard and payment processors monitor. Payment processors with high chargeback ratios in their merchant portfolios can trigger unannounced audits by Visa or Mastercard. For this reason, DigiPay, powered by TranZlytics, closely monitors chargeback and refund ratios, reacting quickly to spikes in activity. Excessive refunds, frequently the result of alerts, can be a sign of fraud or poor business practices, information the card brands and banks may consider when assessing risk.

The formulas shown below use simple math to derive Transaction Chargeback, Volume Chargeback and Refund Ratios:

  1. Transaction Chargeback Ratio:

    Add total monthly number of chargebacks and divide by total monthly number of transaction. For example – if during a month you processed 500 sales, and there were 10 chargebacks, your chargeback ratio would equal 10/500, or 2.00%.

  2. Volume Chargeback Ratio:

    Add total monthly dollar amount of all chargebacks and divide by the total monthly sales volume.
    For example – if during a month, you processed 500k in sales, and your chargebacks were 10k, your chargeback ratio would equal 10/500, or 2.00%.

  3. Transaction Refund Ratio:

    Add total monthly number of refunds and divide by total monthly number of transactions.
    For example – if during a month you processed 500 sales, and there were 10 refunds, your refund ratio would equal 10/500, or 2.00%.

  4. Volume Refund Ratio:

    Add total monthly dollar amount of all refunds and divide by the total monthly sales volume.
    For example – if during a month, you processed 500k in sales, and your refunds were 10k, your refund ratio would equal 10/500, or 2.00%.

How do I maintain low chargeback and refund ratios?

It is important not to ignore chargebacks, because win/loss ratios matter. Visa and Mastercard can impose penalties and fines in the tens of thousands on payment processors and their sponsoring banks for continuing to process transactions for merchants that exceed the permissible 2 percent chargeback ratio. Non-compliant processors and banks may also be subjected to further scrutiny and potential shut-down by card brands and regulators.

Here are some recommended ways to maintain low chargeback and refund volume ratios:

  • Stop fraud before it happens:

    Proactively identify fraudulent and stolen cards and suspicious behavior when possible. Having items like an SSL certificate, additional billing details, and other fraud detection tools.

  • Be accessible to customers:

    Dissatisfied customers who have access to live support will frequently be satisfied that they had the opportunity to air their grievances. They may be satisfied with a simple return or refund and find it unnecessary or initiate a dispute or chargeback.

  • Maintain a high transaction count:

    Companies with high levels of credit card transactions are in a better position to absorb chargebacks. Low-volume merchants can find themselves in the dubious position of having a high chargeback ratio with just a few chargebacks.

  • Maintain excellent logistics and fulfillment:

    In the always-on, always-connected world, customers expect immediate confirmations and emailed receipts when they place orders online. A good CRM program can automate this process. The DigiPay TranZlytics Gateway is preconfigured to display a merchant’s contact information and customer service number to ensure that nutra merchants are locatable, and include tracking information with each shipment notification.

  • Use email marketing:

    Follow product orders and shipments with a simple survey or thank you email. This simple gesture will improve brand recognition when customers receive their credit card statements and make it easy for them to contact your company to complain or request a refund.

  • Initiate pre-chargeback and refund alerts:

    Create instant notifications of incoming requests for refunds, chargebacks and assorted customer inquiries. These services can be implemented in-house or outsourced to third-party providers. Merchants have a small window to react to customer disputes before card brands rule in favor of consumers. Automated chargeback and refund alert systems help merchants mitigate risk.

  • Implement a billing support hotline:

    Providing customers with a dedicated, toll-free number and email address will alleviate their concerns and build good will. Nutraceutical businesses that are highly accessible to customers have been shown to increase customer loyalty and decrease chargeback and refund ratios.

  • Create an easy refund process:

    Refunds are a reality of life and a cost of doing business in the nutraceutical industry. By accounting and budgeting for refunds, nutra merchants can accommodate dissatisfied customers, avoid chargebacks and improve transaction flows.

Chargeback Mitigation Companies for Nutraceutical Businesses

Merchants can handle chargebacks in-house or outsource to a Chargeback Mitigation Specialist. The following companies are experienced in identifying all forms of fraud, including friendly fraud. They will investigate chargeback claims and retrieval requests on behalf of merchants:

Chargeback Mitigation Companies:

  • MIDigator*
  • Chargeback Guru*
  • Chargebacks.com
  • Chargebacks 911
  • Chargeback 360

*DigiPay Preferred Provider

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How do I choose an eCommerce gateway?

Nutraceutical companies rely on eCommerce and Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO) sales to scale their businesses. Credit card payments transacted online or by phone are called Card Not Present (CNP) transactions. Online CNP transactions involve credit card gateways that transmit payments from merchants to their payment processors.

Following is a list of recommended attributes of payment gateways that address the unique requirements of nutraceutical companies:

Simple integration:

Payment gateways need to seamlessly integrate into CRMs, POS systems, third-party software, and eCommerce shopping carts to facilitate all forms of online, MOTO and in-store commerce.

Enhanced reporting tools:

Nutra companies need access to a variety of real-time reports and transaction data to grow and scale their businesses and manage chargebacks and refunds.

Merchant Dashboard, with permission levels:

In addition to enhanced reporting, merchants need secure access to transaction data from anywhere they happen to be working, with built-in permission levels to facilitate all levels of employees and management.

Payment gateways must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Ask your gateway provider if they are PCI DSS compliant and verify their certificate annually. Nutraceutical merchants also need a gateway with a data vault for tokenization of credit card numbers and encryption of customer personally identifiable information (PII).

Tokenization replaces a Primary Account Number (PAN) with a randomly generated set of numbers and records this in the data vault. This is to prevent hackers from accessing customer data. By storing PII and PAN in a highly secure, offsite location merchants shift their liability to the gateway provider. Encryption and tokenization keep your customer’s information safe while allowing merchants access to the data for future transactions.

TranZlytics Gateway:
Choosing the right gateway provider is critical for high-risk merchants and their processors. DigiPay’s chosen gateway is TranZlytics. TranZlytics offers high risk merchants a Gateway and HUB built from the ground up for high-risk and CNP merchants. The solution includes transaction analytics and fraud prevention and built-in advanced chargeback management.

TranZlytics also offers advanced real-time reporting for faster and better use of CRM data. Payment descriptors are registered with a Chargeback Alerts program; re-presentments are pre-integrated with the gateway.

With a single HUB for transaction management and an expert risk management team to monitor your data, you can focus on what you do best, growing your business. Think of Tranzlytics as a Nutra Payment HUB with the IQ of Einstein and the memory of an elephant.

CRMs for Nutraceutical Businesses

Customer Relations Management (CRM) software is a basic requirement, both for large enterprises and small companies that want to scale and grow their businesses. These systems are designed to automate the lifecycle of product offerings and to facilitate payments. As with payment gateways, it is vitally important to validate the CRM is PCI DSS compliant if it is touching customer information. Unlike payment gateways, CRM’s are not rigorously monitored for PCI DSS compliance; a security breach can devastate your business and erode customer trust.

Below are examples of CRMs that are specifically configured for the nutraceutical business:

  • Konnetive CRM:

    Konnektive is CRM of choice for a diversified array of nutra companies. The CRM’s expanded solution suite shopping cart technology, logistics and fulfillment and call center integration. The platform also provides advanced reporting and analytics and PCI certification. Subscription prices vary.

  • Zoho CRM:

    Zoho, a generic and inexpensive CRM program provides tools for recurring billing, customer tracking, customer satisfaction emails and a customizable database. While the service is not specifically designed for the nutra industry, it is affordable and supports multiple MIDs.

  • Limelight CRM:

    Limelight is the go-to CRM created “For Marketers, By Marketers”, for a large number of continuity, membership and subscription nutra businesses, as well as some straight sale nutra. The reason it’s so popular is its integration with NMI and some robust call center integration. The biggest downside to LimeLight is that they’re expensive. Everything is done via a custom quote, but a nutra business can expect to pay at least $500 per month, plus a one-time setup fee. Whether or not that fits within your budget is obviously up to you, but it is probably worth doing an intro call just to see why so many nutra businesses end up choosing them

  • Google Sheets:

    Google Sheets is a free service that provides a basic spreadsheet for start-ups. Its biggest asset is that it is free.

Growing and Scaling Your Nutraceutical Business

It’s a Great Time to be in Nutra

Whether you are a global nutraceutical enterprise or a nutra entrepreneur setting up shop, the nutraceutical and function foods industry is growing exponentially and DigiPay is excited to be part of it. Our extended family of nutra merchants, with vastly different models and product sets, are equally committed to health, happiness and profitability. Some offer free trials; others have straight sale business models. All want affordable and easy high-risk payment card processing, which is our specialty.

Mike Ackerman
Co-Founder, CEO, DigiPay Solutions

Get a Free Consultation about a High-Risk Nutra Merchant Account

Affiliate Marketing

What is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is a partnership between merchants and affiliated individuals and companies that sell for them on the internet. Companies of all sizes, from leading global brands to start-up entrepreneurs, use the affiliate marketing model to great advantage, finding it an effective and lucrative ecommerce strategy. For example, thousands of Amazon.com affiliates promote products on their websites, redirecting buyers to Amazon’s site where they can check out and complete the sale. These sales are tracked by unique URLs that enable affiliates to earn commissions.

Creating an effective affiliate marketing plan begins with identifying trusted and reputable affiliates with extensive networks and followers, retail analysts have noted. These sources can help introduce products and services to markets outside a company’s traditional marketing footprint. Some examples might be a blogger with thousands of followers, or an e-zine with a strong vertical industry focus.

Because affiliate marketers are ideally an extension of a company’s brand and salesforce, it is crucial for organizations to create an affiliate program with clearly articulated terms and conditions, leaving nothing to chance. Some companies may outsource most of their promotional efforts to affiliate marketers. Others may supplement their traditional salesforce with a few affiliate partners.

Companies need to consider their primary objectives and corporate culture when creating an affiliate marketing program. Companies that manage more than one sales force, such as telemarketers and outside sales, have learned to structure sales programs to ensure that different teams are not competing against each other. This principle is equally relevant when working with affiliate marketers, who have proven to be most effective when they are not in direct competition with internal sales teams.

What are Five Essential Components of an Affiliate Marketing Plan?

Payment acceptance: Affiliate marketing takes place on the internet, where payment methods vary. Merchants that only accept traditional credit cards will miss the opportunity to scale their businesses globally, by not accepting the most popular payment methods of other countries. Partnering with a company that specializes in cross-border payments and understands the unique regulatory environments of different countries around the world, will solve this issue.

Establish dedicated URL links: Targeted, accurate URLs are directly tied to affiliate marketers’ commissions and need to directly link to landing pages and product codes. Companies need to work with IT specialists to accurately track and promptly commission affiliate sales.

Create a coupon program: Considering how many consumers search for coupons and offers online, doesn’t it make sense to create coupon programs that help affiliate partners attract prospective buyers? Discount codes are one of the biggest growth hacks on the internet and show no sign of slowing down.

Stay in touch with affiliate partners: Establishing deep ties with affiliate partners means notifying them in real-time of any changes in inventory, pricing models and promotions. No company can afford the embarrassment of having an affiliate learn of a discontinued item or clearance sale through a third party. As sales representatives on the front lines of selling a company’s products, affiliate marketers deserve real-time alerts to keep them agile and motivated.

KPIs, banners: Affiliate marketers, like any sales professionals, need to know their key performance indicators, not only to track their closing rates but to be inspired to reach even greater heights. While there are multiple ways to do this, establishing a secure portal where they can log in and view their activity, commission status and current promotions will help them stay on track and cut down on customer service calls.

How can Merchants Prevent Affiliate Fraud?

  • Know Your Affiliate (KYA):

    Before you approve a new affiliate, your first step in preventing fraud is to fully vet them. Ask them about their current brand relationships and how they promote their products. Their responses will help you evaluate if their values and culture are consistent with your company’s image and brand. Ask how the affiliate will drive traffic & sales to your offer. Check to see if the affiliate has behaved fraudulently in other programs

  • Review the Affiliate Site to See:

    • Is their website(s) compatible with your brand standards?
    • What visual impression are they creating?
    • Is the copy written in a way that will enhance or cheapen your brand?
    • Are the product descriptions accurate?
    • How well are they promoting their site?
    • How well do they integrate with social sharing options?

  • Enforce Affiliate T&C and keep them updated:

    To stay apace with ever-changing rules and regulations, it is necessary to periodically update your affiliate terms and conditions. Let your affiliates know how these updates will be broadcast and request confirmation. Be sure to include a due date for compliance to the new terms as well as an enforcement strategy.

  • What is the best way to enforce Affiliate Terms?

    Monitor for violations using technology and human intelligence. Consider contracting with third-party service providers that use technology to monitor websites, or build those capabilities in-house. Ideally, machine learning coupled with human intelligence is the best way to ensure compliance.

  • Can Enforcement Be Outsourced?

    Yes, DigiPay powered by Tranzlytics provides high-risk merchants with Pro Managed Services to ensure compliance and to detect and prevent fraud. Tranzlytics fraud detection includes daily screen shots that identify changes to a website. In addition to monitoring for key word violations, Tranzlytics can monitor affiliates and sub-affiliates traffic to ensure compliance.

What is the best way to spot affiliate fraud?

The adage, trust but verify, applies when monitoring affiliates. The following guidelines can help identify potential fraud:

  • URLS’s with multiple redirects: It is important to know if the affiliate is using an approved site for your offer or unapproved sites to send fraudulent traffic.
  • Look at referring URL’s for the original source of leads and sales. Check for trends to identify sub-affiliates associated with fraud and high chargeback ratios.
  • Multiple transactions from a single IP address. This could indicate an affiliate or sub-affiliate is running stolen credit cards to place multiple orders.
  • Use transaction history and trends to Investigate spikes in leads or sales.

What are common affiliate marketing words, expressions and phrases?

Affiliate software: Unique applications developed by companies to track and manage their affiliate marketing programs.

Affiliate link: This distinct URL, created for each affiliate marketer, enables companies to recognize, track and pay commissions to affiliates.

Affiliate ID: These unique IDs are sometimes used in addition to unique URLs on websites to identify affiliate marketers and ensure that they are compensated for sales.

Payment Mode: Pertains to the method of payment used by a consumer to complete an affiliate-referred sale. Most affiliate programs offer payment methods beyond traditional credit cards to appeal to global consumers.

Affiliate Manager/OPM: Affiliate managers, who specialize in all aspects of affiliate marketing, provide expert guidance on establishing and maintaining affiliate programs.

Commission percentage/amount: This refers to the percentage of each sale that companies provide in commissions to their affiliate marketers.

2-tier, or multi-tier, affiliate marketing: Like multi-level marketing schemes, this method rewards affiliate partners for referrals and recommendations, creating a second tier of sub-affiliates who can also earn sub-affiliate commissions.

Landing pages: This web page is used to promote a specific product and is frequently used to test a market’s receptivity to a product or service.

Custom affiliate income/account: Some companies reward top-producing affiliates by creating an elite sales program with higher-tiered commissions.

Link clocking: Link clocking shortens affiliate-identifying links, keeping them short and easy on the eyes.

Custom coupons: Custom coupon programs, directly linked to specific affiliates, help companies track and analyze affiliate sales.

A growing number of companies are working with DigiPay and TranZlytics to optimize and grow their affiliate programs. Contact us today for a no-obligation review.

Industry Associations

The following membership groups and trade associations represent the interests of the nutraceuticals and functional foods industries:

Functional Food Center FFC, established in 1998, is focused on the science and business of functional food innovations. The association connects scientists and food experts with cutting-edge expertise related to functional food research and commercialization and provides an array of exhibitions, online courses, content and newsletters.

American Herbal Products Association AHPA, was founded in 1992 for herbal product companies. The association has more than 350 domestic and foreign members.

Consumer Healthcare Products Association CHPA, established more than 135 years ago, is the oldest association for the over-the-counter dietary supplement industry. The group updates members on numerous legal and regulatory issues.

Natural Products Association NPA, formerly NNFA was founded in 1936 and represents the interest of merchants and distributors. They are considered the leading lobbying and industry trade group of the natural products industry. They have been leading the industry’s development of standards and consumers’ freedom of choice.

United Natural Products Alliance UNPA, established in 1991, represents the interests of natural product companies interested in providing quality products and services.

Annual Events and Conferences

Annual conferences and events in the nutraceutical industry provide nutraceutical organizations and professionals with networking and educational opportunities. Here are some examples:

Digital Marketer: Comprehensive training and strategic digital marketing support for nutraceutical companies

July 30-Aug. 1, 2017: Affiliate Summit East, New York City: Affiliate Summit holds two conference and tradeshows and a Performance Marketing Summit in the US. Their Affiliate Summit East is held late summer in New York.

Jan. 7-9, 2018: Affiliate Summit West is in Las Vegas in January. Regional Affiliate Summit Social Events take place in cities around the world, providing digital marketers with additional networking opportunities.

Sept. 18-20, 2017: Content and Commerce Summit, Los Angeles:

Sept. 22-23, 2017: Functional Food Center (FCC) will host its 22nd international conference at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., to address USA “Functional and Medical Foods for Chronic Diseases: Bioactive Compounds and Biomarkers.” The event will bring together experts in medicine, biology, and the food industry to discuss functional foods with bioactive compounds as dietary interventions for chronic diseases. For additional information on this and other upcoming events.

For a list of the best and International functional food conferences and international symposium’s and workshops.

February 26-28, 2018: Traffic and Conversion Summit, San Diego – The largest conversion conference in North America is held in San Diego every February, attracting digital marketers from around the world.
For an up-to-date list of digital marketing conferences, visit this link.

Innovations in Agriculture: UAE’s annual conference occurs every February, providing attendees with presentations and speakers geared to the agricultural sector, which includes product development in the nutra industry.

Natural Products Expo West: This conference occurs in California in March and features an array of nutra products and vendors.

NY State Food Suppliers Conference: This food suppliers conference, held in April in New York, may offer networking opportunities for nutra exhibitors and companies.

Interphex Conference: Held in New York in April, this conference is focused on production strategies for large nutra enterprises.

Ingredient Marketplace Conference: Held in April in Orlando, this conference provides presentations on marketing strategies for nutra companies.

HBA Global Conference: This large conference, held in June, provides tools of the trade and strategic resources for nutra companies that specialize in beauty products and services.

CRN USA Conference: This conference hosted by Council for Responsible Nutrition, is held in Southern California and primarily focused on regulatory issues in the supplements and nutra industry.

Upcoming Events and Conferences

Name Date City Venue
Affiliate Summit East July 30-Aug. 1, 2017 New York City, NY New York Marriott Marquis
Content and Commerce Summit Sept. 18-20, 2017 Los Angeles, CA JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE
Functional Food Center (FCC) Sept. 22-23, 2017 Boston, MA Joseph B. Martin Conference Center
Affiliate Summit West Jan. 7-9, 2018 Las Vegas, NV Paris Las Vegas Hotel
Traffic and Conversion Summit February 26-28, 2018 San Diego, CA San Diego Marriott Marquis

Join the growing community of nutra companies that process with DigiPay Solutions

Thank you for taking the time to review this compendium to learn about available opportunities and solutions in the nutraceutical industry. We look forward to welcoming you to our growing merchant community.

Our online application takes minutes to complete. Once approved, our relationship managers will help you personalize your business management portal and leverage our full complement of secure payment gateway and chargeback management tools. They’ll help provision your processing account, ecommerce website and POS systems in brick-and-mortar stores.

DigiPay will also make it easy for your customers to find you, by helping you create an engaging online and in-store presence and seamless customer checkout experience. Take your nutra business to the next level today at digipaysolutions.com.

Join over 40,000 satisfied DigiPay customers

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