If you use a merchant account, you have an acquiring bank that provides the account used for processing card payments. These banks talk to each other and share a list of high-risk merchants to help them avoid taking on overly risky accounts. This list is called the Member Alert to Control High Risk list. If…
Category: Business Tips
Why Do You Need an Offshore/International Merchant Account?
Modern e-commerce businesses have more choices than ever for how to handle their payment processing. Some of these options can be confusing for people who aren’t very familiar with the space. A lot of merchants see the option of having an offshore merchant account but never consider it. There may be some good reasons why…
How To Find the Right Online Payment Processor
Online payment processing is a complex subject with a lot of factors that affect your bottom line, which can make it hard to understand whether you’re getting the best deal available or not. A lot of the complexity is baked into the credit industry, meaning that your processor can’t change the fact that there are…
How Do I Reduce My Chargebacks?
Chargebacks on credit card purchases help protect consumers from misuse of their payment information. However, they can also be difficult for merchants to handle. For Visa and MasterCard, the majority of chargebacks happen for one of two reasons. The good news is that you can use a few techniques to achieve lower chargebacks as a…
What Is the MATCH List and How Does it Affect Me?
When a merchant account was terminated by Mastercard, the company was considered blacklisted and its name was added to a Terminated Merchant File (TMF). This was done to prevent a risky business from applying for a new account or opening an account with another major credit card company. More recently, the TMF was replaced with…
When Do You Need a High Risk Merchant Account?
If you have shopped for a merchant account, you may have seen that some businesses are denied accounts due to high risk. Merchant services providers assume a certain amount of risk with each company they work with. In many industries, the risk is fairly low. However, companies in some fields may need to use special,…
Are Free Merchant Accounts a Real Thing?
A merchant account can be invaluable for your business. It is how you can accept credit card payments from your customers. If you have an established customer base, it is a no-brainer to set up a merchant account. However, if you don’t have steady revenue yet, you may be intimidated by the fees and setup…
It’s Chargeback Season: Safeguard E-Commerce Merchant Accounts with Communication
While we’re all (hopefully) sticking to our New Year’s resolutions, we’re offering a challenge to our network of competing partners and acquiring banks. When providing e-commerce merchant accounts, there is nothing like direct, one-on-one communication. Sure, we get inquiries through every conceivable medium of communication: e-mail, Skype or live chat, and even social media. And…
In Global Credit Card Processing, Merchants Often Need to Work With Customers
We’ve been a global credit card processing provider since 2001, and, having provided high risk payment processing to thousands of e-commerce businesses worldwide, we’ve just about seen it all. In the current climate, half the battle for an e-commerce business (or any business, for that matter) to surviving and thriving is finding the balance between…
2 Little-Known Holidays for Which the Best Credit Card Processing Solutions are Vital
If you’re an online merchant, finding the best credit card processing solution is paramount to launching and sustaining your business and online presence; a solution that enables flexibility, international visitors and recognizes currencies outside your borders. We’re less than a month away from the crazy season, where online shopping reaches new highs (we’re certain it…