Whenever we receive a referral from a member of our reseller program about finding payment processing for a high risk industry, we’re not going to waste their time or ours. We’ll know what our banking partners will and will not accept within a 10-minute conversation.
That’s because the high risk merchant services landscape is different from five years ago, even three years ago. There are certain high risk industries for which we used to have multiple payment solutions that are now difficult to find.
We’ve read about, heard and seen merchant account reseller and referral programs that guarantee approvals and solutions for the highest of high risk business types, some claiming within days. If these promises sound familiar on your search for a legitimate reseller program, proceed with caution.
Here are three tell-all signs to look for when searching for a sound affiliate program with which to partner.
1. A good reseller program offers no guarantees
Among the several traits those in high risk merchant services should look for when searching for or reseller program: No guarantee of a solution. We’re all at the mercy of acquiring banks, who often decide to process payments for a high risk industry one day, but decide against it 30 days later.
If a payment service provider is making offers of 100 percent approvals, guarantees or assurances of finding a payment solution for a high risk industry, within that very day or 48 hours, red flags should be raised.
2. One-on-one conversation
As a partner, agent or reseller, how accessible is your PSP when you’re in need of a merchant account solution? As far as reseller program support, we’re old-school. Whenever we receive an e-mail or a live chat message, we encourage the inquisitor to have a phone conversation with us. One-on-one communication is the way we prefer to conduct business.
We’ll need a few things too, such as:
- Your payment processing history
- Your industry/industries for which you need a credit card processing solution
- Your website URL
We’ll also offer you our co-branded landing page, which links to your website and, once the quick form is completed, comes into our CRM system, enabling us to share the revenue.
3. What’s going on with your industry?
Dealing in e-commerce merchant services – particularly high risk – requires working knowledge of a vast number of industries. Some high risk industries such as credit repair, payday lending, medical marijuana or online gambling have or are currently undergoing regulatory changes.
- For example, marijuana use and sale remains illegal by U.S. federal law, but 29 states have legalized it. It continues to be a predominantly cash business with credit card processing elusive as ever.
- Similarly, online gambling is very slowly finding its place in several states, but PSPs and processors in the U.S. are still in limbo as to how to progress with transaction solutions for in-state gamblers.
- Additionally, e-cigarette use continues to be a popular industry, but new FDA regulations are causing hurdles for PSPs.
When prospecting the best reseller programs with which to partner, asking about the state of certain industries can reveal a good deal about the people within the program.
We’ve got a new approach (but the revenue shares are still generous)
As a high risk merchant services provider, we’re always examining our practices and seeing how we can simplify processes for our merchants and partners.
In June, we announced that we would begin accepting leads only – no longer applications – for our reseller program. In other words, once a partner sends us the lead, we’ll take it from there. Upon finding a payment processing solution, the partner receives generous revenue shares: 60 percent residual share of accounts processing up to $1 million per month; and a 70 percent split on accounts generating more than $1 million per month.
We’re always up for a chat at 800-530-2444.
