Why Instabill Provides Merchant Accounts for High Risk Merchants
Many banks around the world are conservative when providing merchant accounts to e-commerce businesses. They meticulously assess a general set of risk factors for every applicant, and some merchants do not get the payment processing chance they deserve because they are considered high risk.
With Instabill’s merchant accounts high risk merchants worldwide may qualify for one of our solutions and begin processing in days.
What Makes a Merchant High Risk?
A merchant could have flawless credit card processing history, yet there are many aspects of his or her business that may make him or her high risk. Reference the list below to learn about some common reasons why an acquiring bank may consider you to be high risk.
- Little or no credit card processing history: When we present your business to one of our domestic or international acquiring banking partners, they like to see healthy payment processing history and strong financials. That’s not to say, however, that startups and new businesses can’t get credit card processing. We have several solutions for startups and merchants short on history. It’s just that startup merchants are subject to slightly higher fees.
- The merchant is in an industry that comes with age or legal restrictions: Online gambling and gaming, adult content or online wine delivery are three industries that fit into this category. Not only does the risk lie in who might be placing the order of such goods, but who (and how old) the person is receiving goods through shipping.
- Location of business: There are countries and regions that have higher rates of fraud than others. For example, fraud is more common in certain countries in Eastern Europe, Asian and African countries. On a lesser scale, states such as Florida, Nevada and Delaware interestingly, have high rates of fraud.
- Location of a merchant’s residence: Similar to the above, the country where a merchant resides can also play into determining their risk level. For example, if a merchant resides in London but his business is in Johannesburg, this might make banks nervous. Additionally, banks will undoubtedly feel the same if a merchant is living and conducting business in a country or region in conflict, such as Libya, Afghanistan or Ukraine.
- Type of goods or services that the merchant provides: Age-sensitive content, such as the three industry types we mentioned above – online gambling, adult content and online wine delivery – are examples of high risk services. Other industries include online dating, forex and binary options and e-cigarettes, each of which have a significant amount of risk involved.
- Large ticket transactions: Airline tickets, chartered flights and timeshares are each examples of high ticket items. The risk, for example, dwells in the chances of a consumer purchasing an airline ticket, or making a down payment on a timeshare, then having second thoughts and filing a chargeback.
- High monthly volume: High volume businesses pose the risk of having higher chargeback rates. While offshore merchant accounts, which tend to offer generous volume limits, are an effective solution, we also recommend opening multiple merchant accounts to cut volume (and chargeback rates) in half.
How Instabill Can Help High Risk Merchants
Instabill is a global merchant accounts high risk provider that helps high risk merchants worldwide find the payment processing solutions they need. At Instabill, our merchant account managers work with a wide network of acquiring banks across the globe to provide customized and efficient solutions for each merchant. With our offshore merchant accounts, high risk merchants can be paired with an acquiring bank in another country that has fewer restrictions.
To learn more about Instabill’s high risk merchant accounts, contact one of our merchant account experts today. You can contact us online by using the live chat feature at the bottom of your screen, or by calling 1-800-318-2713.