How to Get a Merchant Account in 5 Days or Less

Every now and then, we’ll receive a call from a merchant in a panic…

He had a merchant account through a competitor and had been processing credit card transactions as expected. Then one day, the bank decides it no longer process payments for his business and informs him his merchant account will be closed in 30 days.

Some banks don’t even give 30 days.

When merchants get shut down without explanation, Instabill has fast payment processing solutions, and offers advice below on how to get a merchant account in 5 days or less.

Fast Merchant Accounts Can Be Done

It would be wrong to profess that Instabill can get every merchant approved within days – we can’t. Some merchant account approvals take weeks. We have, however, been able to get businesses processing in a matter of days.

It depends on a number of components:

1. High credit score: This shows the acquiring bank that a merchant makes his/her payouts consistently on time. It speaks volumes of the merchant.
2. Funds in the bank: Having healthy financials in your business bank account shows an acquiring bank that a merchant has met with a degree of success and has somewhat of a nest egg.
3. Fully functional website: This is a common delay in obtaining a merchant account. Instabill has secured payment processing for startup businesses, but can only do so when a business’ website is fully operating.
4. Your industry. Your bank: Getting a fast merchant account is also contingent upon the acquiring bank. It is a huge advantage if the acquiring bank is a fan of, or has processed transactions for, your industry.
5. Valid, up-to-date identification: We continually find it shocking when a prospective merchant sends us an expired driver’s license or passport. This causes red flags. And delays.
6. Complete list of documents: Instabill has had merchants submit their complete list of documents for underwriting on the same day of receiving their application. Having your documents in order and ready for submission is an enormous help.

We realize the above list is a tall order. But with due diligence and discipline, a merchant can only enhance his/her chances of obtaining a merchant account quickly.

How to get a merchant account? Contact us

Instabill encourages prospective merchants to contact one of our live merchant account managers to discuss the process. Get the conversation started by selecting the live chat option below, or simply call us at 1-800-318-2713.