Businesses are required to classify their industry by using a merchant category code, or MCC, in connection with a payments system. When a merchant account is set up to accept credit card payments from customers, the acquiring bank will require a business to use the correct MCC. Credit or debit card processors, such as Visa…
Category: Industry News
Do Adult Toys Fall into the High Risk Category?
Adult toys are a taboo topic of conversation and often make people feel uncomfortable because of their intended use. Despite the fact that the adult toy industry rakes in billions of dollars each year, e-commerce merchants have a tough time finding credit card processing solutions. However, what makes the adult toy industry high risk? Why…
Visa High-Brand Risk Merchant Categories
Banks and credit card associations label merchants as high risk if they pose an increased risk of fraud and chargebacks. This could be the result of the nature of the merchant’s industry, consumers, payment terms, volumes, or ticket sizes. Theoretically, you could label any merchant that processes card-not-present transactions as a high risk merchant. However,…
Prepaid Cards: What Are They and What's in Store?
Although prepaid credit cards are still relatively new, they’re by no means a recent innovation. With the privacy they offer (and the fact anyone can get one), the prepaid card industry is growing fast. So, for those of you who don’t know much about them, we’re going back to school for a crash course in…