We recently received the ultimate compliment, the kind that reaffirms we’re doing our job well and that live, one-on-one support rules the day over e-mail, Skype and other messaging platforms (although we use those too). It was nothing to do with Instabill named among the top high risk merchant services providers for the fifth straight year by CardPaymentOptions.com.
It was better.
In the ultra-competitive business of high risk merchant services, offering the best customer support possible makes a big difference when trying to win over a merchant with our payment processing services. We live by that. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with a 10-minute conversation.
Why we prefer the telephone
A prospective high risk merchant contacted us in need of payment processing solutions for two of his businesses: CBD and e-liquids. He wanted one merchant account for each business. We explained it wouldn’t be possible, that CBD and e-liquids are regarded as separate industries and thus, a merchant account for each was the only solution. He peppered us with questions, which we dutifully answered honestly and forthright (any other way is just wasting time).
And here’s where the compliment came. The merchant thanked us profusely for being so helpful and informative. He was impressed at our knowledge, that we took the time to answer each of his questions to get a solid feel for his business. He said although we didn’t have the best rates (we were competitive, he noted), he wanted to give us his business for those reasons.
The entire exchange lasted maybe 10 minutes. That’s why we advise merchants to chat with us.
Personal contact – what a novel idea!
We’re happy to answer inquiries via any medium: Skype, e-mail, website inquiries, but we value a telephone call over each of them. Here’s why:
It cuts through the rigmarole
Based on our near 20 years in the high risk merchant services business, merchants are understandably impatient and need things quickly. There’s a business to be run and money to be made — we get it. We don’t believe in automation – when you call our home office in Portsmouth, N.H., USA, we answer.
The 5 key details we need to know
When a merchant can give us 10 minutes for a conversation about their online business, it enables us to skip the pre-application process and get right to the solution. We’ll want to know five crucial details:
- Your business type/industry
- How you wish to take payments: e-commerce, POS or MOTO
- Whether you’re currently processing payments?
- In what country is your business registered?
- What is your target market?
This enables us to determine the following fairly quickly:
- Firstly, whether or not we can provide a high risk merchant services solution.
- Which acquiring banking partner of ours is the best fit for your business.
- Any regulations from the card brands that merchants need to follow, which we’re happy to explain.
There are many, many other questions we routinely receive, such as fees and rates (varies with each merchant account); setup time (depending on the merchant); and contract terms, that we’re happy to answer.
“With these pieces of information, we can assess quickly whether or not we have a solution,” said Wendy Jacques, Sales Manager at Instabill. “We have merchants tell us all time how refreshing it is to actually get someone on the phone. They feel so much better when they’re dealing with a qualified, educated company that understands all the moving parts to this business.”
The best high risk merchant services: Let’s get your business processing transactions
The reasoning behind our preference for the telephone is that everyone wins when merchants are processing payments. We always encourage merchants to call us for a 10-minute conversation to discuss the possibilities.
You can discover them at 1-800-530-2444.
