There were 24 billion ACH payments made in 2015 – about 1.3 billion more than there were in 2014 and the second straight year that ACH transactions grew by more a billion. To us, it’s not surprising. And a boatload of credit, pardon the pun, goes to NACHA, the governing body of ACH payments. In…
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4 Payment Technology Futures Right Out of Science Fiction
The future is here. We’re creating self-driving cars. Virtual reality experiences. Even life-size robots. In 2016, we’re just reaching the future predicted in sci-fi of the 50s and 60s. Even payment technology has come a long way in the past few decades, jumping from cash and checks to credit cards and online payments. So how close…
Why E-Commerce Startup Merchants are Considered High Risk
Every month, Instabill merchant account managers receive leads about startup businesses in need of credit card processing. We welcome startups and give them whatever tools we can so they can succeed and thrive. And you never know who will be the next e-commerce giant. The fact that e-commerce startup merchants are considered high risk is…
The Best Credit Card Processors Offer These 5 Things
You’ve got this wonderful idea of an online startup business and you need the ability to accept credit cards online. Finding the best merchant services provider for your e-commerce business is akin to wading through a jungle. You are faced with many make-or-break decisions: The best bank for your startup; banking fees to consider; card…
Why We Can’t Process Payments in Certain Countries
Every day, we get inquiries from merchants who need to process payments through their website. S/he could be offering a product such as shoes or a service such as tech support. As our account managers always do, they’ll ask the initial pertinent questions: Did you have a payment solution prior to contacting us? If so, was your merchant account…
We’re Changing Our Titles to Merchant Account Therapists
We’ve decided to change the title of our merchant account managers to merchant account therapists. Because they often feel like therapists. Sometimes e-commerce merchants need a second chance, and they call on us. We listen to their problems: My merchant account was shut down for no reason. The bank said my volume was too high.…
We Think This Was a Fraudulent Website and Here’s Why
We could be wrong, but once in a while we’ll get a merchant account application from an e-commerce merchant, whose website raises red flags. We’re forced to play judge and jury on whether we go forward in the merchant boarding process or decide it is a fraudulent website. Within the last six months, one particular…
We Don’t Charge Merchant Account Application Fees, and Neither Should You
There are certain things we believe in here at Instabill: Answering the phone Live, one-on-one customer support with one merchant account manager All legal and legitimate businesses have the chance to process credit card transactions We also believe in a free merchant account application, that merchants should not have to pay for something for which…
Transaction Laundering Doesn’t Always Involve Drug Sales
A merchant recently approached Instabill about finding a merchant account for his business in which he rented large dumpsters to contractors and consumers used for scrap materials or large amounts of waste. It sounded simple enough. In fact, we wouldn’t even consider it high risk – medium at best. We liked how the dumpsters had…
EMV Payments After 10 Months: The Good and the Bad
August 1 marked the 10-month anniversary of EMV payments in the U.S. Like it or not, EMV is staying put. It’s been a trial by fire, and here are what we consider to be the positive and negative: The Negative: Vendor Shortage, Longer Lines, Chip & Signature Without question, the biggest downfall of the nationwide…