We don’t offer high risk credit card processing to every merchant who contacts us. Far from it. In fact, we probably turn away between 15-20 percent of the more than 100 inquiries we receive each week for a number of reasons:
- The merchant poses too high a risk — we cannot find a solution.
- Volume is too low — we prefer merchants generate at least $5,000 per month of volume (for an offshore account).
- We see signs of fraud — our merchant account managers are fraud savvy and can spot the signs.
We promise, however, that we’ll thoroughly examine each inquiry because we want to furnish your business with a merchant account. When we’re able, everybody wins.
High Risk Credit Card Processing: Our Process
Our vetting process starts with a conversation with one of our merchant account managers, who will let you know the list of documents needed, which varies according to the acquiring bank. Below are the key components we examine:
Your Product
Straightaway, your product needs to be legal and legitimate. Otherwise there’s no point to continuing the conversation. Our merchant account managers have been approached about the most bizarre products and services.
Marketing Practices
We — and our acquiring banks — need to know how you intend to market your products and services to drive sales. Ninety-five percent of our merchants market through either a website or mail order/telephone order (MOTO). Merchants who do not have a website, will need to furnish us and our banking partners a business plan.
Accepting Payment
Is your business card present or card not present? Instabill offers quality credit card processing for both, but this is the difference between high risk credit card processing and low risk. When the credit card is present at the transaction, it is more secure, hence a low risk merchant account is in order.
Volume Projections
Too often we’re told by merchants that their monthly volume is expected to be X amount of dollars per month, but consistently falls short. Stated above, we require at least $5,000 processing volume per month.
Chargeback Rate
According to Visa’s chargeback and fraud threshold, which it announced in December 2015, merchants must keep chargebacks below 1 percent or 100 per month. Exceeding either means Visa will step in and monitor your practices. Consider it a type of merchant probation.
Your History
Do you have solid credit? Have you ever had a merchant account shut down? Your processing history – arguably the most important factor – affects many details in the merchant account vetting process.
We’ve Been in the High Risk Space a Long Time
For high risk credit card processing, Instabill has long-standing relationships with acquiring banks who welcome high risk businesses. Our merchant account managers are available directly by calling 1-800-530-2444 or clicking the live chat option below.
