Offshore Merchant Account

Companies establish offshore merchant accounts to save money, mitigate risk, and take advantage of international business opportunities.  Businesses with offshore merchant accounts can accept payments from customers located throughout the world.

In these days of international ecommerce, it is common for companies to have offshore merchant accounts in different regions of the world.  An offshore merchant account simply means that payment processing is through an acquiring bank in a region that is different from a company’s initial country of incorporation.

Advantages of Offshore Merchant Accounts

1. Save Money. Payment processing interchange rates vary throughout the world.  It can be less expensive to process certain transactions through an offshore merchant account rather than through a domestic account.  As a result, overall payment processing fees are reduced.
2. Reduce Operating Expenses. Settling payment processing funds into an offshore merchant account acquiring bank is a good way to pay local vendors, affiliates, employees and other business expenses without incurring foreign exchange fees.
3. Higher Payment Processing Limits. Offshore merchant accounts frequently allow higher processing limits than do domestic accounts, an important consideration for fast-growing businesses.
4. Minimize Risk. Diversification of payment processing with an offshore merchant account protects your business.  Some companies use an offshore merchant account in conjunction with a domestic account to provide the ultimate in payment processing redundancy.
5. Industry Friendly. Certain business categories find it easier to establish merchant accounts offshore than domestically.  For example, European acquiring banks are friendlier to adult merchant accounts than are banks located in the US.

Offshore Merchant Account Benefits

Your offshore merchant account includes superior payment processing technology combined with highly competitive rates. The following benefits are standard with all offshore merchant accounts.

• Superb Security. PCI Level 1 payment processing with strong anti-fraud weapons.  Keeps your business safe.
• Virtual Terminal. Accept orders online or take orders by phone or mail.  A virtual terminal expands your sales channels and makes it easier for customers to purchase from you.
• API Interface. Elegantly simple method to integrate payment processing to your website.  Customers stay on your website when making purchases, increasing sales and decreasing shopping cart abandonment.
• Dedicated Descriptor. A descriptor is the information related to purchase that appears on the monthly credit card statement.  Having a dedicated descriptor is important to customer satisfaction and aids in maintaining low chargeback ratios.
• Multicurrency Processing. A secret to increasing sales from international shoppers is to offer payments in local currencies.  Your offshore merchant account gives you the ability to accept payments in multiple currencies.  Settlement of funds is also available in your choice of currencies.
• Online Reporting. Management of payment processing is a breeze.  Standard and merchant-customizable reports give you the up-to-the minute data in whatever format you prefer.  Payment processing data is easy to integrate with internal accounting systems.
• Multi-Level Administration. You set the level of access for different users and departments.  Controlling access to payment processing data enhances to internal security procedures, while still allowing workers to obtain the information necessary to perform their jobs.
• Recurring Billing and Tokenization. Perfect for merchants with subscription billing or recurring payments.  Recurring billing with tokenized security protects your business and ensures continuity of cash flow.