Considering how important payment processing is to business success, many owners seem sadly lacking in awareness of what it takes to get a merchant account approved. Here are the top 3 mistakes that companies make then applying for payment processing accounts.

1. Lack of good credit rating
A merchant account is simply a short term line of credit that a bank issues to the business. In order to be accepted for an account, it is only natural that the underwriter will want to see a decent credit score. It is shocking the number of applications that are denied because credit scores are too low to qualify for approval.

If the credit score is low, you have two options. Find a signor with a good credit score to co-sign for an account. Or obtain a third party account. With a third party account, rates personal credit scores are less important because the processor assesses higher rates to offset the risk involved in accepting the account.

Additionally, funds are settled to the third party processor before being settled to merchants. This minimizes processor risk.

2. Sloppy paperwork
Make sure all documents submitted along with the application are accurate, consistent, and show your business in the best light. If there are issues with the account, clearly delineate what actions are being taken to fix the problems.

For example, some high risk merchants (http://www.paynetsecure.net/services/high-riskmerchant-account/) have chargeback issues. Acknowledge the problem as part of the application process. outline what is being done to fix the issue. Don’t stick your head in the sand. Being honest and straight-forward is the best way to keep the approval process on track.

Lack of supporting documents can also sidetrack an application. This is particularly true for startup accounts.

For example, a startup company may be requesting high monthly processing volumes. Yet, show no money in a business bank account.

Use common sense. If you are applying for high volume processing, make sure you put some money in your business account, Or supply personal financial statements or tax returns to show.

3. Websites that are missing information or have obvious mistakes in them
Be sure the website includes privacy policies. Make it easy for buyers to find refund, returns, shipping and contact information.

Be sure all links on the site work. And please, no spelling or grammar errors. Although this seems self-evident, it’s amazing how many people never proof-read their own websites.

Conclusion

When applying for your high risk merchant account, take the time to do it right.  The more preparation you do upfront, the  greater your chance for account approval.

Don’t make rookie mistakes,  

• Make sure your site is up-to-date and provide all the necessary info.
•  If you are applying for high volume processing, have some money in your business bank account.  
• Have decent credit or get a co-signer.  
• Prepare your paperwork completely and neatly.  

Are you a high risk merchant that needs payment processing?

Contact info@paynetsecure.net today.  

 

High Risk Merchant Account Load Balancing Gateway

Companies in high risk merchant account  categories often use a gateway with load balancing to distribute transactions among acquiring banks and processors.

High risk merchants deploy payment gateways with load balancing features in order to manage accounting functions. Without a payment gateway that load balances transactions, management and reconciliation is a nightmare.

Think of the headaches if transactions flow through separate payment gateways instead of being managed through a single control panel. The results of such haphazard managements are customer service is log jams and stymied
administrative functions.

Running multiple high risk merchant accounts through a central control panel is an organized and productive method of managing payment processing. All transactions can be managed and viewed individually or all can be viewed globally from a central payment gateway control panel.

Load balancing transactions on a payment gateway can be dynamically or manually configured. This gives businesses flexibility to maximize the capabilities of each acquiring bank or processor.

High Risk Merchant Account Payment Gateway Benefits

• Get rids of duplicate administrative tasks and increases productivity
• Simplify reconciliation, streamline operations and reduce costs
• Consolidate reporting functions and results in faster and more efficient decision making
• Allows rapid response to changing market conditions
• Helps control chargeback ratios.

Considerations When Selecting a Payment Gateway

Companies which have both domestic and offshore merchant services must make sure that the acquiring banks can be accommodated. Regardless of the where and how the transactions are processed, everything can flow through a
single network connection.

It is convenient to have Quickbooks or other business accounting systems with integrated the payment gateway. This helps in accounting functions and eases the transition of transaction data to and from internal systems. Businesses are also wise to ascertain that the service permits multiple levels of authentication and permission access control. This aids in safeguarding a business against insider fraud from employees, vendors, or others who have access to the system.

Ascertain that the service includes reporting lets you to track all transactions. Full audit trails should be included to ensure the validity of the system.

Be sure a high risk merchant account payment gateway includes powerful weapons to fight fraud. For example, security parameters determine if a transaction is accepted or rejected. Strategic management tools help companies
with save legitimate transactions, prevent fraudulent ones, and increase profit margins.

And, of course in these days of mobile and tablet payment processing, get a payment gateway that gives you these options. You’ll be glad you did.

Conclusion

High risk merchants acquire multiple merchant accounts to mitigate risk while increasing processing volumes.  But managing accounts through different gateways is a nightmare.

Instead, use a high risk payment gateway.  Dynamically load balance between accounts.  View accounts individually and globally.  

Simply your life while mitigating your processing risk.  Load balancing on a single payment gateway is the smart way to manage your accounts.  

Interested in the benefits of load balancing on a high risk payment processing gateway?  

For more information on high risk processing services, contact info@paynetsecure.net today

A direct marketing company contacted us today with an all-too-common story.  Its current high risk merchant account provider was terminating processing because the company had chargebacks that exceeded the card brands required ratios of keeping chargebacks under 1%.

Simply fighting a chargeback is not enough to keep chargebacks under control.  Even if you win a chargeback, it still remains on your processing history and figures into calculating your chargeback ratios.

Most Customers Call the Bank Instead of Calling You

No matter how good your customer service is, the sad fact is that most customers will call their bank to issue and initiate a chargeback rather than calling you and asking for a refund.  In some high risk industries, more than 86% of customers will call the bank without ever contacting the merchant.

And let’s face it.  Consumers are getting more educated about how easy it is to initiate a chargeback.  They understand that in the majority of cases, the issuing bank will side with the consumer.

Sure, it’s not “fair” to you as the merchant.  Yet, the customers and issuing banks are not concerned about you.  That’s simply the way it is.

How Early Warning System Helps You

High volume, high risk merchants now can take advantage of an early warning system to keep chargebacks under control.  The service can effectively reduce chargebacks by more than 50%.  As a result, merchant accounts are protected and processing can continue. Here’s how it works.

When a customer calls the issuing bank to dispute a transaction, you are notified.  At that point, you can immediately issue a refund for the amount of the purchase.  Once the refund is issued, the dispute is closed and there is no chargeback.

The consumer still wins because the money is refunded.  And you are still out the cost of the goods or service you provided.

However, your merchant account processing is protected.  Your chargebacks thresholds can remain under 1%.

Conclusion:  Protect Your Business

Without a way to protect yourself from chargebacks, your merchant account is at risk.  Without payment processing, your business cannot not survive.

There is no perfect system to protect you against chargebacks.  But, the early warning system is a good tool to have in your arsenal to protect your vitally important merchant accounts.

Are you a high risk merchant interested in keeping your chargebacks low to protect your processing accounts?

For more information contact info@paynetsecure.net