Load Balancing for High Risk Merchants

High risk merchants with substantial month-on-month processing growth quickly discover that load balancing payment processing volumes between more than one merchant account is the best way to protect their business.

Processors and agents often promise that fast growth will be “no problem”.  Don’t believe it.

Fast growth scares many processors.  Despite promises, when push comes to shove, processors hold pending settlements, implement or increase reserves, or simply refuse to increase volumes.

True Example of How a Relying on a Merchant Account can Destroy Your Business

One company tells the story of working with a well-known payment processor.  The company was originally approved for $100,000 per month in processing.  That amount was reached within the first 3 months.

An excellent product combined with strategic advertising resulted in month-on-month growth of 40% over the approved processing volume.  The company advised the processor to expect growth to continue.  The processor agreed that it would increase the volume as needed.

But, guess what?  As the volume grew from $100,000 to close to $200,000 per month, the processor started holding all settlements.  The processor refused to release settlements for anything over the original $100,000 per month it had initially approved.  The rest of the settlement funds went to a “reserve” that the processor could hold for up to 6 months.

All of this was done without informing the company.  Suddenly, working capital from product sales was no longer available.   The entire future of the company was at risk.

There was no reason for the processor to hold the funds.  The company had 5 months of processing history with no chargebacks.  There were no problems with the merchant account.

The only reason that the processor held the funds was that the merchant grew too fast for the comfort of the processor.  The merchant had to quickly scramble to get another account that would accommodate his growth.

But wait, there’s more

The company was using a payment gateway integrated to his website that accommodated only one merchant account.  There was no way that the merchant could keep his current account and simply add others to add more volume.

The next merchant account was approved for $250,000, based on prior processing history.  Yet, without a gateway that could load balance between accounts, the merchant would quickly reach his processing limits on the new account.  And be faced with the same dilemma.

Conclusion

Fortunately, the merchant was able save his business by getting a payment gateway that allows load balancing.  He now has 3 merchant accounts and the processing volume needed to accommodate his business growth.

If you are a fast growing high risk merchant, don’t risk the future of your business by depending upon a single payment processor.  Establish more than one merchant account.  Use a payment gateway to load balance between accounts.  And enjoy the ride.

Are you a high risk merchant that wants to load balance among multiple accounts?  

Contact info@paynetsecure.net today.

 

Accept Payments from Players

Accepting payments from players converts the fantasy into real money for fantasy sport site owners.  Cards and echecks are the best payment options.

Fantasy Sports Players have Money to Spend

There’s no doubt about it.  Fantasy sports are big business.  Last year, 33.5 million Americans participated in fantasy sports.

Consider these statistics on the demographic of players::

• 80% male
• 89.8% Caucasian
• 51.5% Single
• Average Age 34
• College Degree or More 78.1%
• Years in Fantasy Sports 9.51
• Hours Consuming Sports per week 17.89
• Hours Consuming Fantasy per week 8.67

Players are educated, have money to spend and are committed to playing.   That represents a big opportunity to you.

Merchant Accounts for Fantasy Sports

Certainly, every fantasy sports site owner needs to accept credit and debit cards as a payment option.  Establishing merchant accounts is easy to do.

Fantasy sports leagues are considered more skill-oriented than luck based.  This moves the industry from its previous high risk online gaming classification into a more standard risk category.

While some banks still will not underwrite the accounts, there are some acquiring banks that are targeting the industry.  The growth curve and the potential processing opportunities is attractive.

Yet, there are fewer processing choices for fantasy sports than for standard risk merchants.  Despite the move into the mainstream, fantasy sports sites still are classified as high risk.

For fast growing companies, it is wise to establish multiple merchant accounts and load balance all accounts on a single payment processing gateway.  Diversification of processing is the key to protecting the cash flow of your business

Depending upon one acquiring bank is too risky.  Even if a bank loves the business today, underwriting guidelines change, banks merge, or a bank can even decide to exit the merchant processing business entirely.

Echeck Accounts for Fantasy Sports 

Electronic checks allow you to capture sales from customers that do not have cards, are maxed out on cards, or who simply prefer to by with a direct debit from a bank account.  It’s simply smart to accommodate as many payment options as possible.  More ways to pay equates to more sales for you.

Echecks are particularly effective if you offer recurring or subscription billing.  Players seldom change bank accounts, which assures continued cash flow from recurring payments.

Compare this with cards where one in five is replaced each year.  Merchants have to obtain updated billing information from customers in order to continue billing without interruption.

eChecks can be processed through the ACH network  or through Check 21 image exchange.  The decision on which to use depends on the specifics of your company.  Experienced representatives are available to discuss the choices with you.

Conclusion

The ability to accept payments from players is vital to the success of fantasy sports sites.  Yet, fantasy sports are considered high risk by banks and payment processors, making it challenging to find a merchant account.

Still, fantasy merchant accounts for card processing are available at attractive rates. With high volume growth capacity that is often required by the industry.

Add alternative payment option such as echecks to you checkout page.  The more ways players can pay you, the more sales you will receive.

Searching for a fantasy merchant account?   

Contact info@paynetsecure.net today.