Payment Processing Barrier to Growth for Nutra Merchants

This article discusses payment processing solutions for nutra merchants.  

Nutraceutical merchants require high volume processing capacity to accommodate growth.  Yet few banks accept nutra accounts.  

The risk of chargebacks from dissatisfied customers and the vague legal status of some supplements has placed nutra companies in the high risk merchant category. Many acquiring banks simply refuse to process payments for nutraceutical companies.

You want to grow your business.  Yet need merchant accounts so you can grow.  Creating the classical "chicken/egg" situation for you. 

Overview of the Nutraceutical Industry

The nutraceuticals industry is growing rapidly. Some experts estimate that the entire industry could be worth $38.7 billion by 2020. The market is growing at an annual compound rate of 7.2%.

Nutraceutical firms offer nutrients, herbal products, supplements and vitamins. These products help people fight aging, improve concentration, blood circulation, and sexual health. Many of the products are completely natural, which encourages people to try them.

KPMG suggests that the convergence of food and pharmaceuticals could help millions of people around the world deal with some health issues. Nutraceutical companies offer much needed solutions for sexual, mental and physiological health problems. Nutraceuticals are attracting more attention as consumers realize the benefits of using natural products to help improve overall quality of life.  

Nutraceutical products made with natural ingredients are in high demand.  Customers in the US and around the world are eager to buy your products.  The nutra industry could be on its way to incredible growth if it can deal with two issues - regulations and payments.

The lack of merchant account services for these nutra merchants limits the payment options for clients that want the products.  Without electronic payment processing accounts, customers are restricted to traditional payment options like cash and check, which are both inconvenient and risky.

Payment Processing Strategies for Nutra Merchants

Here are some tips on how nutraceutical merchants acquire the payment processing needed to power business growth. And increase sales.  

• Diversify payment processing accounts. Establish more than one merchant account. But be sure the acquiring bank on the back end is different. Many high risk merchant account providers use the same acquiring banks. If you have multiple accounts with the same acquiring bank, your processing is at risk if the bank decides it will no longer process for nutra merchants.
• Diversify jurisdictions. Consider establishing both domestic and offshore merchant accounts. International acquiring banks often have no caps on monthly processing volumes. And are open to processing for nutra products that may not be accepted by domestic acquirers.  
• Load balance accounts on a single gateway.  A high risk gateway simplifies account management & reconciliation. All of your merchant accounts are managed through a single login to the gateway. View accounts individually or on a global basis. Allocate the amount of processing you want to send through each merchant account. 
• Enable fraud prevention and chargeback mangement tools. Effective management of chargebacks protects your payment processing accounts. The biggest reason for loss of merchant accounts is excessive chargebacks. Many of which could be prevented if proper fraud & chargeback management weapons are properly deployed.  
• Offer alternative payment methods. The more ways customers can pay you, the more sales you make.  In the US, echecks are the most popular alternative payment method. Internationally, local bank transfers are frequently preferred over card payments for online purchases. Alternative payments have far lower chargebacks than cards. By encouraging buyers to use alternative payments rather than cards, you reduce the chargebacks on your card processing account.
• Multi-currency payments.  If your customer base is international, show prices in local currency. This keeps buyers focused on buying from you rather than on figuring out how much a product costs in local currency. And inspires buyers' trust in you.  
• Accept payments through different channels. Expand the way customers can buy from you. If you are a an internet merchant, consider taking orders by phone, fax, or mail using a virtual terminal. Surprisingly, many buyers still prefer to talk to a representative before buying. Or to sending you an order by mail or fax.  
• Enable recurring billing.  Nutra merchants with recurring billing models can set up unlimited payment plans.  Stabilize cash flow while providing customers another convenient way to purchase from you

Conclusion

Access to payment processing capacity is the greatest hurdle for nutraceutical merchants.  Without the processing volumes necessary to accommodate growth, business is stifled.

Payment processing for nutra merchants is available from a select few payment processors & acquiring banks. You can get unlimited processing capacity to accommodate growth if you know the trusted companies that provide accounts for the industry.  

Do you have the payment processing capacity you need to accommodate growth?  

Contact info@paynetsecure.net today