High Risk Credit Card Processors And Their Benefits

By Stella Feldman


When something is said to be high risk when dealing with credit card processors, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is a bad thing. As a matter of fact, that is the case in most cases. However, there is more to the concept than meets the eye. For certain merchants, the risks involved are overshadowed by the many benefits. In considering High Risk Merchant Account Provider, you should understand what is involved.

In order that credit card payment is accepted, a business should obtain an account with an acquiring bank. The cost of this service is based on a number of factors. They include manner in which transactions are done, type of business and history of losses. You naturally expect that fees will be higher in the case of higher risk ventures, which explains the need for specialized processors. In many instances, a processor will avoid risky merchant accounts because of the risks people believe they come with.

There are a number of benefits that can be derived from high risk credit cards. One big benefit is global expansion. In order to thrive in a competitive global economy, some merchants get to notice that benefits of higher risk credit card processors are bigger than than their disadvantages. With normal processes, there are limits on transactions which negatively affect growth. For example, a processor can have limit low risk merchants from doing transactions in multiple currencies. Such merchants might not also not be allowed to deal with card-not-present transactions.

Highly risky processors give one unlimited earning potential. Processors have a limit on type and amount of revenue that can be generated by low-risk merchants that use credit cards. For example, such merchants are not able to give recurring payments, neither can they sell some products or services. Recurring payment models can become sustainable sources of growth eventually. As a matter of fact, the majority of merchants depend on steady flow of income created through installment billing.

The risky credit card processing increases profits if managed well. There are thousands of products or services which credit card networks deem as being too risky to be handled by the lower risk merchants. There are a number of serious restrictions which make it very difficult for one to sell such products. Nevertheless, if you have a higher risk account and thus credit card, you can deal in a wide array of products.

High risk credit processors come with non-threatening charge-backs. Whereas merchant accounts assess lower charge-back fees as compared to high-risk ones, the relationship between merchant and processor can be very tenuous. It is however likely that the merchant account can be terminated because of constant monitoring by acquiring banks.

In case the accounts are closed, a business is forced to opt for high-risk accounts or else they have to stop taking credit cards. In the extreme cases, they may be forced out of business. This is never the case with higher risk accounts that are hardly ever terminated even with excessive charge-back. Ideally, charge-backs are meant to be kept low but either way, a person never has to panic.

There are a number of credit card processing firms accepting types of business that are high-risk. Some specialize in only higher risk clientele. On the other hand, others deal with high risk segments as their overall business scope.




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