Most businesses never think twice about the requirements for obtaining a merchant account. After all, the typical business only needs to fill out some paperwork and plug in their credit card processing machines (or set up the appropriate software on their computers and/or website), and they’re good to go. But this luxury is one that is denied to high-risk merchants.
High-risk merchants are those companies who often produce a large volume of sales, which in turn means an increased likelihood of credit card refunds and other bank-related financial disputes. But while high-risk merchants may have a harder time getting approved for a merchant account, they still need to jump through the hoops in order to do so. To not accept credit cards or debit cards as a payment method would mean losing a lot of potential customers. For the high-risk merchant, the only option is to find a high-risk merchant account provider.
A high risk merchant account provider is one who understands that your business poses more of a financial risk to both you and them, but also understands how essential it is to accept credit cards as a payment method. The application process for a high risk merchant processing account often takes more time and effort than an application for a standard account, but the results are clearly worth it.
For the majority of companies, accepting credit cards is the only way to not just stay in business in the long-term, but to keep afloat in the short-term. Since so many businesses start out on investment or borrowed funds, accepting credit cards in order to quickly build up payments to use for paying down debt is almost always a necessity.
If you are classified as a high-risk merchant, don’t despair, as there are many high risk merchant providers who will extend to you their credit card processing services. Keep in mind that these services may come at a higher cost, but in the end if you are able to provide valuable products and/or services to your customers, the increased operating cost for accepting credit cards will be well worth it.