13 Tips To Guard Your High Risk Merchant Business Against Chargeback

For many small businesses that accept credit cards, chargeback is way costlier but there are ways where you can protect your business against those unfair chargebacks. Before going further, let us understand what is a ‘Chargeback’?

Chargeback 

A chargeback happens when a customer after purchasing a product, contact to his/her card issuer to dispute the charges. In simple words, when a customer purchases a product and due to some reason disputes a charge with his/her bank, the money is returned to that customer as well as he/she gets to keep the product. But the bank charges the business owner, from whom the product was purchased. This payment, which the business owner gets to pay to the bank, is called the chargeback.

Here are few tips that can help you prevent chargeback and minimize the time and money spent while dealing with it. Being business owner you should understand that disputes could be considered valid due to many reasons. Customer may dispute charges if:

• A hacker using the customer’s identity made the purchase illegally.
• The wrong item was received.
• The product was adulterated
• The customer does not recognize the charge on his credit card statement.
• The customer was billed incorrectly.
• Let us now discuss few tips which can help you in preventing a chargeback.

Declined authorization: If the authorization request is declined once, do not go ahead with that particular transaction instead ask customers to opt for different payment method. Also, keep in mind not to request multiple authorizations for a particular transaction.

Authorization code: There will be cases when word “Call” is displayed on your terminal while authorization is being checked. At this point call the credit card company right away. The representative will ask you a few questions and may speak to its customer as well. After that he/she may or may not provide you with an authorization code. If the authorization code is provided, record it else request the customer to try a different card.

The system not working: There can be cases where the system is not functioning properly or the card is worn out. At this point, you should key-enter the credit card number, and also remember to make an impression of the card for keeping the record. This is important because a customer’s signature is not enough to protect you from a chargeback.

Gift card: Gift cards are unembossed cards and there is no way to take a manual imprint of it. In case customer wishes to pay by gift card it is advisable to ask the customer for a different payment method.

Signature: Regardless of the type of the card used for the payment processing, the signature of the cardholder on the receipt is mandatory. This can be used as a proof that the customer made the purchase himself.

Swipe only once: You should swipe the card only once to avoid duplicate transactions, which can lead to a major chargeback. If such situation arises, write “VOID” in bold letters on the customer’s receipt and tear it in front of the cardholder.

Record keeping: To avoid duplicate transaction chargeback, make sure that you deposit only one copy of sales receipt. Be cautious about recording sales; do not record the same transaction more than once.

Clear communication: Clearer is the refund and return policy, better will be the communication and it will protect you from chargeback as well. As far as refund policy is concerned, it is better to print it on the receipt directly. If not possible, stamp it near customer’s signature.
Receipt deposit: To avoid chargeback, deposit receipts as soon as possible. Make it a point that all the receipts are deposited within a day or two.

Cancellation request: It is a good practice to honor all customer requests to cancel recurring billing and provide them with a written statement for the same with a date on it. Delay on it can put you at risk for a chargeback.

Unexpected Delay: If, due to any reason, there is a gap between the time payment was made and the time when the product was delivered, it is advisable to inform the customer about the same in written and if possible, also let the customer know the new expected date.

Out of stock: If in case, the product is out of stock or unavailable due to any reason, it is important to intimate the customer about the same and asks them whether they would like to cancel the order or would like to purchase another item instead. Keep in mind that without customer’s permission do not send any substitute product. This will help in reducing chargeback risk.

Shipment: Never deposit the money you have charged from a customer before product being shipped to the customer. Streamline shipping process in order to get the product out to the customer as quickly as possible. There are chances of a customer getting upset about paying before receiving the product.

Factors & Guidelines to Merchant Service Underwriting and Why It’s Important

It is important to open a high-risk merchant account to carry out financial transactions especially if your business requires an online payment gateway through which you can accept payment by multiple payment methods. To acquire a high-risk merchant account, you have to first find a credit card processor, which meets your needs and provides you services at a reasonable price. When you apply for this account, you cannot get started by just filling an application form. The application (in turn your business) has to go through a wide analysis process. This process is called improper merchant underwriting.

What is Merchant underwriting?

When a merchant chooses a high-risk payment processor to process its payments, the two parties will sign an agreement, with this agreement being referred to as a financial contract. The underwriting process tends to be very stringent and is used to help determine how credible the merchant is in relation to its own credit card worthiness and business reliability; this process starts when a merchant puts in an application to obtain services from a payment processor.

All About Merchant Account Underwriting

Gathering this information is part of the high-risk merchant account underwriting process that each merchant account provider must follow for each new merchant account. A merchant account underwriter will look at how long you have been in business as well as your financial history. You will need to furnish information about your products and/or services as well as how you generally conduct business.

Merchant Underwriting Process

The merchant account is basically a line of credit. In case of chargebacks, the amount is deducted from the merchant's account, but if there are not enough funds in the bank to pay for chargeback then the provider pays that amount right away to the customer. So the essential part of underwriting is to evaluate the risk level of merchant’s business. Following are the things that provider review:

After Effects of Poor Merchant Underwriting

Your high-risk business may suffer from one or the other reason even without in-depth analysis and these are:

Incorrect Limit: You should set limits for your business as per requirement. It should not be too high or too low, as both the cases will end up in putting your business in a problem. Limits lower than required will hinder the regular processing of transactions that may constrict the flow of cash or timely payments from the customer, whereas if the limit is too high, this may lead to unexpected fraudulent charges.

Hidden Fee: An additional fee is charged if the volume exceeds the limit. However, even if you have set your limit, some providers let it exceed without notification and charge you with the penalty.

Downgrades: Once your high-risk merchant account is set, you are inclined to transaction downgrades if certain required features and security measures are not set along with the account. Although, setting up these features will cost you more, but will help you in long run and enable smooth processing of transactions.

US Tech Support Business Looking For a High Risk Merchant Account

How Technical Support Services Work?

When I started my analysis for this business, I communicated with a variety of individuals whom I thought might need some observe in managing such merchants, and what I detected from them didn’t exactly come back as a surprise to me. Most of my contemporaries warned Maine that such businesses might be very tough to work with — that their company practices were uncertain, that they might occasionally doctor the desired work, that their chargeback ratios were sky-high, which client objection levels were off the chart. “Where have I detected that before?”, I wondered, and my initial observe speedily confirmed the authenticity of those warnings. However, I had the great fortune to quickly stumble upon a merchant who turned out to be hardworking, trustworthy and legit. He also ensured low levels of client complaints and chargebacks. Equally necessary, the volume per month was extravagant— concerning $500,000 and still continues to grow.

Finding the simplest payment process solutions are often tough for tech support merchants in operation internationally.

Whether you offer remote tech support assistance or in-office computer services, Merchant Stronghold provides customizable merchant accounts. For tech support businesses with Merchant Stronghold, you will be connected to a vast network of domestic, offshore and international acquiring banks that can approve you regardless of your geographical location.

Tech Support Offshore Merchant Account Fees

Our tech support merchant account fees are competitive and cheap, and our application method is free. Once our underwriting department matches you with one amongst our effort banking partners, the bank can then method your application and confirm your merchant account fees.

Since banks confirm fees on an item-by-item basis, we cannot provide you with exact fees until the underwriting process has been completed. However, you can contact us for your free quote.

How to Get and — a lot of significantly — Keep a merchant Account Live

There was this explicit merchant based mostly within the U.S. and, by the time it contacted North American country, it had gone to a number of the largest U.S. processors to open many merchant accounts, some of that is still active. Now, this is often one amongst the largest mistakes that merchant should not create —opening many merchant accounts quickly, and not keeping them live. If it’s done otherwise, processors get nervous and intelligibly so —the new merchant Account you're applying dormant is either closed down or replaced. within the event, we tend to ask our merchant to clarify why it had sawed the pain of gap these several merchant accounts and received a satisfactory clarification, that isn't a typical state of affairs. I ought to conjointly add that the merchant had already received notices that its remaining accounts would be closed inside a month, that brings Maine to following lesson — even if you do manage to get an account with them and keep it functioning, it is inevitable to keep it running. As soon as the processor’s risk department takes a close look at it, it will shut down in a second. What you need is a high-risk solution, although not necessarily an offshore one.

Merchant Stronghold’s Technical Support Checklists

Merchant represents and warrants every of the subsequent by checking it and sign language below:

Merchant is engaged within the business of giving technical support services and has obtained, and throughout the term of the agreement can maintain, all local, state, and federal licenses, registrations, and approvals needed to conduct such business. All technical support services that merchant services charge any client are provided solely by the merchant, and cannot be referred, re-directed, or outsourced to any third party.

About High Risk Merchant Accounts & Offshore Merchant Account

Let’s Understand The High Risk merchant

When Merchant Business is established and applies for a payment gateway at the Bank, they get approved or disapproved from the risk departments considering the business to be high risk business or Low risk business. There are few reasons why any business can be considered as a high risk business.

Some of the risk factors that make a business HIGH RISK are as follow:

• You have lost your previous merchant account due to high chargeback ratio.
• Questionable sales and marketing tactics
• Potential legal and financial liability
• Your credit is really bad.
• The industry is known for excessive chargebacks or fraud incidents
• Trial continuity business
• Previous credit card processing is not good enough
• You’ve been branded as a terminated merchant (TMF).

It is important to note, that this merchant account categorization is based on your business’ industry, regardless of your individual businesses’ track record. Additionally, the high risk category includes businesses who have been dropped by a previous credit card processor, businesses that are on the MATCH or TMF list, companies whose owners have bad personal credit or low credit scores, or merchant account businesses who are based outside the US.

Common High Risk Merchant Account Business Industries

A high chargeback history, a startup, or high frequency or high average tickets can be considered high risk on an individual basis, the majority of high risk businesses are labeled as such by the industry they operate in.

High-risk Industries Include: Document Preparation, Downloadable Software, Antiques & Collectables, Educational Software, Electronics Business, Extended Warranties, Auto Transport, Businesses with Bad Credit, Computer Hardware.

Visit Our Business Page for Find Out More Information We Can Help You Today! You can Call Us at +1 888-622-6875 or Send Us Email: info@merchantstronghold.com

Are You Considered a Low Risk Merchant Account In USA

Understand the Low Risk merchant

Low Risk Category before you apply it at the bank for a merchant Account because merchants in our payment processing world are categorized under low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk categories. There are a number of points or reasons concerning which any business can be classified as Low Risk or high risk or medium risk Business and for an example while reviewing the business it is reviewed that how much risk is involved in the business, what is their risk level, which is the country wherein they got incorporated and their processing history etc.

Features of a Low Risk Merchant Account

• Merchant account to accept ACH, eCheck and credit card payments
• A merchant account that provides an opportunity for real-time processing of payment
• Merchant account for secure and easy processing of payment
• Merchant account for internet merchants to facilitate website credit card processing
• You process less than $20,000 per month
• Your average ticket size is less than $50
• You have a low chargeback ratio
• You operate within a low risk industry
• You are incorporated in a low risk country

Low Risk vs. High Risk Merchant Accounts

A  high-risk merchant account provider, it is important to know if your business might be classified as high risk. There are many differences between a low risk merchant account vs. high risk merchant accounts business when it comes to setting up merchant accounts, so if you are not prepared you may find yourself having trouble getting the services you need. With this in mind, consider the differences between low risk and high risk companies and you will be better prepared to move forward.

Common Low Risk Industries

When you choose Merchant Stronghold for your Low Risk Merchant Account you get an Affordable, Point of Sale or E-Commerce Solution with Fast approval and you can start receiving payments from almost all major cards and from Checks as well. You not only get these things but you get a dedicated customer support and assistance for the desired growth of your business.

Best Telemarketing Business Expect From Merchant Account Services In USA

The world is getting closer and closer to the day when we talk about online business and telemarketing. It has become far easier for customers to buy or order things online irrespective of their geographical location until and unless the merchant is high-risk account holder. The marketplace has extended beyond limits and instead of buying a shop/store and sitting there throughout the day to sell your product and services, all you need is a system with the website to market your product. Nowadays, you can buy things online or through telemarketing at your convenience, without wasting your time and be being present physically in the shop. Now let us understand the term telemarketing.

Telemarketing Business

It is a method where you can market your product directly either over phone or web conferencing, which is scheduled on a call. In this marketing method, salesperson tries to convince prospective customers to buy a product or service that business is providing over the phone or during the conference. For operating such type of business and carry out financial transactions (where most of the transactions are carried out through credit card), business or merchant needs a merchant account.

Merchant account

It is a type of bank account, which is required to conduct financial transactions by various methods; accepting payment through credit or debit cards or by other means. The merchant account is created under an agreement between the business owner and the issuer bank for the settlement of payment done via cards (card transactions). A merchant account is essential for high-risk merchants and is commonly called high risk merchant account. In other words, a high-risk merchant account is an account for processing credit card payments, where the issuer bank has classified the merchant or business as high-risked.

High-risk Merchant

Next thing that comes to our mind is what is the meaning of a high-risk merchant. Issuer bank defines whether a merchant account or the business is high risk or not depending on the number of chargebacks and the type of industry. High-risk merchant in telemarketing business faces a lot of struggle in getting approval for a merchant account, but if they succeed in getting one, it will enhance the sales, as they will be able to accept credit card payment from their customers present all over the world.

Advantages of merchant account service

• If a merchant gets approval for a high risk merchant account, a wider range of support service is given to the merchant for a smoother and efficient workflow. One of the main services provided is virtual terminal. It is proven to be very beneficiary for high-risk merchants.
  
  
• Once the merchant account is approved, a telemarketer will not only be able to accept the payment through credit card but also, do financial transactions telephonically.
  
  
• It will help you bring the customers around the world under one roof as it will allow them to accept all the major currencies and credit cards.

How to Overcome the Difficulties of Payment Gateway for Collections Account

We are providing the best payment gateway solution for your difficulties. Online merchant (small business or large-scale business) to accept payment in multiple ways according to its customer’s convenience. To open such an account, which can accept payment by credit card as well as a debit card is not easy. No matter how good your business is doing, you might still end up struggling to get a merchant account opened.

You might think that why your business is categorized as high-risk even when you are following the right track. The reason is the target audience and the niche of your business. Some of the high-risk industries are (High Risk Merchant Business):

• E-commerce stores

• A website dealing with digital content and steaming

• Travel and transport companies

• Companies dealing with multi-level marketing and direct sales

• Adult and dating websites

• Loan and financial businesses

• Companies providing supplements

• Crypto-currency

• Companies selling custom-made products

• Fast-growing companies

There are some other reasons for being categorized as a high-risk merchant business can be an excessive number of chargebacks, bad credit record, selling goods and services with high value, products open to the risk of fraud or a subscription-based business. These are the factors that make it difficult for you to get a high risk merchant account and to be able to accept online payments from debit or credit card, with a merchant service provider. Without high risk merchant account, you will stand nowhere and will lose to the competitors.

Right High Risk Merchant Service Provider: If you have a good business and if your business is categorized as high risk business, That does not necessarily mean that your company has to suffer. If your high-risk merchant account business is promising but this only limitation is not letting your business grow, All you have to do is find a right high risk merchant services providers that are willing to offer you the suitable services. The companies who provide services to high risk merchants account are called high risk merchant services providers.

Setup a collection merchant account: If you are setting up a merchant account to handle high risk has become easier with time and is a straightforward procedure. It might also be free of cost if you are using a reputable company. To get the account opened, all you have to do is fill an application form and submit the required paperwork. If you are new in the industry and have a strong business model and well capitalized, you don’t have to struggle a lot to find the right high risk merchant account provider for your business.

Things that work for collection account:

• Quantity of chargebacks

• Crossing out installment or not paying them on time

Merchant Stronghold and its provide a quality payment gateway for your high risk business to reduce the expenses of processing credit card payment and in return maximizing the profit. For more information you can simply call us on this number +1 (888)-622-6875 or Email us infor@merchantstrongohld.com.