If you are like most people planning on starting a business, you have likely thought to yourself, “I need a merchant account“. Merchant accounts are essential for getting, accepting and making payments online as well as processing credit card payments in a brick-and-mortar store which means without one you are not going to be able to do business. Getting one of these accounts is generally one of the easiest things people do to get ready for their business, but if you are considered a high risk business, you might face additional challenges setting your merchant account up and keeping it active.
Retail merchant accounts are essential, but you need to remember that the account provider is also a business and must do things to protect themselves. This means having extra considerations in place for those endeavors considered high risk in order to avoid as many problems as possible.
If you are considering merchant account solutions, it is important to evaluate your business to determine if you may be high risk and need to start considering high risk solutions. Some of the things to ask about your business include:
- Is your business located offshore?
- Are your services or any of your products bordering the line of potentially being considered illegal?
- Do you have marketing restrictions due to your product or service?
- Are your marketing tactics on the grey or black hat side?
It can be difficult to determine what types of businesses fall into the realm of requiring high risk merchant services. Though they may not immediately come across as being risky, some of the businesses that are often categorized as being high risk include:
- Adult-centric businesses, including novelty stores, escort services, and exotic dancing
- Automotive brokers
- Collectible coins and autographs
- Brokering
- Chat sites
- Auctions
- Antiques
- eBay Stores, online booking for hotels and travel or Ebook sales
- Annual contracts
Remember that just because one merchant account provider considers your type of business high risk does not mean that all account providers will. Give us a call at 1-800-719-9198, let our knowledgeable staff answer your questions and help you find the solutions that are right for your needs.
