High Risk Merchant Providers

Ecommerce Checkout Flow– Every big or small brand is now taking their business online due to the boost in the e-commerce industry. This means, along with the physical store, every merchant now wants to have an online store as well. This is a good idea for a merchant to expand and increase his revenue. However, not everyone is good at handling the e-commerce business on their own. This is because of the competition and lack of guidance.

What Is ECommerce CheckOut?

It is a designed interface and a customer must go through it to purchase an item. As soon as the customer clicks on the checkout button the process starts. Generally, it contains steps like entering personal details including name, address and contact information. Other than that, the customer will be asked to choose the mode of payment and enter details depending on the model chosen.

For example: If a customer chooses to make the payment using the credit card then he will be asked to enter the credit card processing details depending on the company’s norms.

Once the checkout is completed successfully, the customer will be notified regarding the recent purchase using the contact information provided by him.

How Does ECommerce Checkout Work?

From the customer’s point of view, the checkout process is as easy as entering the details and getting the products. However, for a merchant, the checkout process is a whole different story.

An ECommerce checkout process is the flow of valuable data that needs to be processed carefully at every step. Generally, a customer goes through following steps during an ECommerce Checkout Flow:

After liking a product or service, the customer clicks on the “Add to Cart” button.

Then the customer is directed to the cart where the confirmation is asked whether the customer wants to “proceed to checkout” or go back to “continue shopping”.

Once clicked on “proceed to checkout”, the user will be asked whether the customer wants to checkout “as a guest” or “sign-in”.

After choosing the desired method, the customer will be asked to enter the details.

Finally, “place your order” will pop up on the screen.

After clicking on this button, a customer needs to make the payment by choosing the desired mode.

Once the customer successfully completes the payment, he will receive confirmation of the purchase.

HOW DOES PCI COMPLIANCE WORK?

PCI DSS keeps itself updated with new norms to keep new threats at bay. It’s guidelines are implemented in both, the administration and technological part of the merchant business. Hence, you will have to keep your website updated regularly and make sure the payment deals are in accordance with PCI compliance. This will prevent data theft and ensure the smooth running of your business. This is the major importance of PCI Compliance.

The companies or merchants are divided on the basis of a number of credit/debit card transactions, which they have to deal with periodically. On this basis, merchants are divided into 4 different levels. Level 1 is for the merchants who process the highest number of transactions every year. Whereas, Level 4 is for the merchants with the least number of credit/debit or bank transactions.

The eCommerce merchants who are accepting, processing, storing or transmitting credit card information have to be PCI compliant. This is for the safety and security of their customers and theirs’ too. Also, by becoming PCI compliant they undergo PCI audit procedures to meet the requirements of the latest PCI guidelines.

Now that you know the details of PCI Compliance let’s get to the Importance of PCI Compliance.

It Boosts Customer Confidence

In a survey, it was reported that two-thirds of the US adults would not return to a business if their personal data has been stolen through companies’ website. It infers that failing to meet security requirements discourages loyal customers from returning to you. Data breaches due to companies negligence spoil its reputation, which leads to the loss of productivity and a decrease in revenue. Being PCI Compliant shows your sincerity towards the clients and customers. This shows you are taking care of their security and ensuring the safety of payment data.

Protects your Customers

When your customers visit your site and they buy your products or services through credit/debit card, they have to be sure that they are not inviting some dire consequences because of you. You will have to make sure they feel safe. You will have to invest and make their financial data security your priority.

As it is online, so it obviously requires an Internet connection. Usually, it is powered by the gateway, which means each and every transaction that the customer will perform would be processed by the gateway, which we are calling a virtual terminal.

For executing the transaction the gateway lands the customer to the payment page where he puts all the required card details manually, and then after getting a confirmation from the bank, the transaction takes place. For processing the transaction, the virtual terminal charges some amount, which is called gateway fees. The virtual terminal gives diverse options of payment to the customer. In case of recurring payments, the merchant can directly ask card details from the customer for the payment, which will allow deducting the charges till the subscription ends.

Benefits of Virtual Payments

Virtual terminal helps in processing a lot of transactions instantly. It is the solution that turns your computer into a payment-processing device. It will allow you to accept your payment anywhere at any time without being necessarily present there. You can even process the transaction once you get the card details of your customer over the phone or e-mail.

Virtual Terminals also centralize data and make it more secure. So the chances of fraud or scam also reduce.

Unlike their physical POS counterparts, virtual terminals can handle recurring payments, easily.

Merchant Account and Payment Gateway: The Basic requirement for starting up and running a business is having a Merchant Account and a Payment gateway. Both have an equivalent ratio for the smooth and balanced working of the business. A businessman who has really started up with new e-commerce venture requires a point from where he can connect to the customers. Now we need to figure out how?

The foremost thing to run an e-commerce site is to have a proper cash flow in it. Hence, where do we need that money from; from the customer? Any entrepreneur running a High or Low-Risk business requires a Merchant Account and a Payment Gateway.

Merchant Account A type of an account that allows accepting online payment from the customers through many ways under legal wings of the payment service provider.

Merchant Account is created under the mutual agreement between a merchant and merchant’s acquiring bank, so to further proceed with future online payment.

Payment Gateway: The next genuine question from your side: What Is Payment Gateway? A payment gateway is a software program that works behind the scene. It is basically a process that enables the flow of the payment securely. It’s a secure way to transfer your customer’s money safely into your merchant account. It’s really very important to have a payment gateway for the following reasons:

Prevents your money from fraudulent activities.

Creates a trustworthy aura between you and your customers.

Keeps you away from any future threat.

Maintains a good graph in the competitive world.

Short Review on Merchant Account and Payment Gateway Above mentioned content shows the nature of the account, now below we can compare both of them:

WHY DO YOU NEED A MERCHANT SERVICE PROVIDER?

A Merchant service provider is also known as a credit card processor. They offer services to the merchant to accept the credit card, debit card, and other electronic modes of money transactions.

An MSP is responsible to move the money from the customer’s account to the merchant when the customer swipes the card.

Also, a business that accepts the card and other electronic means of the payment can expand their business easily, as more customers are using the card instead of the cash in today’s economy.

Most MSP’s are providing a wide range of methods to accept payment to make the customer feel comfortable while choosing the service or product a merchant has to offer.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST MERCHANT SERVICE PROVIDER?

Go for the Track record of various Merchant Service Providers. Before subscribing to the merchant service, you must check the previous records and reviews of that provider. If they have a positive record then you should feel free to add them to your list. They are providing at a reasonable market price. You must check the market price for the services that you are looking for. Moreover, you can compare the prices and get the one suiting your requirements. The Efficiency of the Support Service. While using the merchant service, a merchant may need assistance every now and then regarding the charges and more. In such cases, your merchant service provider must offer nice support, preferable 24/7 support. Understand the need and requirement of your business. You must get the package or service that goes perfectly with your business. This includes subscription charges, monthly or annual limit, and more. Make sure you consider the expansion of business while choosing the merchant service provider.

NEED MORE TIP TO CHOOSE THE BEST MERCHANT SERVICE PROVIDER?

Every year, a plethora of complaints are registers that badly affect the business of the merchant. In this article, we have listed the Common Merchant Account Complaints and the tricks to avoid such issues in your organization. This article can help you look at both potential risks and rewards of working with a given company.

Poor Customer Service Now your business and payment processing system cannot be perfect every time. And customer faces an issue with the management. At those times, it is the responsibility of the customer service team to provide the demanded attention to a specific topic. But if the customer support is unable to offer the desired support then the customer has no other option but to avoid the company.

In such a case, you need to stabilize your customer support service.

Tracking your product and customer reviews should be evaluated.

You should take some time to minimize the customer waiting time.

And nobody wants to listen to the automated answering service.

Cancellation Issues

This is one of the frustrating Common Merchant Account Complaints faced by the customers. Many times we order a product or service by mistake. In that case, you immediately try to cancel the order on the company’s website.

It is difficult to distinguish between the mistakes and the frauds for a merchant.

But if your enterprise makes your customer go through a lot of trouble while canceling the order then your business is under risk.

Moreover, it could lead to unnecessary Chargebacks.

Solidify the rules around the replacement and return of an order.

And make sure you provide smooth payment processing to your customers.

Poor Agreement Management

Another complaint that is filed against the merchants is related to the agreement management. That could be related to the poor description, expensive services and many more.

Leasing services are generally non-refundable that further leads to conflicts.

Merchants always pay more when they are renting a terminal than just to outright buying one.

By the time, this all leads to costing thousands of dollars to the merchant.

Misleading Sales Practice

This is one of the worst sales practices. If you wish to lead a long profitable business then never apply such things to your business.

For a merchant, sales are very important and to increase sales they try every method.

Some merchants try these petty methods to increase sales.

But the customer with one bad issue can report the business of this unethical practice.

Advertise your product as it is.

And if you offer some discount then make sure you clear out the terms and condition to the customers properly.

Train your sales agent properly and tell them the customer satisfaction is always the priority.

Open Merchant Bank Account You can open a Business Bank Account anytime just by visiting the nearest branch. It takes hardly a few minutes to open a merchant bank account if your documents are ready and appropriate.

Even if you are the sole proprietor of the business, you need to create a Business Bank Account.

Now, your business transaction can be carried out using this bank account.

All you need is your merchant license or business license and EIN (Employer Identification Number).

Also, make sure you keep a certain amount in the account for processing fees and software fees.

How to Get the Business License?

The business license is a permit from the government or the responsible organization that allows you to sell goods and services. Depending on your geographical location, you can get a business license by providing the required documents.

You need to provide the documents that validate your business. An underwriting and review of the business also need to be submitted. Also, provide details of your standing business. Then after the completion of the formalities, you can get your Business License and Business License Number. These business licenses generally have the expiration date. You may be required to renew the license to continue the business.

Choose for Online Application for Merchant Bank Account

The procedure for opening the Merchant Bank Account becomes very easy by using the online method. You can apply for the merchant account from the web portal and open merchant bank account.

You will be asked to enter your business and company details. Then your valid business license number will be asked. You have to provide documents asked by the bank. And within a few hours, you will be ready with the merchant bank account.

Merchant’s Guide to Getting Funds Faster – After the customer has made the payment, the amount paid is put under the review and it generally takes 1-2 business days to actually credit into the Merchant Account. The time between the transaction and addition of amount in the merchant account is called funding time. And the process is called funding.

A merchant wants quick funding because after the funding the merchant is allowed to use that money for investment or another purpose. This is an application in case of the digital money transaction. The cash transaction is free from funding, as the money is instantly available for the merchant to use or invest.

Minimize the Processing Time

The processing is the major step that takes most of the time. Additionally, if the processing time can be reduced, the merchant will get the money in no time. Let’s start the Merchant’s Guide to Getting Funds Faster with the fast processing.

Choose Processor with Fast Funding – There are a number of merchant service providers in the market. They offer different attractive schemes to the merchant to sell their service. But a merchant should choose the processor that takes the least time to process the transaction without breaching any security rules.

Avoid Card-Not-Present Transaction – The payment made with the means that do not ensure that card was not present at the time of the purchase can take more time to process. Use transaction with a magnetic stripe swipe or EMV chip to process the transaction faster as these ensure the Card-Present transactions.

Reduce Number of Chargebacks– If a merchant is titled with a great many numbers of chargeback. Then the transactions of that merchant will take extra time to process to avoid any illegal activity. Use the chargeback proof method of transactions for the business.

Do not Cross the Processing Limit – Each merchant service provider offer the weekly or monthly processing limit to the merchant. If the merchant crosses this limit then those transactions will not be processed.

Choose the Processor with effective 24/7 Support – If there are issues with the transaction processing then make sure your merchant processor offers the support to help with your processing error.

If you need more tricks to reduce the processing time depending on your business then you can contact Merchant Stronghold and talk to an expert. Call us at the toll-free number +1 (888) 622 – 6875 and talk to an expert to get answers to your questions.

Processors That Offers Fast Funding

Here is the list of the merchants that offer fast processing and funding along with other services. This is the Merchant’s Guide to Getting Funds Faster with the Fast Processor.

It appears on the credit card statement or any other bank statement of the customer that contains details of the company and merchant involved in the particular transaction.

The purpose of the merchant descriptor is to identify whom the payment was made to. Whenever a merchant goes for the merchant account, he or she is asked to provide the merchant descriptor as well.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING TRANSACTION DESCRIPTOR OR MERCHANT DESCRIPTOR?

Having a transaction descriptor can save the merchant from a chargeback. This is the most important benefit of having the transaction descriptor.

A descriptor gives clear information about the merchant and the purchase. This helps a customer to quickly identify the transaction. That also results in a low chance of the chargeback from the customer’s end.

According to the various reports from the card networks, most chargebacks are filed simply because the customer did not identify the transaction.

Now you know, as a merchant you should give attention to the merchant descriptor. If this is the case, you need to gather more information about the Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor.

There are two kinds of Transaction Descriptor:

Static Descriptor – A Static Descriptor remains the same for all the transactions made by the merchant. Dynamic Descriptor – And in this case, it varies and includes the details of the purchased goods or service.

The term ‘offshore’ is basically used to describe banks from countries other than home country or foreign lands. An offshore account is like any other merchant account opened in any country other than the merchant’s home country. The main benefits of an offshore account are the security and the option of accepting major currencies. It also helps the merchant in increasing revenue due to tax relaxation, provides greater privacy to merchants and helps in gaining more customers (major currency acceptance).

Popular Among Merchants

E-commerce and offshore accounts are highly linked as merchants, irrespective of their industry types. It aims at attracting a majority of customers and look for maximizing sale to earn good profit. To achieve this, the merchant needs to have a merchant account that accepts the majority of credit cards. But it is not that easy to open a merchant account, as it includes many requirements and lengthy procedures, which is not the case with an offshore merchant account. Most of the businesses like to maintain an offshore account as it provides many financial and legal advantages to their client.

Offshore Merchant Account

Most of the merchants choose offshore accounts over merchant accounts for various reasons. Few of them are below:

Hassle free procedure

Low taxes/ tax relaxation

Low initial costs

International Reach

Different currencies

Major credit card acceptance

Why are Offshore Accounts so Popular?

No matter how small or big business you own, any merchant can get an offshore account. Especially, merchants who are planning to set up an online business, irrespective of their size, prefer offshore account over merchant account due to low initial cost.

As an e-commerce merchant, there should be some preparation done for things like funding, stocks, products, etc. But at the same time, precaution for the expenses like lost products, shipping charges, chargeback fees, and the probable loss of the merchant account.

Case investigations, customer phone support, and damage to a merchant’s reputation also contribute to the cost of fraud. The latter could possibly be more damaging.

Possible points where fraud could be prevented:

Predictive Analysis: There is a vast use of data nowadays, which can be used to detect fraud patterns to determine future probabilities and trends. Although predictive analytics won’t reveal what type of fraud is about to take place it will certainly point the possibility of fraud.

Experienced Fraud Analysts: The customer care and a team of fraud analysts can be a ticket to reduction and prevention of fraud. Fraud analysts play a critical role in a fraud detection solution, seeing behind the scenes. Customer Care and support: Customer care and support play an important role as they are in direct contact with the customer and can detect the possible reasons of fraud.

Monitor Transactions and Reconcile Bank Accounts Daily: You must know about your biggest spenders and their buying patterns. Monitor your accounts and transactions for red flags like inconsistent billing and shipping information, as well as the physical location of your customers. Use tools to track customer IP addresses and alert you to any addresses from countries known as a base for fraudsters.

By putting the right tools and processes in place, you can reduce the chances of fraud.

BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS:

With businesses looking to reduce fraud and keeping up with emerging trends in fraud methods, new ways of detecting and preventing fraud are being developed. One of these is the Behavioral Analysis.

Behavioral Analysis relies on something, which is inherent in a user: how they behave. What a user does may be a better indicator than who say they are, this question is mostly challenged by authentication.

This is analyzed by shopping habits; our shopping habits reveal our unique behavior. For example; how you shop, what is the monthly spending budget of your spending, etc.

SIMPLE STEPS OF BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS TO DETECT FRAUD:

Gather lots of information to form a template of the user’s behavior and get prepared for the customer’s responsibility. Also, make sure to train the team against such frauds. Set a rate or a threshold according to your customer’s response translating from normal to fraudulent. This is generally in percentages that a transaction is fraudulent (for example, 90%) When a user is encountered, a probability of the transaction being fraudulent is calculated based on the behavior. If the percentage is above the threshold (90% in the example), the user is blocked from the transaction.

Low-Risk Merchant

Prior to applying for a merchant account, you must know if your business comes under low-risk. Reason being, merchants in our payment processing world come under low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk categories. various factors collectively decide the risk category for a particular business. 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 and so on.

The following criterion is a perfect match for any business that falls within the low-risk category –

Monthly Processing amount lower than $20,000 is processed by you.

The average size of the ticket that you possess is lower than $50.

Your chargeback ratio is quite low.

The industry that you cater to reflects a lower risk.

The country of your incorporation falls within a low-risk category.

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 this thing but you get dedicated customer support and assistance for the desired growth of your business.

Some examples of Low-Risk Industries include:

Home Goods/Retail Shop

Pet Supplies

Movies, CD’s and Books

Beauty & Health

Office Supplies

Online Apparel And Many More.

Nоw thаt you have аn idea of hоw you wаnt thе mеrсhаnt ассоunt tо wоrk for уоur business, it’ѕ time to compare merchant account providers. Sоmе points you’ll wаnt tо consider whеn ѕеlесting an mеrсhаnt ассоunt inсludе:

Merchant Aссоunt Trаnѕасtiоn Fееѕ: There аrе twо common tуреѕ оf fees fоr credit саrdѕ trаnѕасtiоnѕ.

An flаt rаtе you gеt сhаrgеd for each сrеdit саrd рауmеnt that iѕ processed.

A реrсеntаgе fее bаѕеd on the tоtаl аmоunt оf еасh trаnѕасtiоn.

Fоr the реrсеntаgе fee, mаnу mеrсhаnt ассоunt рrоvidеrѕ uѕе a tiered pricing system based on hоw “ԛuаlifiеd” a trаnѕасtiоn iѕ for a раrtiсulаr rаtе. They will сlаѕѕifу these реrсеntаgе fееѕ intо thrее tiеrѕ of rаtеѕ, using vаriаblеѕ such аѕ:

Thе wау you ассерt the рауmеnt vѕ. the рrimаrу wау your mеrсhаnt ассоunt is ѕеt uр to ассерt рауmеnt)

If the саrd iѕ rewards саrd

If thе саrd is рrеѕеnt оr not

Some providers mау hаvе diffеrеnt реrсеntаgе fееѕ bаѕеd оn thе volume thаt you рrосеѕѕ

It’s imроrtаnt tо gаthеr аll thе dеtаilѕ on these rates аnd does some rоugh саlсulаtiоnѕ with ~50% of уоur trаnѕасtiоnѕ falling intо thе highеr tiers to gеt a сlеаr рiсturе оf whаt you will likеlу be paying in fееѕ.

Othеr Merchant Aссоunt Fееѕ: Thеrе саn bе many other fees аѕѕосiаtеd with an mеrсhаnt ассоunt bеуоnd thе trаnѕасtiоnаl fees. Other fееѕ tо аѕk аbоut inсludе:

*Mоnthlу minimum fееѕ *Sеtuр fееѕ *Cаnсеllаtiоn fееѕ *Stаtеmеnt fees *Cuѕtоmеr ѕеrviсе fееѕ *Chargeback fееѕ *Bаtсh fееѕ *Annual fееѕ

It’ѕ imроrtаnt to understand аll оf thе finе рrint реrtаining tо thеѕе fееѕ up front so thеrе аrе no ѕurрriѕе costs along the way.

Here are the generally detailed documentation(irrespective of any country) that are required for the merchant account is:

To prove that the applicant is the legal resident of the country he/she should have these documents to initiate the application process:

Legal presence in the country: The merchant should have a registered legal name and address and a Doing Business As the name.

Physical presence: The merchant should have a physical presence of the business place. This physical presence can be the applicant’s home or an office from where the business is being incorporated.

An existing personal or business bank account in the country where the applicant is applying for the merchant account. The documentation that will be required while filing the application form and get the approval as soon as possible:

Applicant’s form: This is typically provided by the bank or processor to get filled by the applicant that acts as the resume of the applicant which will contain almost all the details about the applicant. The basic details that should be specified in this document are business’ fundamentals, Tax ID, address of the applicant, e-mail address, web portal details of the business(if available), sales and processing volume details.

Business license: This document help business owner to prove that the business is registered with the local government body and the merchant have the legal authority to sell the products.

Article of Incorporation: This document is required whenever the merchant or business claims to be owned by multiple people or claims to be in process on the world level.

Voided check: A voided check must be deposited by the merchant; this should be a permanent check that is the name should be pre-printed on the check.

Guarantee: This is one of the things that will be required if the business belongs to the high-risk industry or the transaction volume of the business is high. For this, the merchant needs a third party that can give assurance about the business’ profitability and existence.

If the business is a high risk that is if the volume of transaction is high or the product belongs to the industry that is categorized in the high-risk business industry the merchant needs to provide these details:

You need to treat your online store as your offline business store. You need to keep the inventory updated as well as make sure that you have a good payment gateway to accept online payments. Having a multi-currency payment gateway will help you get more traffic than others. To understand the Multi-currency payment processing you can visit us at merchantstronghold.com or contact Merchant Stronghold Support.

First of all, you need to understand the basic requirements to start selling online or to become an E-commerce Merchant.

Select and Define Your Niche: You need to decide what you want to sell or define your niche. This could be the most crucial part of your business as it requires a lot of research in your area of interest. It is not mandatory to sell the product online, you can affiliate them too.

Your Platform to Sell Online: In order to sell online, you need a domain name, dedicated E-commerce hosting, and payment gateway, etc. You need to select your website platform or blog based platform with the shopping cart add-on. A website will help you to set up your store online as well as to accept payments online using any payment gateway.

Maintain the Inventory: It is necessary to maintain the inventory. If you are using in-house fulfillment means selling your products only then you can easily stock the product and then ship them when required. Also, It is most important to understand what type of fulfillment you want to use as per your requirement.

Manage orders and shipping: To become an E-commerce Merchant, it is important for you to manage your orders and shipping process. You need an order management tool to manage online orders. Also, you can use any free shipping label printing service options and installed software to fulfill your shipping needs.

Use Payment Gateway: Payment gateways play a pivotal role in the E-commerce store. You can use any of the payment gateways which are available in the market. Payment Gateways that are available in the market are Stripe, PayPal, Payline, and Authorize.net, etc. All of these payment gateways allow you to accept online payments from the customers. Choose the payment as per your requirements and become an E-commerce Merchant.

As a Magazine Subscription business, your first criteria is finding a service provider with suitable rates. There are a number of costs you have to consider. There is a startup cost to set up your merchant account, configuring/customizing it for your business, and PCI annual fees. There are other types of fees such as transaction charges, which can be flat per transaction or variable. Some merchant account providers have monthly charges for any number of transactions. Online payment processing services differ with every merchant account provider so it will be helpful for you if you understand the overall cost. Contact Merchant Stronghold for a Fast Solid and Secure Merchant Account.

Safe and Secure Processing

All the credit card processing transactions go through multiple secure servers means no data is stored on your business computer. This makes direct marketing processing safe and secure. Online information is a great matter of concern for business owners. Ensure that the online payment processing service has high security, and data encryption is kept as per standard. Security features also include SSL certificates, CVV2 verification, and complex encryption algorithm and restrictions. Many businesses consider these features because they offer a safe environment to sell products online.

Simple API Gateway Integration