High-Low Risk Merchant Services For Your Businesses

As you know the market is full of merchant service providers. You can get different companies offering many attractive services to lure merchants. And at those times the merchant feels very confused. A merchant needs an expert to help choose the Best Merchant Service Provider.

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.

QUESTIONS

• What kind of Support services they offer? – 24/7 support or Live Support
  Will they allow both online and offline processing of transactions?
  Details related to the PCI-Compliance and other charges
  How long have they been into this business and What are their customer reviews?
  What is their response towards the chargeback and frauds?
  What is the average fund processing time?
  Details related to cancelation and fund replacement
  What kind of compatibility appliance do they need or 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 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.

What are the Reasons to Add Authorize.net Payment Gateway on WooCommerce Store

Here are few reasons why you should get the Authorize.net Payment Gateway on your WooCommerce Store.

Security and Support
Easy Configuration
Extension Management
net eCheck Support

We will discuss these points in detail. You should also know about the system requirement for Authorize.net.

An Authorize.Net account
PHP 5.3+ (You can see this under WooCommerce > Status)

SECURITY AND SUPPORT

When the customers have the assurance that making transaction is safe, they are more likely to purchase the services. Authorize.net offers the security to both the customer and merchant by its payment gateway.

• They keep the customer’s information and details safe
  Also, Authorize.net offers a reliable and secure atmosphere to make payments
  You can also access 24/7 support of Authorize.net
  Moreover, for the 1st year you get the premium support and updates
  Your business website will remain up and active with Authorize.net payment services.

EASY CONFIGURATION

You can install Authorize.net by visiting the WooCommerce plugin. Then go to the Payment settings and add Authorize.net Payment Gateway on WooCommerce Store. Once you have added it, you can start the configuration.

• After that, you need to visit Authorize.net on your browser.
  Login to your merchant account using the username and password.
  Then you need to go to the API Login at the Settings page.
  Use this API login credentials to use the Authorize.net account on the Website.
  Once you add the extension to the WooCommerce or the Website, you can manage the extensions.

EXTENSION MANAGEMENT

There are a number of extension settings and customization options available. It will take another article, to discuss all of the services. But here is the brief of available extensions.

• Enable/Disable the Gateway
  Title and Description of the Payment Gateway
  Card Verification Menu (CVV/CV2)
  Transaction Type and Accepted Card Type
  Option to add the API Login ID and Transaction key.

Finally, save the settings to add Authorize.net Payment Gateway on WooCommerce Store. After that, you will be able to customize the various settings provided by the plugin.

If you are looking for an expert to guide you to choose the best payment gateway then feel free to contact Merchant Stronghold at +1 (888) 622 – 6875. We provide specialized assistance with high-risk business management and merchant card processing.

Virtual Terminal and It’s Benefits

Virtual Terminal: Virtual Terminal is an online application or operating system where a merchant can check all the transactions and get a detailed inquiry of it. By using virtual terminal merchant can accept the payment without physically using the credit card. It is contrary to physical payment where the credit card must be present at the time of the transaction. You don’t need an electronic machine (POS) or go through any hassle if you had opted for electronic payments. What you need to do is promote payment gateway, which will allow you to process your transaction without any inconvenience. You can get your payment even from miles away within a few seconds with the help of virtual terminals. Multiple companies are now offering these facilities one of them is IBM, PayPal, Linux and many more.

How does Virtual Terminal work?

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 the 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. 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.

How to get rid of poor merchant underwriting

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 will put your business at risk. Limits lower than required will hinder the regular processing of transactions. As a result, it may constrict the flow of cash or timely payments from the customer. If a limit is too high, this may lead to unexpected fraudulent charges.

Hidden Fee: An additional fee is there if the volume exceeds the limit. However, even if you have set your limit, some providers let it exceed without notification. And they also charge you with a 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 it will help you in long run and enable smooth processing of transactions.

What Providers Check

Industry Type: Risk is in every kind of business but the level of risk varies from business to business. Few businesses are less likely to fraud and chargebacks as compare to others. Higher the level of risk, higher the amount of documentation.

Return Policy: Businesses that indulge in shipping products are risky because there are chances of non-delivery of product, wrongly delivery or delivery of broken product that might result in chargebacks.

Business History: If you are not new in the market and have applied for a merchant account, underwriting will involve reviewing of your credit history as well as chargeback history (to know chargeback ratio) before approving or rejecting your application.

Financial Stability: To check the financial stability, underwriting may include your bank statement and credit. This is very important for the businesses while applying for a new merchant account, as it directly affects the decision of underwriting approval.

Online and Offline Payment Processing | Advantage & Disadvantage

These payment methods are different in terms of advantages and disadvantages. In the next section of the article “Offline vs Online Payment Processing”, we will discuss a detailed difference between the both.

Advantages of Offline Payment Processing
There is a reason why most people around the globe still prefer to use cash for their daily money transaction. Some advantages of the offline method of payment are given below:

Being a traditional method of payment makes it more trusted. People still trust the bank checks and drafts and use them for payments.
TThe offline transactions are transparent. This means both the lender and receiver are sure about the transaction at the moment of the deal.
Offline mode of payment is direct and do not depend on any other source. For example Internet or payment gateways.
Easy to use and understand. Many people face difficulty with the online mode of payment.

Advantages of Online Payment Processing

In the war of Offline vs Online Payment Processing, the online method is winning so far. This is due to some advantages of this mode of payment.

Online method is quick and easy. You can transfer a big chunk of money with just a swipe of your finger.
You have the record of all the payments. This helps in reducing the payment frauds.
Speaking of frauds, the online methods are safer as the online payment gateway takes the responsibility of the money during the transactions.
You can make a transaction in any part of the world without facing the issue of currency difference.
Worldwide acceptance and 24*7 availability.

Disadvantages of Offline Payment Processing
There is also some disadvantage to the offline payment that makes the user go for the online method. Here is some notable disadvantage of offline payment method:

The offline method is limited by many factors by distance and acceptance of another party.
It’s not safe at all. The party on the receiving end will have to check and recheck the received payment.
Not recommended for the transaction of a large amount.

Disadvantages of Online Payment Processing
There is a reason why the offline payment method still exists even when the online method is winning in the Offline vs Online Payment Processing. This is because the online method is not as good as it sounds.

Card frauds – All of us heard about the credit card and debit card fraud reports.
Identity theft can cause the loss of money and data of an individual.
The online method requires the person’s identity in order to make the transactions.

What is Rolling Reserve & Why is It Important to Merchants?

Rolling Reserve Merchant Account: When it comes to new merchants and high-risk businesses, the bank takes all the possible caution to avoid any loss in their business. Due to which they have created a robust network of rules that need to be followed at all times so that economic and financial aspect of the business never sees any downfall.

This is the reason that bank introduced the concept of Rolling Reserve Merchant Account.

WHAT IS ROLLING RESERVE MERCHANT ACCOUNT?

Rolling Reserve is a fixed percentage (generally 5-10%) of a merchant’s transacted amount reserved by the bank which can be used in case of an excessive chargeback. This happens for only a short time interval (6-12 months) until the business gets some stability.

Upon completion of this time interval, the bank releases the amount to the merchant on the scheduled dates.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ROLLING RESERVE?

As we discussed, rolling reserves are applied for the merchants having a high-risk business. The idea of introducing the rolling reserve is to avoid any loss of revenue in case of excessive chargeback in the business.

What are the traits that result in high-risk business?

Excessive Number of Chargebacks – Most of the credit card networks have established 1% criteria where chargeback ratio of more than 1% will state as an excessive chargeback. Upon exceeding this limit, again and again, can make the business as a high-risk business.
Merchant With Poor Personal Credit– If you are a merchant with a history of bad credits in previous terms then you can face consequences while getting the merchant account. This means might be denied from a merchant account or get the Rolling Reserve Merchant Account for your business.

There are some businesses that are considered as the high-risk businesses, for example:

Online Gambling Or Casinos
Computer Software And Hardware Business
Bitcoins Or Forex Trading
Dating Services
VoIP Or Telemarketing
Pharmaceuticals Or Drug Stores
E-Commerce
Adult Materials, Products Or Services
Airline Tickets
Magazine Subscriptions

If you are a merchant of those businesses or similar businesses then you will be provided with Rolling Reserve Merchant Account.

Merchant Stronghold offers account services for the merchants with high-risk businesses. You can contact our experts by placing a call at the toll-free number.

If you have a high-risk business then rolling reserve is inevitable. However, you can work on other strategies to maximize the profit so that it won’t affect as bad as it may seem.
Furthermore, you can work on strategies to minimize the chargeback in the business. And finally, use the best business practice to eliminate any situation that can harm the reputation of business in any way.