Lets Understand The High Risk Merchant And Merchant Processing

When 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.
  • An 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 high risk 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 businesses who are based outside the US.

 

 

 

Common High Risk Industries
 

While any business with bad personal or business credit scores, 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.

 

Some examples of high risk industries include:

  • Document Preparation
  • Downloadable Software
  • Educational Software
  • Electronics Business
  • Extended Warranties
  • Financial Aid Consulting
  • Financial Services
  • Fine & Cosmetic Jewelry
  • Insurance Providers
  • Magazine Subscriptions
  • Air & Water Filtration
  • Antiques & Collectables
  • Apparel Sales
  • Auto Parts & Accessories
  • Auto Transport
  • Businesses with Bad Credit
  • Beer, Wine & Liquor Sales
  • Computer Hardware
  • Debt Consolidation
  • Discount Buying Service