Everyone in business these days must be able to accept credit cards as most people shop using this method. It is important to find a trusted merchant as processing your credit card transactions can be rather daunting. This becomes even more difficult if you are a high risk merchant. A high risk merchant is a business that may present higher risk of fraud to the processor. This is mainly due to the nature of the business itself, but it can also occur if the business owner has particularly bad credit or the business supplies to customers deemed to present a higher risk of fraud. Every processor has its own set of conditions for determining whether a business classifies as high-risk. Thus, a business that is deemed high-risk by one processor may not be by another.

There are many examples of businesses that are classified as high-risk such as those in the adult entertainment industry, e-cigarette and vape shops, and online gambling sites. Other types of businesses that aren’t so obvious include bankruptcy attorneys and furniture stores

If business owners have a personal bad credit, this can also put them into the high-risk category. While it’s always possible to improve your credit score over a period of time, you must also be aware that a low personal credit score can affect your ability to get not only a merchant account but also a start-up loan, small business loan, and even equipment leases.

Once your business has been classified as high risk, it may be difficult to find a good processor. But the good news is that, there are good providers out there. 

High-risk merchants have the same needs as everyone else when selecting a merchant account provider — however it’s just harder to find one if you’re in the high-risk category. Since your business has been categorized as high risk, you’ll have to make some compromises to sign with a processor.

Here are the criteria you can use to evaluate and identify the best high-risk processors:

High-Risk Specialization: This involves more than just marketing toward the high-risk segment. A true high-risk specialist will have an in-house sales staff that is trained and experienced in dealing with high-risk merchant accounts. 

Sales & Advertising: Misleading sales promotions and dishonest sales agents are major problems in the merchant account provider industry. While we like to see full disclosure of contract terms, processing rates, and account fees right on a provider’s website, even the best high-risk specialists often fall short in this area. 

Pricing: Costs that are associated with maintaining a merchant account include both processing rates and account fees. Processing rates are measured on a per-transaction basis, while account fees are billed month-to-month or yearly. 

Contracts: There has been a tendency in recent years within the merchant services industry to do away with the three-year, automatically-renewing contract and allow month-to-month contracts instead. 

Customer Support: Customer services may be an area for many merchant account providers, especially when trying to provide 24/7 support by phone or email. Many of the better providers are increasingly putting more self-help resources on the websites.

High risk merchant account providers

There are a few common features that the best merchant accounts have in common:

• Honest sales 
• A transparent on boarding process
• Personalized customer service
• Reasonable contract terms
• Rates and fees aren’t as low as most low-risk providers offer, but they will be fair and affordable.

When searching for a high risk merchant, look for one that is dedicated to seeing your business thrive with ease of access and little to no chargebacks