Merchant Account Blog & Credit Card Processing Blog

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 Offshore Merchant Account For High Risk Merchants

Offshore merchant accounts may be the last resort for many business types that are deemed “High Risk” by most card processors. These business types have a history of a higher than acceptable chargeback issues and are unacceptable by most credit card processors. An offshore merchant account  is probally the only solution. These business types include, but are not limited to:

ONLINE PHARMACY
TOBACCO SALES
ONLINE GAMBLING
ADULT CONTENT

This partial list shows the most diffecult business types, but there are many other types which would fall under the “High Risk Catagory”. Again these are pretty much “Untouchable” by most credit card processors.

These merchants are forced to seek an Offshore Merchant Account that specializes in high risk merchants. Rates are typically much higher to justify the high risk nature of the business. Rates can range from 8% - 12% and can be a very expensive proposition, but an necessary evil if credit card acceptence is necessary.

You may not need a High Risk merchant Account, so the best advise would be to call me to see if you would qualify for a traditional merchant account. This could save you thousands.

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High Risk Credit Card Processing

High risk credit card processing is a solution for certain business types that are deemed high risk by the industry and often declined for processing by most processors. Typically these business types have proven over time to produce a high average of “Chargeback” and present a high risk of default to the merchant bank. Below are some examples:

* TRAVEL RELATED BUSINESS
* ADULT WEBSITES
* BAIL BONDS BUSINESS

Another problem is a business that is either illegal or perceived to be illegal:

* ONLINE GAMBLING
* ONLINE PHARMACY
* ONLINE TOBACCO SALES
* ONLINE GUN SALES

Every high risk business type has it’s own variables. Certain banks may be willing to accept some of these accounts, but most would not. A merchant would need to have many favorable items to be considered and have a chance of approval. These are some points to be considered.

* CREDIT RATING OF THE PRINCIPAL
* CURRENT PROCESSING HISTORY ( NO CHARGEBACKS )
* FINANCIAL STRENGHTH OF THE MERCHANT

These are just a few things to consider when seeking ”HIGH RISK CREDIT CARD PROCESSING“. We may have a solution for your business, so if you would like to discuss your possibilities, please feel free to give me a call. We look forward to speaking with you.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Gas Station Owners - Save Money At The Pumps

Gas station owners should be feeling the lower cost of pay at the pump transactions, with the decrease in interchange cost passed on by Visa last fall. Visa lowered the interchange pass-through at the hieght of the gas crisis last fall. This savings at pay at pumps stations was hoped to be passed on to the consumer.

We are finding that many gas staion owners who are not on a Interchange Plus plan with their merchant account provider, have not seen any savings. These merchant’s are on a Teired Rate plan and the savings is being lost to their merchant account provider.

Owners should look to switch their gas station merchant account to an Interchange Plus merchant account to maximize overall savings on cost. With many business travelers utilizing the pay at pumps, the savings could be signifigant. The higher your sales volume, the higher the savings.

For more information on saving money on credit card processing, please feel free to give me a call to discuss your options.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Merchant Account For High Monthly Volume Business

Good news for businesses having a problem getting a single merchant account to process their high volume credit card charges. We are rolling out our “High Volume Merchant Account“, for merchants processing high monthly volumes on their credit card processing. Merchants currently processing with multiple accounts, can now shift them in a single, low rate, merchant account.

The problem, many high volume businesses are forced to open multiple accounts, as many processors “Cap” their risk, at a certain dollar amount. This forces the business owner to spread out their credit card processing with several banks. This is a bookkeeping night mire and forces owners to monitor credit card sales volumes on a daily basis.

We now offer these merchant’s a solution with our High Volume Merchant Account. If you have a solid credit card processing history, a fairly good credit rating, and monthly statements to prove it, we can offer you a single source for all of your credit card processing needs. We will even compete with the lowest rate possible for your situation. You may even qualify for our Interchange Plus Pricing, which will save you on downgraded transactions which fall under Non-Qualified Transactions.

If you are currently processing credit cards, but having issues about your volume, please feel free to give me a call to discuss a solution.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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INTRODUCING INTERCHANGE PLUS PRICING

We are rolling-out “Interchange Plus Pricing” to any merchant, interested in saving money on their credit card processing fee’s. Once reserved for only the Walmart Size businesses, this program will save you money on your merchant account fees. Interchange Plus Pricing takes the “True Cost” charged by Visa or Mastercard and adds a cap on the markup charged by your processor, with a small margin above the true cost of a credit card transaction.

Merchants processing more than $20,000 Per Month, should see a substancial saving, with the program.

Any merchant who is interested, please give us a call.

DIGG THIS STORY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Credit Ratings & Merchant Account Approval

People sometimes do not understand why their credit rating is a factor that underwriters look at when approving a new merchant account application. Many times credit card processors will “Decline” a merchant soley based on their credit score.

Why The Credit Factor Is Important

Business owners must realize that appling for a merchant account, is like appling for a credit line. The projected “Monthly Volume” stated on a new merchant account application, is the amount of “Risk” the merchant’s processor is willing to accept. If you are asking for $20,000 in Monthly Volume and your credit scores are “Very Poor”, you may be declined an approval on your merchant account.

Understanding The Risk - In Credit Card Processing

Understanding the “Risk” in credit card processing should be understood by every new merchant. Accepting credit cards is not like accepting cash, as every cardholder has the right to call their credit card company and potentially get a charge “Reversed” in a “Chargeback”.

The risk for the bank is that the merchant may not have those “Reversed Funds” immediately available to complete the chargeback process. In this case, the merchant bank must cover the chargeback and then come after the merchant for the “Money Owed”.

This is why the financial responsibility is so important !!!!!!!

In closing every merchant application is on a case-by-case basis, with many other factors that are considered. If you have “Poor Credit” and need help in getting a merchant account, please give me a call to discuss your options.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Understanding Your Merchant Account Responsibities !!!!

If you are shopping for a new merchant account, you need to understand what you are getting into. Many times business owners are in a rush to set-up credit card processing for their business, they overlook the fact that they are entering into a contract that has many responsibilities and rules to abide by.

Many times merchants will find out the hard way, by being fined or getting their merchant account shut down. In some instances, merchants are “TMF’d” which means they lose their privilege to accept credit cards in the future. It surely make more sense to understand your responsibilities and model your business to conform with the rules set-forth by Visa and Mastercard.

Accepting Credit Cards - A Privilege:

Understand that being accepted to accept credit cards is a privilege, not your right !!!! Should you take this lightly, you could find yourself losing this privilege, permanently. That’s right, permanently !!!! You could personally be banned from ever accepting credit cards, for any business endeavor in the future. 

Unhappy Customers Can Destroy You:

An unhappy customer can create havoc on your business. Credit card holder’s have the right to call their credit card company and dispute a transaction on their credit card. These disputes have the potential of becoming a “Chargeback” to your business. A chargeback is simply a reversal of the charge, from your bank account, back to the customers card. These reversals come with very stiff fines to the business owner and could get your account terminated. Here some key points to avoiding chargebacks.

• Offer A Superior Product Or Service
• Quickly Resolve Customer Service Issues
• 100% Unconditional Return Policy
• Toll Free Customer Support
• Maintain Signatures + Shipping Records

Exceeding Volume Limit’s:

Every merchant account agreement has an “Average Monthly Volume” amount for Visa & Matercard. During your approval process, this amount is underwritten by the processor and is usually based on the credit scores of the merchant. If you are approved for that amount, you must process within the limit.

Should the limit become an issue, you must call in to ask that it be re-evaluated by the underwriting department. If your credit scores are too low, you may not get an increase.

If you simply ignore this limit, at some point your account will be shut-off.

Exceeding Ticket Limit’s:

Every merchant account agreement has an “Average Ticket” amount for Visa & Mastercard. Again, during the approval process, this amount is underwritten based on your credit scores. From an underwriting stand point, the higher the ticket, the higher the risk. If your account is approved for a certain ticket amount, you must process within that limit. Occasional “High Tickets” should be disclosed on the application, prior to underwriting. Contacting your “Risk Department”, prior to running high tickets is advised.

If you simply ignore this limit, your account could be terminated.

Honor All Cards:

Every merchant account agreement has a “Honor All Cards” Claus. This means as a Visa / Mastercard Merchant, you are bound to honor every credit card transaction presented to your business. That tiny sign at your local diner that states, “$10 Credit Card Minimum” is in direct violation of the terms of the merchant account agreement.

You cannot charge a “Surcharge” on credit card transactions either, this would also be in violation of the merchant agreemnet, as well.

Reserve Account:At any time, at the sole discretion of the bank, the bank has the right to place funds on hold in a non-interest barring reserve account. Reserve account is to protect the bank from future losses due to fines, chargebacks, ect that may come through your merchant account. Hold time-frame will be determined by the bank and is usually for long enough time period to cover future customer chargebacks.

In Conclusion:

As you can see, “Your Privilege” to accept Visa & Mastercard comes with many duties and responsibilities. Failure to comply, could prove to be very costly and cause your account to get “Terminated” and potentially lose your credit card processing privilege in future business endeavours. Play it safe, understand the rules and play by them.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Saving Money On Your Merchant Account Fee’s !!!!!!!!!!

Saving money on your merchant account & credit card processing fee’s has never been more simple. We have put together a program to save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in fees, depending on your current monthly volume. Perfect solution for any business owner looking to cut cost’s.

INTERCHANGE PLUS PRICING - Start Saving Today !!!!!

In the past, this program has been reserved for High Volume Chains, such as Wal-Mart or McDonalds. We have opened the flood gates for any business size to profit from the savings. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “Interchange”, interchange is the cost passed on by Visa & Mastercard which accounts for the majority of your transaction cost’s. Interchange consists of several hundred catagorys which any transaction could fall under. Here and links to the most recent Interchange Schedule’s for Visa and Mastercard, as you will see this is quite complicated.

To simplify matters, most merchant account’s are on a “Tiered System”, consisting of Qualified, Non-Qualified, and maybe Mid-Qualified rate. These tier’s cover any downgrades by Visa or Mastercard in which certain transactions may fall. This simplifies “Interchange”, but alway’s cost’s more in credit card processing fee’s to a merchant on the Tiered System.

BOTTOM LINE - SAVING MONEY LIKE THE BIG BOY’S !!!!!!

We are now offering “Interchange Plus Pricing” to merchants of any size. Previously reserved for large corporations, this pricing schedule will saving you money on your credit card processing fee’s and is available to any merchant account, regardless of size.

Call us immediately for a cost analysis and began saving like the big boy’s.

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Merchant accounts processing with 1st National Processing can put there fears aside with becomming PCI Compliant with the complicated standards recently set-forth by Visa & Mastercard. We have simplified the process, making it quite simple for our merchants who process with us.

First, we have painless online survey which will walk you through each step of completing your Self Assessment Questionaire, required for PCI Compliance. Once the “SAQ” is completed, you will receive an email if you need to perform a “Quarterly PCI Scan” of your website or network. You will then receive instructions by mail for performing any required PCI Scans.

Lastly, if you are required to perform PCI Scans the cost is included in our Annual PCI Compliance Fee of only $30.00. This minimal fee is cheap when compared to other processors, who charge $79-$99 and expect you to become PCI Compliant on your own.

If you are looking for more information on PCI Compliance, here’s a great 10 Minute Video that will educate you on the subject.

1st National Processing Customers can begin the PCI Compliance Process by clicking here.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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GIFT CARD PROGRAM - INCREASE SALES !!!!!!!

Well the holiday season is upon us and adding a gift card program to your merchant account can be a great opportunity to increase your bottom line profits. Gift cards offer merchants many benefits which can equal more customers and greater profits.

First, a gift card sale is like a cash advance on a potential sale in the future which may never happen, as many times gift cards are never redeemed. This is called “Breakage” and will occur about 10%-15% of the time. Keep in mind this is pure profit.

Secondly, most gift cards are not redeemed at the Full Value, increasing your profit’s by 5%-10%. For those who do redeem the cards at 100% Face-Value, they usually tend to over spend the value, thus increasing your per ticket sale amount, thus increasing your profits.

Lastly, gift card sales will become Free Advertising for your business. Many folks who receive a gift card will be first-time customers to your business, increasing your customer base. Many of those folks will become loyal customers, who return again.

100 FREE GIFT CARDS - WITH CREDIT CARD PROCESSING

We are offering 100 Free Gift Cards with our JumpStart Program. This flat-fee program has no transaction fee’s and is a great way to get started selling gift cards this holiday season. Credit card processing merchant account is required.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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