Offshore merchant accounts may be the only solution for certain business types that are deemed to be high risk merchant types. These business types usually experience high percentages of chargebacks and are deemed to risky for most credit card processors. A offshore merchant account is usually the last resort for all high risk merchants. Typically, rates are higher to justify the risk of the account to the processor. Many times a reserve account is held, to cover any potential chargebacks that may pass through the account. The upside is that these accounts usually have no credit or volume restrictions.