Payment Processing Solutions

High-Risk Business Categories

The first thing to understand about high-risk businesses is that your processor will determine whether you fall into one of their high-risk categories when you apply for a merchant account. Either you’re high-risk, or you’re not – there is no middle ground. Beyond that, it gets complicated as every processor has their own unique guidelines for determining whether you’re in the high-risk category. While some business types, will almost always be placed in the high-risk group, others may or may not be. Some merchant services providers have very strict guidelines for determining high-risk status, while others use more relaxed criteria. If you’re considering a particular provider, check their website or contact them directly to see if they find your business to be high-risk. This can save you a lot of time and effort in wasted applications to providers who aren’t going to approve you.

How a merchant services provider treats a high-risk business can also vary widely. Many providers, particularly those that try to offer merchant services at the lowest possible prices, simply do not accept any high-risk businesses at all. This helps to reduce their exposure to fraud and keeps costs low for their existing clients. You will find most providers will allow certain high-risk companies, but will charge you significantly higher rates and fees for your merchant account due to the elevated risk they’re accepting by giving you a merchant account. There’s also a third category of providers who specialize in placing high-risk businesses. While their rates and fees aren’t a good deal for non-high-risk merchants, they can often provide a merchant account for high-risk businesses that have been turned down by other providers.

We’re always just a phone call away and are more than happy to answer any of your questions, but here are a few questions that we get asked all the time.