Adult & High Risk Merchant Accounts
February 4, 2009
Be it security, loyalty or plain convenience people prefer to pay with plastic and it has evolved as the most comfortable and convenient mode of payment especially for online businesses. The benefits of accepting credit card payments far outweigh the minor costs involved in getting a Merchant Account and setting up the required infrastructure.
In the age of quick money, putting together an adult site or online casino may seem like the easiest thing to do to earn a quick buck. In reality, it is quite difficult to obtain a merchant account for your adult site or online casino because they are considered “high risk” areas.
If your business is in any of the following areas (but not limited to):
- Casinos
- Online gambling
- Dating
- Pharmaceuticals
- Adult content
- Travel or travel related services
- Prepaid calling cards
your business shall be tagged as “high risk”. This is because these businesses are prone to high levels of fraudulent activity. This does not mean that your business cannot obtain a merchant account. A Merchant Account Provider (MAP) has to guard against the risk associated with the business and hence charges a huge monthly fee and assigns an “Adult/High Risk Merchant Account” after due verification.
If you want your online business to be reliable despite being tagged “adult” or “high” risk, there are a lot of computer security features that you have to implement. Fraudulent activity is very common in online casinos, where hackers superimpose winning screens and claim payments. Hackers who steal passwords gain free access to adult related sites. In order to thwart these attacks it is necessary to have a strong security system.
It is not that only casinos and adult sites are treated as “high risk” businesses. The credit report of your business can go a long way in determining the nature of your business. The credit report reveals crucial information regarding loan repayments, bankruptcies, liens etc. The higher your credit score, the better the chances are for being approved for a “High Risk Merchant Account”. If you already had a merchant account before, the way the account was managed is also taken into consideration. The longer your business has been in operation the more is the confidence the merchant account provider can place in you.
A business could also be termed “high risk” when it has a large amount of chargeback transactions associated with it. There are cases when a business receives a lot of chargebacks for no fault of its own. There are a plenty of Chargeback protection plans available to protect your business, such as the preCharge Certified Payments Program which offers guaranteed chargeback protection.
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