What is a High Risk Merchant Account?

A high risk merchant account is a special kind of business bank account allocated to those merchants who present a degree of risk linked with their business. High-risk merchants are classified for the following reasons:

A merchant's credit history could be flawed or imperfect.

Concerns related to the merchant's industry include reputation, health dangers, and money, among others.

The merchant, who is typically domestic, handles a lot of transactions.

The merchant operates in a sector with a history of high fraud or chargeback rates, such as recurring billing or technical assistance.

Because they believe the danger outweighs the benefit, not all acquiring banks are enthusiastic about offering high risk merchant account solutions. Secher holds the other view, contending that only authorized, lawful firms and merchants should be permitted to accept credit card payments.

We frequently get enquiries from merchants who are unaware that they or their company can be deemed high risk until after their applications have been rejected.

Secher is glad to help out.

The Challenges (and Rewards) of High Risk Merchant Accounts

Obtaining high risk merchant accounts is not always easy. Secher has been supporting high risk sectors and their merchants for almost 20 years by collaborating with like-minded acquiring banks and locating cost-effective credit card and other payment processing solutions.

Perhaps more than ever, acquiring banks and payment service providers are boarding high risk merchants with caution in one way or another:

• tightening underwriting guidelines and requiring more KYC papers
• only accepting specific high-risk business models
• volume restrictions, transaction security presets, and/or required chargeback protection measures

The landscape of high risk merchant accounts has changed, and acquiring banks, credit card companies, and well-known companies are now wary of the danger that certain merchants and organizations pose.

Here's where Secher steps in: We begin every potential merchant account partnership with a 10- to 15-minute phone call to learn more about the prospective merchant's company and its objectives. We determine whether the merchant fits our portfolio based on that conversation. If so, we select the acquiring banking partner that is the best fit for their sector and accompany them through the application and approval process.

The approval does not, however, mark the end of our connection. For the duration of the merchant account partnership, Secher merchant account managers are available as consultants.

Getting a High Risk Merchant Account

High risk merchants are aware of the difficulty of finding the ideal merchant account. Not all banks are eager to receive payments for businesses that are seen as high risk. Secher established its own niche in the high risk merchant services market in 2001 and has been offering top-notch solutions ever since.

Defining High Risk Merchants

A high risk merchant might exhibit a wide range of characteristics. The environment of high risk e-commerce is always changing and developing. With more than 15 years of furnishing e-commerce enterprises with high risk merchant accounts, we like to think we've remained up to speed with shifts and legislation. A company may be classified as high risk by banks for a number of reasons:

• A new company with little or no experience processing credit cards
• High chargeback and return rates have soiled the sector.
• High price (such as timeshares or airline tickets)
• Products or services that require a subscription, such periodicals or online dating
• A merchant who has suffered a terminated merchant account by a bank
• A business owner whose merchant account was shut down by a bank
• Defective, bad credit, and bankruptcy history
• Enterprises with high volume, like nutraceuticals
• A nation or territory that a business is aiming for

We provide payment processing solutions to the following sectors:

Benefits of Secher’s High Risk Merchant Accounts

Since the beginning of e-commerce in 2001, Secher, which was founded in London, has focused mostly on high risk industries such online gambling, dating, and sexual services and products. The list of industries that Secher considers to be high risk and so require high risk merchant accounts now includes things like tech assistance, penny auctions, and e-cigarettes.

Every e-commerce company, in Secher's perspective, is distinct and has particular requirements. An Secher high risk merchant account offers a variety of advantages, including:

• More Acquiring Banking Solutions: Secher has a wealth of experience working with domestic, foreign, and offshore acquiring banking partners and is knowledgeable about which banks are most effective in each sector.
• We Follow Visa, MasterCard, and Other Policies: Obtaining a high risk merchant account is now different than it was ten or even five years ago due to changes in the high risk e-commerce industry. All of Secher's acquiring banking partners follow the rules established by American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.
• 3D Secure: E-commerce fraud, often known as card-not-present fraud, is an increasing issue in today's society. To protect your e-commerce transactions, we advise adopting 3D Secure processing in addition to encouraging merchants to become PCI DSS compliant.
• Tools for Fraud Protection: As was already said, the battle against credit card fraud continues to intensify every year. Through its network of acquiring banking partners, Secher offers a variety of fraud prevention tools, including SSL certificates and 3D Secure processing.
• Offshore and International Merchant Accounts: Your industry or even a weak credit history could be the problem. Domestic banks may be reluctant to provide high risk merchant services for a variety of reasons. However, Secher has a workaround: offshore and global banking. Less restrictive trade policies and potential tax advantages are provided by Secher's offshore and foreign banking partners. Additionally, Secher provides resources for companies to register abroad.
• Multi-Currency Processing: Processing in several currencies is possible thanks to Secher's banking partners and resources, which also allow businesses to accept widely-used regional credit card brands.
• Live Customer Support: For the duration of the life of your merchant account, our knowledgeable merchant account managers act as your adviser. Managers of Secher merchant accounts are accessible from 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. till 6 p.m. East Coast US time.

KYC documents for high risk merchant accounts

Along with the first (required) discussion about joining up for our high risk merchant services, we also have this discussion with potential merchants about the know-your-customer (KYC) paperwork required to be approved for a high risk merchant account.

There has never been a time when it was more important to properly regulate high risk businesses and merchants; for this reason, the relevant paperwork is required. Different documents are required by various sectors (for example, supplier agreements are a must for certain businesses such as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals). However, the primary KYC documents we might want of potential merchants in addition to the acquiring bank and payment processor applications are as follows:

Visit our merchant account application materials check list, to learn more about the reasons we require such documents.

Contact Us — High Risk Merchant Accounts Available

The application procedure for a merchant account with Secher is simple, and we'll walk you through every step with prompt approvals. Call 1-855-473-2437 or 1-855-4SECHER to speak one-on-one with a merchant account manager, or use the contact form above or the live chat feature below.