Domestic merchant account terminated? Time to go offshore!

Lately I have been hearing from alot of my online marketing clients that their domestic merchant account have either been terminated or they have been warned that it will happen soon. This is not at all surprising, in my opinion if you have a "continuity" or "free trial" or most recurring billing type of offers, then you really need to consider going offshore. Domestic banks do not want this business anymore, they are all getting out of it, either because of concerns from the FTC, high chargebacks, reputational risk or a combination of the above.

Even if you are running a very clean ship, have impeccable customer services - you are still in jeopoardy. The fact of the matter is, offshore is where you need to be and I can help you get there.

The problem is that alot of people are unfamiliar with offshore, and it might be scary but I think its even scarier to think about what will happen if you are giving notice that you are going to be be shut down and now you need to scramble. We work with stable banks who have been in this business for a long time and understand it. We make the process easy for you, and you will get paid.

The biggest complaints I get about offshore are below with my responses.

1 - Higher Decline Ratios. Yes it might be higher, but its really only SLIGHTLY higher. There isn't a huge difference and the peace of mind that comes along with knowing you can keep processing definitely makes up for it.

2 - Higher Cost - When you actually look at your effective rate you will see that what you are paying is not that much higher then the blended rate you would get offshore.

3. Longer settlement timing - Yes, its true that it might take longer to get paid, however it is negotiable and once you get some history, you can always request to be paid faster.

The large online marketers have started moving alot of their business offshore, if not all. If this is something you would like to learn more about, please contact me. I can help you out.

Be proactive, get a solution in please before you have to scramble.

If you have already been terminated, I will be happy to help.

thanks

JR

Merchant Accounts for HCG offers!

Originally prescribed to treat infertility in women by triggering ovulation, HCG is probably one if the hottest products in the online marketing world today. I am asked, literally, on a daily basis if I can get merchants accounts for these types of offers. I am happy to say the answer is YES.

Currently are boarding HCG merchants that:

1. Are established - meaning they have processing history
2. Will go offshore

Domestic HCG accounts are almost impossible to setup, so if you have one, you are very lucky but I would seriously consider setting up an offshore accounts because your domestic account will not be around forever.

If you are interested in setting up an HCG merchant account, contact me today!

Offshore Processing for Internet Marketers

When I speak to a lot of internet marketers and bring up the option of processing business offshore, I am told (in a lot of cases) that they are not interested in offshore and they only want a domestic solution.

I am actually not 100% sure of the reason but one thing is for sure, offshore processing has much worse reputation in the Internet Marketing industry then it should. A lot of the time setting up offshore is exactly what a merchant needs to do, at least for the time being. One of the major benefits to processing offshore is that it provides you with much-needed flexibility and can really help if you are having any chargeback issues. I would be happy to speak in much greater detail with anyone that is interested. Contact me anytime.

The fact of the matter is, the offshore banks that I have worked with are all established, have a very good understanding of ecommerce, and are very easy to deal with it. If the image that you have of working with an offshore bank is that of a shady organization, operating out of a small office, in the middle of some backwards country, then you are wrong. I have seen some of the operations, and they are impressive to say the least. They are banks, they are regulated by the associations they belong to, and a lot of them understand ecommerce better than domestic banks.

What I sometimes suggest to my merchants (especially those in the online marketing space) is that they should have both domestic and offshore processing and once they setup, it’s easy to understand why. Yes, you will pay slightly more for offshore processing, but would rather pay a slightly higher premium to ensure that you are always up and running, even if you encounter some slight chargeback issues.

And lets be honest here, even if you run a 100% complaint operation, if you are running any type of trial offer you will have customers that forget to cancel, will complain and you will get Chargeback - and the difference between offshore and domestic chargeback thresholds is significant. This is a HUGE advantage of going offshore and I think it’s a better option than the IPSP model.

One concern that a company may have with going offshore is the requirements to incorporate in that jurisdiction. That is understandable if its something that you have never done before, but it’s really not a complicated process and it’s a process that any processor with experience can walk you through. There may be some slight additional costs, but the benefit of ensuring your processing is up always definitely outweighs that. Contact me if you have any questions about setting up an offshore account.

I think that getting comfortable with Offshore is something that comes with experience. I do have quite a few merchants/offers processing offshore, and I think that these days anyone with substantial volume that offers a trial is starting to see this requirement. Adult merchants have been processing offshore forever, and they definitely see the value in it BUT its important to note that you need to work with someone that has experience because you don’t want to get burned, have the bank blow up and hold your funds.

Some quick benefits

- Usually allow for more volume/no cap
- Higher chargeback threshold
- Potential for multiple currencies
- Higher chance for approval.

If you have questions about Offshore Processing, or would like to talk to me about setting up an account then get in touch.

JR