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
Showing posts with label offshore banks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label offshore banks. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Denied! What to do if your merchant account is rejected or declined?
Having your merchant account application rejected can be an extremely upleasant (to say the least) experience. You have spent tones of time and money building your website, developing your marketing, working out the relationships with your suppliers and you didn't have a doubt in your mind that you would have any issue with your merchant account. This is something that I hear from alot my clients, they assumed that getting the merchant account would be easy, but there was nothing easy about it.
The first thing you need to look at is what industry you are in and if you are in a high risk sector like adult entertainment, travel services, online pharmacy, escort services, dating, telemarketing, high-volume or multilevel marketing. Not every bank, in fact the majority of banks, will not take this business. One of the biggest value adds that I can bring is that I work with alot of banks around the world I know what banks take what type of business. So, working with me gives you a much less chance of being rejected.
But, what to do if you are:
1. Contact me. Seriously. I will get you a merchant account.
2. Understand the why your application has been rejected, both so that you can better deal with the issue, and so that you are better informed and equipped to move on with your business. There are many reasons why banks accept or decline application, it could be a minor mistake on the application or inappropriate answers. I review all application completed to stop these types of errors before they happen. Some other things that can happen.
Lack of documentation - Didn't send in all the documents required. However if your bank would just reject and not ask you for whats missing its probably a bank you don't want to work with anyways.
BBB (Better business bureau) complaint record
Record of Rip-offs or bad publicity on the internet. Banks are very concerned about reputational risk, so they dont want to be associared with companies that have a history of ripping people off.
Being on the TMF or Match list - see this post here
3. Be completely honest when applying for a merchant account. Tell about what happened with previous merchant accounts, have you declared bankrupcty, etc. This information is used to evaluate your company's risk and I always ask my clients to be completely honest as it allows me to better help them. Its like going to the Doctor, you want make sure they know everythig so they can properly treat you.
4. Slightly modify your business model. Making changes to your procedures and Web site and billing model can help you avoid being classified as a high-risk merchant account or less of a high risk account.
5. Find a reliable merchant broker or consultant. Sometimes (alot of the time) instant merchant account Web sites are scams and it is critical to choose a trustworthy merchant account provider for your high-risk business.
You will also see merchant account providers advertise that they have a 98% rate of approval or even higher, but that is because these companies do something called as a “Pre – Qualification” process on their customers before accepting their application for opening a merchant account, with them. Its just a marketing technique...
6. Create a cash reserve for your business to avoid being denied because of chargebacks. If you have money in the bank or strong business financials the bank will definitely see you as much lower risk.
While your merchant account may be seen as a high risk, there are specific companies and services that can offer solutions. There are high-risk merchant account providers and offshore merchant account programs that use a network of banks internationally. This is who we work with and this is a part of the service we provide. You should spend time focusing on your business, while we get you the best merchant account possible. .
If you can establish what they reasons are for the accoubt being declined, you will be better prepared to for your next move. Learn from your errors, so that you will have more success in the future, whether it be with a new application to a different bank, opting to work through a merchant account provider, or trying to set up an offshore merchant account.
If you have been declined, contact me for possible solutions. There are no additional costs to work with us, as we generate revenue from our partners and because of the volume we bring them, the pricing you would get with us would probably be lower then if you went direct.
If you have any questions, don't hestiate to contact me.
JR
The first thing you need to look at is what industry you are in and if you are in a high risk sector like adult entertainment, travel services, online pharmacy, escort services, dating, telemarketing, high-volume or multilevel marketing. Not every bank, in fact the majority of banks, will not take this business. One of the biggest value adds that I can bring is that I work with alot of banks around the world I know what banks take what type of business. So, working with me gives you a much less chance of being rejected.
But, what to do if you are:
1. Contact me. Seriously. I will get you a merchant account.
2. Understand the why your application has been rejected, both so that you can better deal with the issue, and so that you are better informed and equipped to move on with your business. There are many reasons why banks accept or decline application, it could be a minor mistake on the application or inappropriate answers. I review all application completed to stop these types of errors before they happen. Some other things that can happen.
Lack of documentation - Didn't send in all the documents required. However if your bank would just reject and not ask you for whats missing its probably a bank you don't want to work with anyways.
BBB (Better business bureau) complaint record
Record of Rip-offs or bad publicity on the internet. Banks are very concerned about reputational risk, so they dont want to be associared with companies that have a history of ripping people off.
Being on the TMF or Match list - see this post here
3. Be completely honest when applying for a merchant account. Tell about what happened with previous merchant accounts, have you declared bankrupcty, etc. This information is used to evaluate your company's risk and I always ask my clients to be completely honest as it allows me to better help them. Its like going to the Doctor, you want make sure they know everythig so they can properly treat you.
4. Slightly modify your business model. Making changes to your procedures and Web site and billing model can help you avoid being classified as a high-risk merchant account or less of a high risk account.
5. Find a reliable merchant broker or consultant. Sometimes (alot of the time) instant merchant account Web sites are scams and it is critical to choose a trustworthy merchant account provider for your high-risk business.
You will also see merchant account providers advertise that they have a 98% rate of approval or even higher, but that is because these companies do something called as a “Pre – Qualification” process on their customers before accepting their application for opening a merchant account, with them. Its just a marketing technique...
6. Create a cash reserve for your business to avoid being denied because of chargebacks. If you have money in the bank or strong business financials the bank will definitely see you as much lower risk.
While your merchant account may be seen as a high risk, there are specific companies and services that can offer solutions. There are high-risk merchant account providers and offshore merchant account programs that use a network of banks internationally. This is who we work with and this is a part of the service we provide. You should spend time focusing on your business, while we get you the best merchant account possible. .
If you can establish what they reasons are for the accoubt being declined, you will be better prepared to for your next move. Learn from your errors, so that you will have more success in the future, whether it be with a new application to a different bank, opting to work through a merchant account provider, or trying to set up an offshore merchant account.
If you have been declined, contact me for possible solutions. There are no additional costs to work with us, as we generate revenue from our partners and because of the volume we bring them, the pricing you would get with us would probably be lower then if you went direct.
If you have any questions, don't hestiate to contact me.
JR
We help banks become offshore acquirers.
One of the many things that really seperate us from others is that we don't only provide our consulting services to merchants, we work with a quite a few banks to get going and starting to process for online companies. Currently we are workig with a bank in Europe, a bank in Asia (Taiwan) and a bank in the Carribean who are new to international processing.
These banks are run by bankers of course, so they don't have the experience or background when it comes to medium to high risk ecommerce processing. We do.
We help them set up procesing relationships, we help them with their underwriting policies, we help them with their reporting, we help them manage their risk/exposure and we will help them determine pricing/revenue models.
Because of this unique relationship with banks globally, we are able to place business that nobody else has. We have some unbelievable relationships with banks that have been processing for years, but we also have "virgin" banks.
So, if you are a bank and you are looking to start in acquiring, get in touch. We can definitely help you out. If you are a merchant looking for some "different" processing solutions, we can help you there also.
JR
These banks are run by bankers of course, so they don't have the experience or background when it comes to medium to high risk ecommerce processing. We do.
We help them set up procesing relationships, we help them with their underwriting policies, we help them with their reporting, we help them manage their risk/exposure and we will help them determine pricing/revenue models.
Because of this unique relationship with banks globally, we are able to place business that nobody else has. We have some unbelievable relationships with banks that have been processing for years, but we also have "virgin" banks.
So, if you are a bank and you are looking to start in acquiring, get in touch. We can definitely help you out. If you are a merchant looking for some "different" processing solutions, we can help you there also.
JR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
