A variety of new business industries are growing very fast. Many new entrepreneurs are turning to the online world to establish their business presence and deliver the right products/services to different markets. The most crucial aspect of running a business online is to create an effective payment system.
Sadly, these new industries are considered high-risk merchants, so it usually takes time to get your account after the company has run its checks. However, today we hear more and more about high-risk merchant account instant approval.
In this post, we’re going to talk about whether that’s possible and what you can do as a customer to make the process faster and establish your credit card payment gateways.
Common reasons why you might need a high-risk account
Credit card payment processing providers generally see specific merchants as high risk because of their reputation or the financial history of that business. There’s no love in business. If you’re considered high risk and have had issues in the past, things will only be even more difficult.
That’s why a lot of service providers will reject working with merchants that they consider high risk. However, there are a lot of companies today that specialize in working with these kinds of businesses.
Some common reasons include:
- Your previous merchant account was closed for some reason.
- Your average ticket size is high.
- Other institutions have rejected you because of bankruptcy or fraud.
- You have a lot of complaints, returns, and chargebacks.
- You, as the business owner, have a poor credit score.
- Your business isn’t registered with any regulatory body.
Industries that can expect to be classified as high-risk
There is no list of sectors that are automatically considered bad. However, there are several main characteristics of high-risk industries:
- You sell products or services in the gray zone regarding the legality, have been illegal until recently, or are still illegal in certain countries;
- The services/products your business sells fit into the adult entertainment category or some other shady industry that payment processors often avoid;
- The services/products you offer have increased chances of fraud or customers being unsatisfied. That includes things like ticket sales, collectibles, gaming products, and so on;
- Your business cones with chargeback liability that involves extended risk periods;
Is it possible to find instant approval?
Yes, we all know that this is the internet and that it has become common for companies to offer sensational things that aren’t what they seem. In other words, there are a lot of providers that will say that they provide instant approval, but they don’t.
It’s simply marketing, and most people expect these kinds of things. However, you should understand that finding a high-risk processor has become far more manageable. On top of that, new technologies have led to the development of niche service providers that can give you a much faster approval.
They have set criteria for high-risk clients as well as the documents they need. In other words, they can process the application itself much faster because of their knowledge of the industry and rich experience.
In some cases, when clients deliver everything needed and have a crystal clear situation in terms of risk and all critical factors, the account approval can be extremely short (a couple of hours).
How to speed up the approval
The first thing you need to do is find a reliable provider that has worked in high-risk processing for a long time. You need to have a partner with the experience and knowledge to work with all the risks involved while creating different payment plans for your business model.
To cut the approval time down to a minimum, make sure to find a niche service that works in your industry specifically. For example, today, there are a lot of companies that work in the kratom, CBD, and marijuana industries.
On the other hand, as a high-risk business model, you will have to give much information. It’s essential to do this thoroughly without hiding anything if you want to get approved quickly and ultimately increase your chances of approval. Here are some typical documents you should prepare:
- Filled out an account application
- CV or your resume
- A personal document like a passport or ID
- Your whole business plan
- Utility bills of your business and your personal utilities
- Several processing statements
- Banking statements
- Bank’s reference letter
- Articles of incorporation and association
- Link to your website
Conclusion
In the end, remember to look for a reliable credit card processing provider. Not all of them are equal, and you can always find better terms and fees. Keep things honest on your part and build a trustworthy relationship from the start to ensure long-term cooperation.
If you want to learn more, read this guide about what actions you can take to improve your credit score today.
