What is the True Cost of Your High Risk Merchant Account?

May 20, 2023

When your business is considered one that comes with added “risks” it means that you will be categorized as a high risk merchant and therefore require a high risk merchant account. In the beginning stages of getting operations for your company up and running, there are many business owners who initially don’t even realize that their business model falls in that high risk vertical until they endure rejection after rejection from big banks declining their applications for payment processing.

Don’t lose hope – high risk payment processors do exist and are not only qualified to set your business up with payment processing options, but they’re experts in doing this in a way that caters to your specific industry and the business needs within your high risk vertical. For more information on high risk businesses or to find out if yours is one, click here.

Still, the process of finding the right company to work with can be a very overwhelming one that leave many merchants with more questions than answers; the biggest of which being how much a high risk merchant account will cost you. PayKings is here to alleviate the stress of not knowing where to turn – and yes, we do offer high risk merchant accounts, but we’ve also got answers to your questions.

Why does a high risk merchant account cost more than a low risk account?

We’re all in business to make money, yes? You as merchants, the banks that sponsor merchants, and the payment processing companies that set your business up to take debit and credit card payments. That being said, traditional banks and big time lenders are more likely to run in the opposite direction from high risk merchants for one simple reason – your business model has too many variables for them to lose money, and funding your business is just too much of a risk.

Because of this, the payment processing companies that ARE willing to provide services to your business do so knowing that you’re an added risk, and therefore have to assume more financial liability on your behalf. Said companies generally have a broader scope of underwriting allowances, and in many cases, similar to PayKings, they do underwriting in-house and are to better assess the risk evaluation while bringing back an offer that is mutually beneficial.

In the end, the costs that accompany an approval for your high risk merchant account will come out of your bottom line to offset the risks that come with offering your business payment processing options.

How much will I actually pay?

It’s difficult to ballpark or generalize this kind of question as there are so many factors involved with how much your specific business will have to pay in order to be approved for a high risk merchant account.

Some of the contributing factors include:

• Credit score
• Chargeback ratio
• Good history with other processors
• How regulated your industry is
• If payments are structured on a recurring billing model

We realize this answer is lacking in specifics. PayKings offers fast, free quotes if you’d like more detailed information on how much a high risk merchant account will cost your business specifically. Click here to submit a quick form.

What can I do to keep costs low?

The good news is, all payment processing companies have a different set of standard and underwriting abilities, so one that might consider your business to be a red risk might be a blue risk to another company. Debit and credit card payment processing is one of those double edged swords – you can’t excel in your business without eCommerce, yet it’ll cost you more than you’d probably like to maintain the integrity and success of your payment processing.

The short answer? Shop around. There are some payment processors that offer really reasonable rates for high risk merchants that doesn’t mean compromising in providing you with the highest quality service. PayKings offers the most competitive rates in the industry and are experts in high risk verticals of pretty much every kind. Start here in your search for the best of the best in specializing in white glove underwriting services to get your business accepting payments in as little as just a few days.

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