Today, it’s possible to use payment processors that allow you to offer multiple payment options. My clients can easily pay me using the method of their choice. They can use a credit card or send money through PayPal. It’s a great way to ensure that my clients are comfortable paying me in any way they want. I even have a Bitcoin wallet. That means that if someone wants to pay me using cryptocurrency, they can.
For merchants, learning how to improve the customer experience is an ongoing task. To maintain a successful business, the overall customer experience is one of the most important factors to account for within a business strategy. One of the ways a business owner can offer a positive experience to their customers is by offering multiple payment options. The variety of payment options presented to customers at checkout highly determines the customer’s purchasinadg experience.
While a single payment processor may not be able to cover everything, it can easily facilitate credit cards and online payments at once, so you don’t need a separate merchant account. In today’s landscape, that makes a lot of good sense.
Finally, don’t forget about accepting physical credit cards. You can use payment systems that offer attachments to your mobile device so that you can swipe, even if you don’t have a set location for your business.
The ability to accept credit cards is a necessity for most businesses these days. While finding the right merchant account provider is a challenge for any business, it’s even harder if you’re a high-risk merchant. That’s where high-risk merchant accounts come into play
What Is a High-Risk Merchant Account?
A high-risk merchant account is a merchant account for businesses that pose a high risk of fraud and chargebacks by the processor. This assessment may be based on the nature of the business, the owner’s credit and business history, and other factors.
Every processor makes its high-risk determinations, so a business might be deemed high-risk by one processor but not by another.
If you have a business prone to forgery, refund scams, and chargebacks, you are operating a high-risk business. Businesses such as private security contractors, gambling sites, forex exchanges, airplane charters, phonograph contract creators, automatic brokers are classified as high-risk.
A high-risk merchant account is a subset of services that allow businesses in high-risk verticals to accept card payments from customers. These accounts typically come with stricter requirements and stipulations than standard merchant accounts and will be costlier to maintain.
Processors assign merchants to one of two categories—high risk or low (normal) risk—based on several factors. Ultimately, though, this determination is based on the degree of financial risk your company presents to the institution. Specifically, how susceptible you are to fraud and chargebacks.
High-risk merchants face limited choices in processors. They will also have to pay higher fees to offset the perceived risk and contend with stricter contracts.
Being labeled “high-risk” does sound bad, at least at first glance. In some scenarios, though, it might be your best (or only) option.
Verticals that are Considered High Risk.
- Casinos, Gambling, or Gaming
- Telemarketing, Calling Cards, VoIP
- Pharmaceuticals, Online Drug Providers
- Adult Entertainment, Dating Services
- Travel, Accommodations, Ticketing Agents
- Attorneys, Bail Bonding Services
- Subscription Services (Magazines, Collectibles, etc.)
- Credit Repair/Debt Reduction Counselling
Here at Kryptova, we are experts in merchant accounts for all high-risk verticals, when other providers turn their back, we embrace you with open arms, ready to help you accept payment globally. Kryptova takes you beyond the ever-evolving payment demands of your customers. Our robust, full-scale payment methods include a single integration to accept credit card and crypto processing.
You may also be required to secure high-risk merchant services because of the method you use to generate sales or leads. Examples of high-risk tactics include:
- Impression-based advertising (pay per impression).
- Lead-based advertising (pay for sales leads).
- Pay-per-action advertising to direct affiliate publisher or affiliate network.
- Outbound calling or upsell tactics (online or via call centre).
Types of Payment Gateways:
There are two types of payment gateways: integrated and hosted gateways.
For integrated gateways, clients will perform the checkout on your website, which is important for some businesses. Although this is the smoothest checkout experience for customers, it is also less secure. This means that you will have to take extra security precautions.
The other alternative, hosted gateways, is to redirect customers to a hosted page where security requirements are handled externally. It’s not as smooth of a choice but you won’t have to handle the security requirements. For small businesses, without the resources to make manage security, this may be the best option.
4 Benefits to Using a High-Risk Merchant Account
While high-risk merchant accounts have their disadvantages, they come with certain advantages as well:
Pros
- Fewer restrictions on international transactions
- Offer recurring billing
- Load balancing for reducing chargebacks and processing higher sales volumes
- Increased fraud protection
3 Important Reasons Why Merchants Should Offer Multiple Payment Options
1. E-Commerce Spending Is Rising
With online spending continuing to gain recognition, merchants who currently do not offer an online store should look into deploying an e-commerce site. Online shopping will enhance the customer experience for those busy consumers who like to shop from the convenience of home and for those wanting to avoid long lines in-stores.
2. Mobile Wallets Lead to More Sales
Consumers are becoming more comfortable with making purchases on their smartphones, indicating a need for merchants to integrate mobile payment solutions into their business model. Many consumers are converting to mobile wallets not only for accessibility purposes but also for the enhanced security measures they offer, such as tokenization. By adapting to new alternative methods of payments like mobile wallets, merchants could see more customers, leading to more sales for their business.
This makes paying with a mobile wallet is easy as one-click payments, taking away barriers to the bottom of the funnel, where mobile customers are most likely to drop off.
3. More Options = More Customers
In today’s payment environment, customers prefer to have a range of choices to complete a purchase. Businesses only offering one method of payment are viewed as outdated, so it is important as a merchant, you offer the most modern solutions and give customers multiple options for payments. Having a variety of payment options opens the doors for more customers to do business with and could lead to more customers long-term.
When considering the customer experience, merchants need to offer a variety of payments. Merchants can gain additional revenue for their business by extending an e-commerce option for consumers, incorporating mobile wallet acceptance for their business, and gaining more customers with more payment options.
Bottom Line
In the end, it’s all about making sure that you can get paid. You want to be paid faster and you want more customers to be able to pay you. Even if you can’t add a lot of payment options at first, you can start by making it as easy as possible.
Think about what most of your customers and clients are likely to want in terms of payment options. As your business expands, continue to stay connected with your customers, learning what they prefer and making sure you allow them to pay in ways that are convenient for them.
With so many changes coming to the world of payments, and with so many options available, it’s no wonder that customers feel like they can handle money their way. Empower them to give you money in a way that makes it easy for them, and you might be surprised at how much business you end up with.
