A problem a lot of merchants have is obtaining a merchant account to process their credit cards and ACH check processing. This is nothing new, as new businesses sprout up every day, and these days, you need to accept credit cards, especially if you want to stay in business. Let me clarify that the problem isn't in a vendor getting approved for a merchant account, but vendors that need to process card not present transactions, and/or merchants needing high volume merchant accounts not getting what they need from domestic banks and processors. To banks and processors, these high-risk categories are known as MOTO (mail order, telephone order) and online (internet) transactions and are clumped into one category.

The problem lies in the fact that most domestic processors and banks put these merchants in a high risk category, often capping their monthly volume, leaving the merchant in a position where they cannot grow their business. For this reason, these merchants are turning to merchant service providers to secure high volume merchant accounts.

Securing a high risk merchant account is important to the growth of your business and in some cases, detrimental to you if you can't accept credit cards or ACH check transactions. Working with merchant service providers that specialize in securing high risk accounts for merchants is extremely important, as many times your local bank or current processor will take the business but with stipulations and unreasonable terms.

The next step is working with your merchant service provider to establish your processing capabilities. Does your business require high volume or even unlimited processing capabilities? Do you have volume caps? Most importantly, do you want a domestic or off-shore merchant account? Sometimes, securing a high or unlimited volume merchant account can be obtained by a domestic provider, but if you're a high risk merchant, that may mean going off-shore. Now that it has been established, that going off shore may be the way you want to go, you will need to select a merchant service provider that specializes in off shore and high risk and high or unlimited volume merchant services.

Working with the types of merchant service providers starts with an application, similar to your domestic merchant application with basic business information including current and projected sales volumes if and when a high risk, high volume merchant account is established. Once your application has been processed, the bank will assess risk. The risk they take on you is dependent on several factors, one of which will be projected volume. They may need to know that if you go out of business, and have received payments and have to cover your chargebacks, that the risk will be as low as possible for them. Chargebacks due to consumer satisfaction or fulfillment issues also have bearing on the type of limits and conditions on your new account. Yes, there are safer products and services for banks to process merchant cards and online checks for.

More commonly and as stated in the first paragraph, high risk merchant accounts are when you the merchant processes a credit card for a transaction when it or the holder is not present to sign the sales slip. These are MOTO (mail order, telephone order) or internet sales. These types of transactions riskier to banks due to fraud and stolen credit cards as well as identity theft. A common misconception is that a high risk merchant account is obtained for illegal, black or gray market goods or illicit services. This is not true. Banks research merchants thoroughly and do not accept any risk at all on them, leaving them with no merchant account or processing capabilities.

A good merchant service provider will offer you the merchant services such as an online virtual terminal, fraud scrubbing, multi-currency processing, direct bank MID (merchant identification), third party aggregator, twenty four hour real-time reporting and the ability to accept all major credit cards that include Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, Switch, Solo and JCB. These services are all done in-house by your merchant service provider and offer you and your customers a safe processing environment. Not all merchant service providers can offer these services and handle your high volume business, so research is important.

Many businesses need high volume merchant accounts to keep up with consumer trends and grow their businesses. Your choice to work with a merchant service provider that specializes in high volume and high risk is well in the mainstream of card service and online check processing today. By working with an experienced and reputable merchant service provider, you can ensure the security and vitality your business for years to come.