Merchant credit hold for review is a notice some merchants, such as those with high risk merchant accounts, may receive when their account is suspended . This can happen for a number of reasons. You may have high chargeback rates that exceeded your threshold, missed payments to your processing company, or even been flagged for fraud.

There are a few ways to resolve a credit hold , but the specifics come down to understanding the cause. In any case, it can be a long process that is frustrating for merchants especially if they are waiting on reserve funds to be released. If you find yourself in this situation, your first step should be to contact a high risk payment processor.

Resolving Credit Holds With A High Risk Payment Processor

Contacting a high risk payment processor is your best way to resolve a credit hold. Firstly, they are well versed in dealing with industries that have processing difficulties. High risk processors provide a specific type of account, one that has separate allowances for issues like chargebacks, legal regulations , and international sales.

High risk merchant providers won’t give you direct advice on your existing situation, but an informative customer support agent can help you better understand what may have caused your credit issue and account freeze .

Most importantly, they will do everything they can to get you a new operational merchant account . If your account is frozen, that means your website or business, whether it's an ecommerce merchant account or a physical store, won’t be able to accept credit card payments. This can be crippling for any business who has a steady transaction flow. High risk processors like Zen Payments get you a new account fast, and provide sustainable solutions so you won’t have to worry about credit holds like the one you’re experiencing.

Why Is My Merchant Account On Hold For Review?

There are a few issues that cause a merchant account provider to hold your funds and review transactions. Some of them include:

• Potential Fraud – Fraud can come in many forms, and when a bank puts your credit card processing on hold, such as in cases involving an online dating credit card processing service, they might not divulge the reason why. It could be that there are multiple high ticket transactions coming from peculiar sources, or they may find that your products are not the same ones they thought you were selling. In any case, you may be able to find signs of fraud before your payment processor does, so be sure to look for potential issues beforehand.
• Selling New Products – Similarly, if you sell new products on your website that were not initially approved by your payment processor they can freeze your account. A common example of this is a CBD company selling Kratom or a paraphernalia company selling mushrooms or other regulated consumables.