While high-risk businesses can be very lucrative, they also face a lot of additional challenges as well. One of these is finding a reliable high risk payment processor.

If you own a business that operates in a high-risk industry or has a greater chance of payment chargebacks, you have your work cut out for you. Not all payment processors will work with a high risk merchant, so you’ll need to do your due diligence to find one that specializes in high risk merchant accounts to meet your needs.

In this guide, we’ll tell you what you should look for in a high risk payment processor.

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Challenges to Choosing a Payment Processor for a High-Risk Business

A payment processor helps to oversee credit card transactions and will function as a middleman between a business and financial institutions.

There are many services that a payment processor may offer. This includes the ability to provide payment processing services, card acceptance equipment, help with PCI compliance , security solutions, and more.

It’s important to realize that a payment processor can be held accountable for chargebacks if your business is unable to pay. This is the reason why it’s important to choose a high-risk payment processor to work with.

Because of the increased risk, your relationship with a payment processor will be a bit different than with a typical business. Costs may be higher for the services and special payment processes may be utilized.

Factors to Consider During Your Search

While there are many high-risk payment processors out there, it’s important to choose one that will be reliable. Here’s what you should consider when choosing a high-risk payment processor.

1. Know Your Risk Level

Before starting your search for a payment processor, you should consider the risk level of your business. Make sure that you understand your industry’s specific level of risk as well as the level of chargebacks.

It’s a good idea to make a risk assessment and to carefully calculate your business’s level of risk through careful analysis. This will help you determine which payment processors might be a good fit for your business and will give you a clearer idea of what you should be looking for.

2. Decide How You'll Process Transactions

You should also consider the specific payment tools and systems that you’ll need access to in your business. Think carefully about how your customers will make payments and how you’ll handle transactions.

If you need a powerful point-of-sale system that is focused on your industry, such as an ecommerce merchant account, your needs will be different than if you simply need to allow customers to make swipe or chip transactions at your counter.

Be sure to think about the payment types and point-of-sale features that you need. Then, search for a payment processor accordingly.

3. Check Additional Features

It’s important to consider your priorities when looking for a payment processor. Ensure that you choose a payment processor that offers any additional features and tools that you need or that prioritizes certain things.

Some payment processors will emphasize security and fraud prevention while others will have a greater emphasis on efficiency. Some will provide superior data analytics tools.

Make sure to consider the specific features that you’re interested in and weigh out the pros and cons of each payment processor carefully.

4. Ask for a Client List

When choosing a high-risk payment processor, you should ask for a list of previous clients and references. A reliable payment processor will be happy to give you more information about previous clients and will stand by the services and support they provide.

It’s a good idea to look for a payment provider that has served other large and successful businesses. This will usually be a good indicator that the payment processer is reliable and knows exactly what they’re doing.

5. Understand the Pricing

You should also think about the cost of any payment processer you work with as well.

There are various pricing schemes that payment processors use so you should consider the pros and cons of each of them. Flat-rate pricing and interchange-plus pricing schemes are both very popular options.

There can be a lot of transaction fees when working with a processor, so you’ll want to think about the pricing carefully. Pick a payment process that offers a good cost while also verifying that the payment processor has the other qualities and features you need as well.

6. Consider the Reputation

When choosing a payment processing partner, you also need to find out everything you can about their reputation. Do some online research and search for online reviews on the company to get a better idea of how others view them.

Checking online directory sites or websites such as Google and Facebook can allow you to read honest online reviews. This can give you a good idea of what to expect if you work with them.

Doing so can give you a much better idea of which payment processors might be a good choice and which ones you should avoid.

7. Look for Easy Integration

One of the most important things to look for when choosing a high-risk payment processor is easy integration. You need to find out how easily the payment processor will integrate with your current systems and ensure that the process will be streamlined.

Great integration will help you get started with your new relationship quickly and can minimize headaches. On top of this, you’ll experience fewer issues and payment delays that can lead to poor customer satisfaction.

Using These Tips to Find a High Risk Payment Processor

If you want to find a high risk payment processor for your business, make sure to take a calculated approach. Look for a great reputation, a strong list of past clients, the right features, especially if you're considering ecommerce merchant account providers, and the other factors listed above when making your choice.

Ready to get started with a reliable payment processor? Contact us today to learn how Zen Payments can help.