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Do You Need a High Risk Credit Card Processor?

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Mike Smith

How to Choose the Best Credit Card Processor for Your Business


A high risk credit card processor is a company or an organization that processes high risk credit card transactions for the financial institution on their behalf. These high-risk transactions could include chargebacks, rejected or fraudulent orders, or even charges for incorrect or incomplete information. Transactions in which the financial institution does not have direct access to the customer's funds are also referred to as high risk credit card processing. A high risk credit card processor normally processes high risk transactions for personal or business customers. However, some high risk credit card processors also process business transactions, for example, those involving major credit cards issued by banks.

A high risk credit card processor usually accepts liability for high risk credit card transactions. The high risk is usually calculated differently than regular merchants, so it usually requires having more sophisticated processing systems in place. In addition, this requirement usually requires a high level of expertise. So, when you shop for a high risk credit card processor, look for one that has a dedicated group that monitors all transactions... and then follows up with high frequency. Monitoring activity is very important because it allows processors to catch and fix any fraudulent activity that may occur.

One of the most common fraudulent activities when dealing with high risk businesses is debit misuse. Debit fraud can occur when a business holds funds in a high risk merchant account but does not provide those funds to its customers in a timely manner. When a merchant's customers do not get their money from the merchant account, they generally complain and file claims with their credit card processing company... who then investigates the claim? If the high risk processing company does not respond appropriately to the customer's complaint within a reasonable amount of time, the customer will file a complaint with the credit card association.

To help prevent fraud on your part and to guard against chargebacks, high risk credit card processors need to have policies and procedures in place to handle various situations. One such policy should address disputes involving the processing of debit transactions. Disputes involving a business's customers usually result in chargebacks. The first step to preventing chargebacks is to make sure that all employees understand the rules regarding debit dispute processing and have the means to dispute any errors that may occur. Additionally, the business needs to make sure that it has appropriate policies and procedures in place to handle different types of transactions.

The next area that high risk payment processors need to be aware of is online merchants. Many high risk credit card processors do business online, and many online merchants take a variety of different payment methods. Because of this, some merchants attempt to process credit cards even when the customer does not have sufficient funds in their account. In order to prevent this type of fraudulent activity, high risk credit card processors need to be knowledgeable about both online and traditional payment processing options and how to handle transactions involving these methods.

Another area of high risk business is electronic check processing. In most cases, electronic check processing involves processing payments made by check to another party. In electronic check processing, the customer provides the payment information, and the electronic check processor processes the check to determine whether or not the check contains sufficient funds to make the payment. If the check does not contain sufficient funds, then the electronic check processor will deny the transaction and will enter a rejected check message onto the customer's account. In order to avoid this type of fraudulent activity, high risk credit card processors must be knowledgeable about the various payment acceptance factors, and they must have the means to deny any and all fraudulent transactions.

Credit card transactions are susceptible to fraud because of the inherent nature of credit cards as a payment solution. Fraudsters can create fictitious accounts using false information to drain a merchant's accounts, or they can use real credit card information to issue fraudulent charges. In order to stop a high risk credit card processor from being victimized by a potential fraudster, high risk merchant account providers must have in place measures that will detect and report suspicious activities. The most common way to do this is through the use of a so-called fraud alert system. In addition to flagging suspicious transactions, this type of fraud prevention system will also monitor credit card spending habits and credit history information to determine when high risk credit card transactions are taking place. This information is used by the merchant account provider to determine when changes in payment volume, which may indicate an increase in fraudulent activity, may be occurring.

In conclusion, the best type of merchant account is one which offers its customers instant online access to high risk credit card processing services, such as instant online purchase and inquiry statements, as well as instant online billing and contact management systems. These types of services should also provide a high degree of security protection to prevent unauthorized access to customer information. In addition, a high risk payment processor whose transactions are processed at high speed should also be able to offer high rate of service, a high level of security and quick processing of high-risk transactions. This is where doing business with a high risk processor becomes a matter of life or death for any business seeking to accept credit card transactions at high volumes.

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