Many businesses, because of the industry or because of the type of business they do, are considered to be high risk by many payment processing services that are based in the United States.
This can make it extremely difficult for a new online company or a business within a specific industry that is a startup or new business to gain access to traditional or typical payment processing services. Without the ability to accept and process credit and debit cards it is highly unlikely that this business can succeed, all at no fault of their own.
Additionally, there may be a business that has had challenges with specific issues in the past. This often includes a significant number of chargebacks under the business’s operating name or problems with the fraudulent use of cards through the account. In some cases, a business with a thin credit file or a bad credit may also be lumped into these high-risk types of accounts.
The Alternative
When a business has been turned away from traditional payment processing services, offshore merchant accounts may offer a very good alternative. This provides the ability for the company to accept credit and debit card payments with the actual transactions being processed offshore or internationally.
This is possible because many of the payment processing services offering offshore merchant accounts are not bound by the same regulations the nationally based companies have to follow.
Many of these companies are still US-based credit card processors, but they do have the offshore payment processing as a separate division or department. This allows the business to choose from the offshore merchant accounts while still working with a company they recognize.
As with any type of payment processing service, compare prices, fees and customer support. Look for high ratings from current customers and do your homework before choosing the best match for your payment processing needs.
