Managing Your High Risk Merchant Accounts

There is nothing better than opening a high risk merchant account for businesses operating in high risk environments. It solves the purpose for such risk prone institutions and their dealers for a long term. However, the real ordeal begins after opening one such account.  High risk merchant accounts are nothing less than “cash cows” for such businesses but proper management is necessary in order to avail benefits in the long run.

It doesn’t need a lot of effort to manage high risk merchant account but having a prudent strategy is a must.

Here are some tips that might help in maintenance of high risk merchant accounts.

• Easy access: High risk merchant services should try to make it really easy for the customers to get in touch. The easier it is for customers to contact the merchants the better for the business as it would increase satisfaction quotient among them. Generally, most merchants lose out on this point and maintain distance from the customers for numerous reasons.  
• Communicate: The more often a business communicates with its customers, the better. It is always advised to keep them updated about the orders placed by them. In addition, any issue related to customer or his payments should be taken as a top priority. It increases the level of communiqué with customers and increases their satisfaction level too.
• Short response time: It is always better to solve customer query yourself than allowing banks to mediate as it would only worsen the situation. The moment banks enter the confrontation, the scenario becomes all the more complicated. Therefore, it is always recommended to deal with customers’ concerns in the beginning instead of dragging the whole issue further.
• Monitor the accounts: It is very important and should be followed religiously. Businesses should always review and keep track of suspicious orders and online credit card processing.
• Fraud protection: High risk merchants should always employ automated fraud detection systems. They can also use velocity controls on the gateway to filter out potential frauds that have been recognized by experts till now.

Most importantly, high risk merchant banks should guard against excessive chargebacks. High levels of chargebacks are the primary reason for termination of majority of the high risk merchant accounts. A merchant should not entertain a transaction till authentication is not accepted fully.
The most important feature that ensures high level of security in risk free merchant accounts is settlement of transactions in the form of a lot on a daily basis. This will ensure stable and fraud free mechanism.
At times, most merchants go out of the way to please their customers and clear high ticket items without adequate proof. This practice is unhealthy as proper verification complete with signatures and other essential details can significantly eliminate the possibility of default.
Last but not least, all the high risk merchant accounts should make it their duty to comply with merchant agreements provided in writing.
In case of any changes in the account make it a point to contact the payment processor in advance and maintain hassle free mechanism for years to come.