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Almost any company should be able to accept payments digitally. Trying to find a trustworthy payment service provider among so many financial companies can be difficult. If you require a high-risk payment gateway for high-risk companies, the task becomes much more complex and challenging.
What is a High-Risk Merchant?
A high-risk merchant or business is a company that includes the likes of having a high level of fraudulent activity. It happens due to the nature of the industry, but if you have no credit record, you are also a high-risk business. In some situations, various internet payment services may have distinct tiers of threat for the same business sector. Furthermore, start-ups and businesses with high volume transactions are classified as high-risk businesses. In reality, for high-risk businesses, the payment gateway is generally the most straightforward part of accepting payments from customers. Obtaining a high-risk merchant account is usually the most challenging part. Since the merchant account provider bears the ‘dangers’ when handling high-risk payments, the gateway merely secures customer card information so that they do not fall into the wrong hands.
What is a High-Risk Payment Gateway?
Although credit card payment gateways are used by all kinds of businesses, it encompasses certain aspects that are especially useful to high-risk businesses. High-risk businesses usually have many merchant accounts. Diversification of acquiring banks is a prudent risk-reduction approach. Acquiring banks can alter their underwriting rules, which means that some sectors may no longer be acceptable. Payment processing is ensured by having multiple merchant accounts. However, managing multiple accounts is a logistical challenge if each account has its gateway. A more appropriate solution is to control all high-risk processing gateways through a single high-risk processing gateway.
High-risk payment gateways can handle an endless amount of domestic and global merchant accounts. A centralized dashboard is used to handle all accounts. These can be perceived independently, internationally, or in any combination, making management, account reconciliation, customer support, and other functional areas much easier. Load balancing between different accounts is a common component of high-risk payment gateways. Load balancing enables high-risk merchants to access transactions between various accounts effortlessly. Load balancing on the high-risk payment gateway can be automated. You can also manage the procedure manually.
How Secure Payment Processing Gateways Protect You?
Level 1 PCI-DSS certification, the highest degree of payment processing protection available, is procured by online payment gateways. PCI-DSS is the abbreviation for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. All businesses that handle, store, or convey credit card details must uphold a safe place, according to the card brands. When you use a PCI-DSS certified gateway, the payment platform assumes much of the blame for PCI compliance. For example, instead of storing credit card details at your company, the gateway secures the transaction and processes payments.
Sensitive card information is changed into “tokens.” Tokens can be used for one-time or repetitive transactions. Tokens for merchants with repetitive payment systems are saved in the payment gateway’s protected vault. Tokens, rather than card information, are then used for regularly occurring payments. As a consequence, you are not required to store or convey valuable card information. Through the online payment gateway, transactions are handled securely and successfully. Additionally, the credit card payment gateway eradicates the risk and liability for security breaches, which can be detrimental to companies.
Businesses that Require a High-Risk Payment Gateway
1. Health and Supplements
Health supplements pose a significant threat because they can be used for either medicinal or recreational activities. Many health supplement companies have made claims about their products, but most of the time, these claims are unsubstantiated by scientific proof. These products are high-risk as they carry significant health consequences and the possibility of unknown side-effects.
2. Debt collection
Debt collectors gather money from delinquent accounts on behalf of creditors via telephone conversations, letters, emails, messages, and other methods. Financial institutions that offer credit cards or credit lines to customers who then struggle to pay off their debts on time are examples of creditors. These firms are called corporate entities instead of individual persons.
Furthermore, debtors frequently live in countries other than their creditors, making high-risk debt collection an international sector. High-risk debt collectors are classified into two types: first-party and third-party high-risk debt collection agencies. First-party high-risk debt collectors acquire on their accounts and may impose a high rate of interest. Third-party high-risk debt collectors are typically subsidiaries of a creditor or creditors. As a result, the debts they procure from the creditor do not have high-interest rates tied to them.
3. Pharmacies
Since they manage prescription medications, pharmacies are high-risk establishments. They must also be concerned about fraudulent activity, one of the most familiar types of online crime. The high risk for pharmacies stems from dealing with dangerous medications and prescription scams. Numerous security precautions, like,
- mandating customers to show proof of identity and sign for their purchase while using a debit or credit card in-store;
- holding medicines under lock and key;
- safeguarding against malware by installing an antivirus program on computers used to manage transactions;
- tracking access points such as WiFi networks, USB ports, Bluetooth connections;
and more can help reduce these risks.
4. High ticket items
It is a high-risk sector because high-ticket items can be both valuable and expensive. That means that if bad things happen, the financial institution stands to lose a lot of money. As a result, they must ensure that they are providing adequate protection for themselves, their clients, and any other third parties associated with the transaction. The high-risk nature of high-ticket goods arises from the large volume of transactions that occur, which makes maintaining high levels of security more difficult. The combination of high volume and higher risk typically drives organizations to seek technological solutions that help with these difficulties.
5. Tobacco sales
Theoretically, there is no law prohibiting the sale of cigarettes via mail order or online. Still, it is punishable by law in several places because the customer must be at least 18 years of age. This implies that any company that wishes to sell tobacco goods must first register with the local council as an adult business, which can take several months based on how many layers of bureaucracy they have to cut through.
Conclusion
A high-risk payment gateway protects your customers’ data while providing speedy processing rates without delays or interruptions. Although this service may be more expensive than other alternatives, it is definitely worth the cost because it would save you money in lost business prospects by preventing transaction mishaps. Fraud prevention is critical for all businesses. Whether you are a low or high-risk merchant, the payment gateway’s fraud-fighting tools help you determine good orders, downturn bad ones, and reserve doubtful ones for manual evaluation.
