Frustrated With Stripe or another provider? Get Reliable Payment Processing

Last year Stripe and PayPal closed down millions of merchant accounts, and the reason will shock you…

Simply put, it’s how their business model works!

Essentially, They have one merchant account, which they let millions of merchants use. In doing so, they balance the risk between solid ethical business owners with entrepreneurs who would commit fraud, launder money, sell a poor-quality product, or close their doors before a consumer asks for a refund.

This allows companies like Stripe to set you up quickly, but it also allows them to shut you down even quicker.

The problem is that they don’t know anything about you when they set you up. They don’t know who you are, what you sell, or how you sell it.

So if they set you up and anything unusual happens, such as a spike in chargebacks or refunds, they will look closer at your account and possibly shut you down.

Even worse, if one of your competitors does anything to trigger a flag in their system, they look at the entire industry. And through no fault of your own, a competitor’s misstep could mean a closed account for you.

We briefly covered some of the risks in accepting payments, but why do companies like Stripe even care about what you sell and how you sell?

One of the great things about credit cards for a consumer is that No matter what they buy, they have 6 months to dispute the charge.

As a business owner, the FIRST thing that happens on YOUR end is that the money gets pulled out of your bank account, and you have to fight to get it back.

If that business is no longer there – closed its doors, filed for bankruptcy, or closed its bank account. The credit card processor has to pay that dispute back. In short, credit card processors are looking at the likelihood of a business closing with the likelihood of them having disputes.

This is where the risk of accepting payments comes into play for the credit card processor. And it is why accounts get shut down, frozen, or have hefty reserves placed on them.

You might wonder how a full-service merchant account provider like Easy Pay Direct differs from Stripe and how they protect your account more effectively.

There are several factors, but the key component is Underwriting.

The more a merchant account provider understands how your business works, the less likely they are to hold funds or close the account in the future.

When a full-service provider underwrites your account, they learn about your business model, credit history, and business history, which allows you to have more stable payment processing.

We often hear the phrase, “ I have been with Stripe for 5 years, and I have never had an issue; why do I need my own merchant account, and why do I need underwriting?

You’ve been paying for car insurance for as long as you can drive, right? And just because you haven’t been in an accident in 2+ years doesn’t mean you’ll stop paying for insurance.

You need to protect your business’s livelihood in the event that something horrible happens.

When we talk about a full-service merchant account provider, we really mean someone that does thorough underwriting, offers great service, and understands your industry and marketing model.

The most important things you can do are to work with the right provider and ensure that you have more than one merchant account with different banking partners on the back end, which allows you to have some redundancy in case anything goes wrong.

Because even if you have an amazing merchant account provider and have the best underwriting possible, you still run the risk of them holding your money or closing your account.

At Easy Pay Direct, we can set up multiple merchant accounts for your business and automatically route your transactions across them using a process known as Transaction Routing. That way, if something ever happens to one of your accounts, the others are still up and running, and you can still accept payments and access your funds

On top of that, when you sign up with us, you’ll have one dedicated point of contact, access to our fraud protection services, recurring billing, mobile payments, hosted checkout, and integration to over 250 shopping carts.

We’ll also work with you to optimize your payments for the lifetime of your account. Lowering your decline rates so that you can increase revenue, monitoring your chargeback ratios, and helping to mitigate them, plus much more.

Fill out the form below and we’ll do all the work for you.

How does credit card processing work?

When a customer purchases using a credit card, the merchant’s credit card terminal or point-of-sale (POS) system communicates with the credit card network (such as Visa or Mastercard) to verify the customer’s information and authorize the transaction. Once the transaction is authorized, the funds are transferred from the customer’s credit card account to the merchant’s bank account.

Are there any additional fees associated with credit card processing?

Additional fees may be associated with credit card processing, such as a percentage of each transaction, a flat fee per transaction, or a monthly account fee. It’s important to carefully review the terms and fees of any merchant account before signing up to ensure that you fully understand the costs involved.

Can small businesses accept credit card payments?

Small businesses can accept credit card payments by setting up a merchant account with a credit card processor. Many merchant account providers offer credit card processing services specifically for small businesses.

Are there any risks to accepting credit card payments?

A few risks are associated with accepting credit card payments, such as chargebacks and fraud. However, most merchant account providers offer fraud protection and dispute resolution services to help mitigate these risks.

Can I use a mobile device to process credit card payments?

Yes, using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, is possible to process credit card payments. Several mobile credit card processing solutions are available, such as Square and PayPal Here, which allow merchants to process credit card payments using a mobile device and a card reader.

What industries does Easy Pay Direct work with?

Easy Pay Direct specializes in high risk payment processing, but we also work with mid-risk and low-risk companies.

Here is a short list of some business verticals we service:

• Antiques & Collectibles
• Apparel & Clothing
• Bad Credit
• Bus Lines
• Cannabis Support Businesses
• Caterers
• CBD Oil & CBD Products
• Continuity Products and Subscription Boxes
• Credit Repair
• Credit Monitoring
• Debt Collection
• Digital Streaming
• Document Preparation
• Fantasy Sports
• Firearms & Ammunition
• Furniture & Home Furnishings
• Health & Beauty
• Hotels & Lodging
• Insurance / Warranty
• Legal Services
• Magazine Subscriptions
• Medical Billing & Coding

• Medical Supplies
• Membership & Recurring Billing
• MLM Companies
• Transportation & Moving
• Non-Profit
• Nutraceuticals
• Pawnbrokers & Pawn Shops
• Pet Products
• Precious Metals
• Property Management
• SaaS Companies
• Seminars & Coaching
• SEO / SEM / Ad Agency
• Smoking Accessories
• Sports Betting
• Survivalist & Tactical Gear
• Telemedicine
• Tobacco & Cigar
• Travel & Timeshare
• Vape / e-Cig / eJuice
• Veterinarians
• Web Design & Development

Why is my business considered high risk?

“High Risk” is a banking industry term. It’s important to note that many business models are seemingly low risk, but fall into the high risk category.

There is nothing wrong with being considered high risk and there are many factors that contribute to risk.

When a consumer buys an item with a credit card, they are given 6 months from the date of receiving the item to dispute the charge.

If your business is no longer operating, who do you think has to refund that money? The processor. This is where risk is created.

Certain businesses, marketing models, and industries have a higher rate of chargebacks, where they get labeled as high risk.

Even if your business is perfect, has never had a chargeback, and operates 100% “by the books”, you could be labeled high risk if you’re business or industry falls into a high risk category.

There are 3 main reasons a business can be considered high risk.

1. The business has a greater chance of chargebacks occurring
2. The business model may be new or legally regulated
3. The business accepts a high number of card not present transactions (over the phone, email, eCommerce)

Do you provide merchant account services outside of the USA?

At this time Easy Pay Direct offers merchant account services for the USA and Canada. We are always working to expand our areas of processing and hope to serve a greater area in the near future.

Can my startup or new business be approved?

We have worked with many new brands and start-ups to get them approved and running. However, banks like to see a long history of transactions and an established history with a merchant before approving them.

But that does not mean we can’t get you approved. Reach out to us today and we will walk you through your options.

How long does it take to get approved for a merchant account?

Once all necessary documents have been received, getting approved typically takes 1-4 days.

Occasionally accounts can be approved in less than 24 hours; our team will work as quickly as possible to get your account up and running.

Credit Card Processing: A Quick Overview 

A merchant account is a specific type of bank account that allows merchants to accept payments. Typically, a merchant account is used for credit card processing and eCheck processing but can be used for a variety of payment processing needs. To get a merchant account, one must submit an application with a merchant account provider.

These merchant account providers work with acquiring banks, such as Chase and Wells Fargo, to provide merchant accounts to businesses looking to process credit card payments.

There are multiple types of merchant accounts depending on how the bank categorizes the industry of the merchant. If the merchant account is used for card not present (CNP) or ecommerce transactions, then it must be integrated with an online payment gateway. Otherwise, a physical terminal is required to capture payment information.

Who Easy Pay Direct Works With

Easy Pay Direct works with all kinds of merchants, including what the banks call “high risk” merchants. These merchants happen to be in an industry that the banks label as high risk, which means that they have a higher likelihood of chargebacks, disputes, and fraud.

The most common reason for this is card not present transactions which present a higher risk of fraud. These merchants can have a particularly hard time finding a high risk merchant account because a lot of payment processors refuse to participate in high risk processing.

Even if these merchants find a “high risk payment processor” they can still frequently deal with holds or freezes on their money and shut down merchant accounts.

This is where Easy Pay Direct saves the day by finding them a high risk merchant account provider that wants to work with their business and providing them with all the resources to meet their high risk credit card processing needs.

What Easy Pay Direct Provides: Merchant Accounts

Easy Pay Direct provides merchant accounts specifically tailored to a merchant’s industry. We do this by leveraging our banking relationships to apply for merchant accounts on your behalf. However, we do not just apply for any merchant account, we use providers who want to work with your business model and underwrite their merchants.

This is important because it lays out all the cards on the table and ensures that a provider gets to know who you are and your business model before working with you. That way, they know what to expect moving forward.

This strategy guarantees that we find a merchant account provider that wants to work with you, making the likelihood of holds, freezes, and shut downs, much less and providing stable credit card processing.

Another benefit to this is you get to avoid the nightmare that applying for merchant accounts can be.

Not only do most merchant account providers do very little underwriting, but it can take many applications before you find a merchant account that is good for you. Each application that you send out hurts your chances of getting approved for the next because multiple applications make you look desperate to a provider which they perceive as high risk.

 

AFTER YOUR MERCHANT ACCOUNT IS SET UP

After we get you set up with your first merchant account, we recommend getting you an additional merchant account if you have over $250,000 in sales volume a year. This is to ensure stable payment processing.

Even though Easy Pay Direct takes all the precautions to prevent you from experiencing a hold, freeze, or shutdown, we can never know how banks might act.

If they hire someone new or implement a new algorithm, your account could have action taken against it. In the event of this, if you have a second merchant account that is already up and running and processing payments, you can pivot your revenue stream to this account and avoid holds, freezes, and shutdowns together.

Now all of this may seem complicated and a lot of work, and it would be if you were doing this on your own. However, if you are working with Easy Pay Direct, we manage all of this for you making your role in all of this very easy.

We even assign you your very own Certified Payment Specialist (CPS), who will monitor your merchant accounts for you, giving you one point of contact for all of your merchant processing needs.

How To Get A Merchant Account

The first step on your path to a new merchant account is starting the Easy Pay Direct application or if you would rather chat with someone to find out more, call us at (800) 805-4949*. We can get you set up in as little as 2 DAYS!

*Hint: This is easier cause we can fill out your application for you!

Choose the right Merchant Account for your business:

• High Risk
• CBD & Hemp
• Enterprise
• Retail
• Mobile
• Online Gateway

 

THE EASY PAY DIRECT CLIENT EXPERIENCE

At Easy Pay Direct your journey will begin with your application which we use to collect information about you and your business to match you with the right merchant account provider.

From there, you will be connected with your very own New Client Specialist (NCS) who will help you complete this application and will be your contact to answer all of your questions.

Once we have the necessary information and have assessed your business model, you will be classified as a Gold, Platinum, or Diamond merchant based on your unique payment processing needs.

After this, you will be introduced to your Certified Payment Specialist (CPS), who will be your one point of contact for all of your payment processing needs. This ensures that when you call, you are talking to someone that you know and who knows you and your business.

They will apply for merchant accounts on your behalf and help you set up your new merchant accounts and your online payment gateway.

After that, you will be ready to start accepting payments. Your CPS will monitor your accounts and keep in contact whenever you want to chat or if they need to alert you of something that requires your attention on top of annual merchant account reviews.