How important is finding the best adult merchant accounts?
With the growth of the online adult entertainment industry, the need for merchants to be able to accept payments from their customers through the internet has never been greater and the need to find the best adult merchant accounts for this niche industry has become equally important. The adult industry generates some of the largest revenues on the internet, with countless membership sites, advertising companies and novelty stores, the growth of the industry has continued year over year with no slowing down in sight.
Most banking institutions have viewed adult credit card processing as a high risk industry for a number of factors that are common among higher risk businesses. Since most adult businesses operate over the internet, the percentage of card not present (CNP) transactions is excessively high, with many adult merchants experiencing 100% of their transactions occurring online in a CNP environment. This high percentage of card not present transactions has traditionally had a strong correlation with high percentages of chargebacks, with some businesses experiencing chargebacks exceeding 3% of sales, placing them into a high risk level among payment processors.
While the risk of illegal actively or fronts is not necessarily a reason for considering these merchants high risk, the nature of the business along with the financial track record is enough to cause concern among payment processors and banking institutions alike. Because of these concerns, its essential for merchants to find and partner with the best adult merchant account providers on the internet to insure their business has a strong financial partner.
What makes the best adult merchant accounts?
Merchants that have decided they need an adult merchant account might have a number of different requirements that are usually important to look for in payment processors while comparing services and features to fit the needs of their company. Even though every business, store and website are different and the needs of the business owners might vary, there are some functions that make adult credit card processing more efficient and affordable across the board.
In the merchant services industry, there are a number of merchant acquires, payment processors and merchant services companies that have been formed to provide a variety of credit card processing services. Many of these companies have online reviews to help provide an outsiders thoughts and reactions to a companies services, but merchants should remain conscious to the fact that many review sites and review boards are paid services and do not generally provide unbiased viewpoints.
One of the most important points to confirm when shopping is if the payment processor and financial institution allow adult businesses in their terms of service, and if so, are they prepared to properly register the business with the card association. What might seem as a redundant question to ask a merchant services company, the truth is that it does happen that an adult businesses is set up at a payment processor that does not allow adult, and while that merchant account might remain intact for months or even years, at one point or another an audit of merchants will expose the nature of the business and force an automatic account shutdown, creating a potentially expensive disruption of services.
Similar to insuring that the merchant acquirer and payment processor are capable of handling an adult business, merchants should also check that the payment gateway they are integrating into on their website also allows adult merchants within their terms of service. Having a non-adult payment gateway inform the merchant they have only days to find and integrate into a new payment gateway can put a business into an unnecessarily stressful and difficult situation that could have been avoided from the start.
Adult merchants have a number of ways online to check up on a merchant services company and confirm after the fact that the services they are using will be the best solution for their company. Once a merchant is able to find and determine who is the best adult merchant account processor for their business, they should not have much concern about future changes or surprises with their merchant services.
How do they provide the best adult merchant accounts?
After narrowing down the adult credit card processing companies to a few choices, merchants can begin to compare the services offered to figure out which payment processor will offer them the best services to fit their needs. Online businesses might be more concerned about the features and functionality of the payment gateway while an adult club might be more concerned about the point of sale (POS) system that is offered and the functionality it provides, every business has different needs.
A general concern of all adult businesses and many times the deciding factor between payment processors has to do with the pricing of the merchant accounts offered. Depending on the acquirer and the type of adult payment processing that is being applied for, the rates of the merchant account can vary from less than 1% to well over 5%, a huge difference that can prove very costly to merchants doing large monthly sales volume.
A common cost that adult merchants occasionally have to pay when establishing an adult merchant account is a reserve, either a one time charge or a rolling fee that changes based on sales volume. Many higher risk businesses and higher risk payment processors assess these fees onto their merchants to insure that the business will be able to pay for any potential losses or fines that may be imposed during the course of the merchant account relationship.
Adult merchant accounts that have an acquirer based outside the USA, also known as offshore acquirers, will usually be subject to weekly settlements from the payment processor in addition to the reserves placed on the merchant accounts. Though the use of reserves can be possible with domestic payment processors, the slow payout schedule from offshore payment processors is not generally the case for adult merchants using acquirers based in the USA since these banks generally payout daily. In addition to weekly payouts, offshore processor will usually charge wire fees that can cost merchants over $50 per settlement, making the payout process not only slow, but expensive.
Merchants can verify that the payment processor they are planning on working with is the best adult merchant account provider by checking a number of different factors that can effect many decisions. Once it is confirmed that the payment processor is able to accept and work with an adult company, a check of the fees, reserves and payout schedule can help adult businesses decide which company will provide the best adult merchant account.
Where do you find the best adult merchant accounts?
Using the internet is the most common way for merchants to find a merchant services provider for their adult or other higher risk business, but that does not necessarily mean they are the best payment processor for their needs. In addition to the internet, merchants can check a number of other place to find other adult credit card processing companies or to check on the companies that they have narrowed their search down to.
New webmasters and other adult business owners entering the industry have found that many of the message boards and forums online for the adult industry can provide a good amount of information about payment processors and other adult services. Like other websites and information sources on the internet, users are suggested to take the information they find and use it during their research to insure that they are partnering with the best adult merchant account for their needs.
One of the best and most reliable ways for adult merchants to find and learn about an adult payment processor is from other merchants. This can be done by talking to other adult merchants and businesses at trade shows, webmaster events or other forums where information is trusted and provided in an unbiased format. Many times merchants are introduced to their payment processor or merchant services company through a referral from an existing merchant, insuring that the new merchant will be set up with a reliable and trusting credit card processing company to handle their businesses sales.
Who provides the best adult merchant accounts?
As a provider of adul merchant accounts and adult merchant services for over the last 10 years, Adult Merchant Services has built a reputation of providing quality merchant services through our affordable merchant account fees and reliable merchant account services. Adult merchants that are looking for a merchant account to work with their adult business are encouraged to call one of our helpful payment processing professionals to answer any questions or concerns a merchant might have.
Adult Merchant Services offers full domestic and offshore credit card processing services along with a payment gateway that was designed for use with higher risk and higher volume merchants in mind, preventing adult merchants from having to search for custom solutions to fit each part of their business. Our affordable services insure that every merchant is receiving the best adult merchant accounts with affordable and quality services that will grow with the merchant as their business takes off.