Most high risk merchants operate in booming industries and as technology becomes more integrated into our lives, we only see this increasing.  Unfortunately most payment processors wont deal with businesses in these “increased risk” vertical.  Leaving most business owners in this space asking themselves, “How do I set up a high risk merchant account?”.

This is a pretty basic question, and the answer is pretty simple… apply with a merchant account provider who understand the unique needs of tech support companies and their customers. They’ll complete the application, send it to their underwriting department to review the application, and once approved, you’ll be ready to accept payments, in some cases this can all be done in one day. That simple answer, however, glosses over the basic complexity that most processors do not serve the remote tech support industry, which is dealt with in the next question.

How do I find a tech support merchant account provider?

If you owned a retail business, almost every bank and processor would be happy to provide you with processing. Unfortunately, for remote tech support, that isn’t the case. That’s not because the salesperson doesn’t want your business, but rather because their sponsor bank or their processor will not approve remote tech support merchant accounts because of the chargeback risk. So, the first question you should ask when calling a high risk merchant account provider for tech support is, “Do you provide high risk merchant accounts for tech support businesses?”. And then ask… “What about remote PC tech support?”. And finally… “Are you sure?” Because often the salesperson will tell you initially that they do, but then you complete the application process, only to find out that their underwriting department doesn’t.

Does ACHQ offer tech support merchant accounts?

Yes, at ACHQ we provide all-inclusive high risk credit card and eCheck processing services to tech support merchants, ranging from startups to businesses processing hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. The process is simple, just complete our 5-minute free online application, and once approved, you can begin processing. We’ll handle setting up your  management tools, and gateway, making the process easy and simple.

How do I get a higher processing volume limit?

Most remote tech support businesses want to scale their business to $100,000 per month or more in sales. The problem, is that their first merchant account is typically capped at somewhere between $20,000 to $40,000. So how do they increase their cap? There is a pretty straightforward answer:

Time: A tech support merchant account is in some ways a line of credit from the processor to you. Just as with any business loan, your track-record enables you to obtain a larger line of credit. Typically after 3 to 6 months of successful processing (which means a low chargeback ratio, steady volume, predictable transaction sizes, etc.) you can request to have your account re-reviewed and typically obtain a higher limit.

What is an underwriter looking for when reviewing my tech support merchant account application?

The underwriter’s role at a merchant processor is to make sure that the business is a good risk for the processor to take on. Specifically, he / she is looking at the likelihood that the processor will face losses on the account. The ways that losses occur for the processor is that there are either large or high numbers of chargebacks and disputes that go unpaid, bills that go unpaid, or fines incurred either by the government, or their sponsor bank, for taking on a merchant that is engaging in fraud or other nefarious activity. So, in sum, they are looking for businesses that look stable, legitimate, and have a bank account with sufficient funds to cover any chargebacks or disputes. So the more you’re able to present your business as legitimate, stable, and with significant enough resources to cover any losses, the better your chances.

ACHQ processes thousands of transactions weekly for Tech Support Companies.  If you’re interested in finding out how eChecks can help your business save money we can help. To learn more contact ACHQ or call us at 877-743-1551.