Stable & Dependable High Risk Merchant Accounts In UK
High-risk merchant accounts in the UK are specialized payment processing accounts that allow UK-based high-risk businesses to accept card payments. These merchant service providers operate in industries that low-risk banks shy away from. Some of these industries include adult entertainment, gaming, skill competition, gambling, pharmaceuticals, CBD, hemp, vape, glassware, casino, astrology, and travel. A high-risk merchant account in the UK is primarily useful for merchants that operate in industries that have high reputational, regulatory, or credit risk.
These accounts meet the unique transaction processing needs of high-risk merchants by implementing various risk reduction measures. High-risk merchant service providers offer various features like enhanced fraud protection, flexible underwriting, and chargeback alerts that together make it possible to process payments for high-risk merchants.
Our high-risk payment processors in the UK offer excellent features such as multi currency support, recurring billing options, and integration with various e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Magento, and many more.
Although these high-risk credit card processing accounts may be slightly more expensive and may have stricter terms than regular processors in the UK, they still play a very important role for many businesses. These accounts provide a ray of hope to high-risk merchants in the UK. By offering a stable merchant account, these providers serve as the greatest support system for high-risk merchants in the UK, enabling them to accept payments from customers, expand operations, and stand strong in the competitive world.
Top reasons why you may need a high-risk credit card processor in the UK:
Depending on the business model, type of product, and many other factors, you may need the services of a high-risk credit card processor in the UK. Let’s look at some of the most common reasons.
Some industries are at a higher risk of facing chargebacks and fraudulent activities. Traditional banks generally prefer not to work with businesses from such industries; thus, these businesses seek the assistance of high-risk credit card processors in the UK.
Certain industries face more than average legal and regulatory scrutiny. For example, gaming merchants and CBD oil merchants across the UK and Ireland face massive problems in getting a card processing account. It’s not that they cannot find a solution, but the real challenge is that such industries require additional efforts and addendums while these accounts are underwritten. Many low-risk PSPs avoid such hassle.
Traditional banks and large payment processors are generally rigid in terms of accommodating merchants from outside of their internally approved acceptable list. They typically work with industries like apparel, doctor’s offices, veterinarians, gas stations, convenience stores, car washes, salons, bridal stores, or martial arts studios because these sectors are easier to manage. However, high-risk PSPs in the UK maintain a list of acceptable, restricted, and prohibited industries.
While accepted lists include low and mid-risk industries, the restricted list generally covers high-risk industries. Some processors may require approvals from CXO-level staff to onboard high-risk merchants, but this is done to ensure that only genuine high-risk merchants gain access to merchant accounts.
Seasonal businesses are hard to place as they don’t have regular cash flow, making it challenging for credit card processors to forecast their sales and profits. A large number of seasonal businesses can destabilize the future of any credit card processor, as they may struggle to maintain a balance between earnings and expenses.
Sectors like tourism, hospitality, hotels, resorts, tour operators, gift shops, farming, skiing, snowboarding, camping, wedding venues, party supplies, event planning services, accounting firms, tax preparation services, gardening, landscaping, lawn care, amusement parks, water parks, and ice cream parlors are all mostly seasonal. High-risk payment gateway companies are experienced in handling the unique requirements of these seasonal businesses. These processors cater to both large-volume merchants and seasonal merchants to bridge the gap.
When a merchant accepts domestic credit card transactions, it is considered low-risk. However, when a UK-based merchant starts accepting transactions from customers in other nations, it’s considered cross-border transactions, and this activity is referred to as high-risk transactions. Cross-border transaction acceptance requires high-risk merchant service providers to implement various checks and measures. Low-risk providers generally dislike opening traffic for a lot of cross-border transactions.
Various industries have a mandatory requirement to offer the ability of subscription payments to their customers. When a payment processor allows a merchant to accept subscription payments, it opens up additional risk. Many customers may forget that they ever accepted the subscription. Some may even dispute the transaction if they don’t recognize the description. Whatever the case, offering subscription payments is a challenging task for low-risk providers, which is why merchants choose high-risk payment gateways.
Some industries that cannot survive without subscription payments include online magazines, software subscriptions, gyms, clubs, electricity, water, internet, insurance, cloud-based software solutions, e-learning websites, meal delivery services, nonprofit organizations, charities, mortgage payments, landlords, property management companies, and weight loss products.
