Vape Merchant Account

Vape Merchant Accounts: Insider’s Guide

A vape merchant account is a specialized credit card processing solution for companies that sell e-cigarettes and vaping accessories. The vaping industry is highly regulated, and that is why low-risk providers do not support it. The best vape merchant accounts are provided by high-risk processors.

As per a report published by Global Information Inc. (source), the international vape and e-cigarette industry can reach a size of USD 247.13 billion by the year 2030, with a CAGR of 32.72%. The market shows great potential for all types of players, such as e-commerce sites, retail vape shops, wholesalers, and manufacturers.

However, the vape industry has recently encountered significant obstacles in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the EU. Due to newer regulations and card company guidelines, it has become tough for credit card processors to onboard vape-related businesses. The vaping industry is classified as high-risk now. However, there are still select specialized vape credit card processing services that are able to support such merchants.

QuadraPay is a vape & ecig merchant account specialist and has been serving businesses since 2016 and has established partnerships with various high-risk PSPs. We are confident that getting the approval of your vape shop credit card processing account will not be hard for us.

Our content team has written this guide for you. The objective of the guide is to educate all vape and e-cig sellers about the application process, types of solution, fees, and KYC. We are sure that after reading this guide you will be able to easily get the approval for a vape shop merchant account. Let’s begin.

Why Vape Credit Card Processing Is High Risk

There are many reasons behind the high-risk classification of vape and electronic cigarette businesses; some important ones are listed below.

Complex Regulations

Activists claim that vapes are less harmful than cigars and tobacco, but many regulatory bodies are not convinced. Most nations have either imposed a complete or partial ban on selling vapes. In most countries, the vaping industry is highly regulated. There are strict instructions about what can be sold and what can not be sold.

Age Restrictions

Age restrictions are a big reason for classifying vape merchants as high risk. Vaping is generally prohibited for adults below 21 years in most regions. In nations where it is legal under certain conditions, the merchants must implement strict age verification processes to restrict the sale of vape to minors. Payment processors look at this situation as a liability because any violation by the merchant or processor can result in heavy fines. Only high-risk payment service providers (HR PSPs) can handle vape transactions because of their deep understanding of the related regulations and compliances.

Health Concerns

Raising health concerns can increase the complexity of vape credit card processing. Vaping & E-cigarettes are subject to constant scrutiny by government agencies, medical institutions, and regulatory bodies because of potential health risks associated. This is primarily because of the association of nicotine with vaping-related products.

High chargebacks

The e-cig industry faces high chargebacks and returns. Chargebacks occur when a customer receives a defective product or does not receive it at all. Sometimes customers raise disputes when the vaporizer does not match the seller’s claim. Sponsor banks don’t like chargebacks.

Excessive Fraud

For vape merchants, another challenge is fraud transactions. Fraudsters target vape websites and place orders using stolen credit cards. They receive the product in 2-3 days, but when the original cardholder receives the statement, it results in a chargeback.

Types of vape & electronic cigarette merchant accounts

Online Payment Gateway for Vape Shops

An e-commerce payment gateway for vape sites allows merchants to accept payments online. When a customer selects vape products and submits credit card details, the payment gateway processes the entire transaction by interacting with various parties such as the merchant acquirer, card scheme, and card issuer.

Retail Vape Shop Credit Card Terminals

Vapes businesses that operate from retail shops use conventional credit card terminals. Some require specialized solutions, especially if they have vape kiosks and vending machines. With such specialized merchant processing solutions, vape businesses can accept face-to-face and contactless payments. With brand new terminals, e-cigarette stores can accept most types of credit and debit cards.

Vape Wholesale B2B Payment Processing.

Vape manufacturers use B2B credit card processing solutions to handle high-volume transactions. Such solutions are perfect for other vape B2B entities like wholesalers, distributors, retailers, exporters, and suppliers. However, wholesale order merchants use payment modes like invoices and bank transfers.

KYC for E-Cigarette & Vape Merchant Accounts

KYC verification is important. Below you will find a general list of documents that are required when you apply for a vape credit card processing solution. If you prepare beforehand, it will help you to save a lot of time and also improve the chances of approval. Let’s explore some of these documents.

In the merchant account application form, you will provide important details about your company. These are listed below.

• Ownership information
• Business location
• Expected transaction volume
• Types of cards that you wish to accept
• Average ticket size
• Details of previous history of account termination
• Requested processing currencies
• Requested settlement currencies.
• Business Registration Certificate.

The applicant must provide proof of business registration, which confirms the legal status of the e-cigarette business. This can be a certificate of incorporation or any similar but valid document.

Voided Check/Bank Letter

The KYC process includes the confirmation of the business bank account. For this, the merchant can provide a voided check or a letter of good standing to confirm the account information. The bank account should be in the name of the applicant company.

Photo Identification

It is mandatory for credit card processing companies to confirm the identity of the people that own the business. For this, the merchant can provide any valid national photo ID. Most of the time, payment processors prefer driver’s licenses or passports.

Proof of Inventory

To ensure on-time fulfillment of orders, the merchant must have sufficient stock of vapes and electronic cigarettes. Merchants that depend on fulfillment by offshore businesses are generally not preferred by European and American vape payment processing companies. Merchants must provide local proof of inventory, which can be the invoices of recent purchases. Some merchant service providers may also ask for pictures of inventory.

Bank statements

Most payment service providers will require the merchant to submit at least 3 to 6 months of business bank statements. This helps the underwriters evaluate the financial strength of the potential merchant.

Utility Bill (Company & Director’s Address)

For this, the merchant can share the latest utility bill for the address of the company and its directors. It can be a gas, telephone, or municipal tax bill.

Card Present Addendum

When you apply for an electronic cigarette merchant account, you will most likely be asked to sign this document. The card present addendum outlines additional compliance terms that are specific to vape, CBD, and e-cigarette merchants. Payment processors impose additional rules for such accounts, and it helps in preventing fraud, chargebacks, and violations.

Fees for Vape & E-Cigarette Credit Card Processing

The cost of a vape payment processing solution depends on a variety of elements. It starts with your payment processor. Some are expensive, while others prioritize providing high-quality services at affordable fees. Your monthly sales volume will affect the pricing. Merchants that make a lot of sales get the bargaining opportunity. Another factor that can have a significant impact on the pricing is the overall risk profile of the business. The kind of credit card you are going to accept will also impact the pricing. Now let us explore some of the most common fees associated with vape and e-cig merchant accounts.

Merchant Discount Rate.

This is a fee that the merchant pays on each transaction. Every order will incur this percentage deduction. This fee generally ranges between 1% and 3%.

Chargeback Fees

In case of chargebacks, the merchant pays this fee. Generally, this ranges between 10 and 25 Euros/USD, depending on where the merchant is registered.

Rolling Reserve

Most high-risk payment service providers will ask the merchants to accept a 10% rolling reserve; however, many will be okay with just 5%. Merchants can also opt for a fixed reserve. In this scenario, the merchant pays a security deposit to the processor in advance, which the processor uses to initiate refunds only if necessary. The reserve amount helps the merchant processor stay secure. Some processors work on zero rolling reserve also; however, they prefer merchants with excellent processing history , minimum risk, and consistent volume.