Wellness Merchant Account

Wellness Merchant Account: Insider’s Guide

What Is a Wellness Merchant Account?

A wellness merchant account is a specialized credit card processing solution designed to meet the unique needs of businesses operating in the wellness industry. This type of payment processing account is ideal for businesses that offer nutrition, mental health, holistic, alternative medicine, sleep recovery, and corporate wellness-related services.

Most wellness businesses are considered high risk by sponsor banks because of factors such as recurring billing, regulatory scrutiny, and the risk of chargebacks. These factors make it difficult for wellness businesses to find credit card processing companies. Wellness merchants should look for payment processors that work with high-risk merchants. These processors understand the risk involved in onboarding a wellness merchant and take all necessary steps to keep their risk under control.

At QuadraPay, we have been working with a variety of merchants from the wellness industry since the year 2016. We understand the challenges faced by such entrepreneurs. This is why we have created this guide for you. We are confident that once you finish reading this guide, you will find it easy to locate the right credit card processor for your wellness business. Let’s begin.

Why Is the Wellness Industry Considered High Risk?

The health and wellness industry is considered high risk because of a variety of reasons. If you understand these factors, then it will become easy for you to take necessary steps and increase your chances of approval.

Regulatory Compliance

Many wellness products and services must meet strict regulatory guidelines before they can be sold to customers. A few examples of such products include CBD, supplements, and alternative therapies. The rules and regulations related to the sale of such products and services can be complex, and many providers may find this discouraging and avoid working with merchants from such industries.

Chargeback Risks

Another challenge is the risk of high chargebacks. When disputes and chargebacks increase, it also increases the credit risk for the merchant acquirer. In the wellness industry, it is common for people to be dissatisfied by the result of a product. Unsatisfied customers may raise disputes and chargebacks. Banks don’t like it, and that is why many stay away from the wellness industry.

Subscription Models

Many wellness products are sold using subscriptions. Examples of such products include slimming tea, dietary supplements, and weight loss programs. Many of such subscriptions may have free trials, and customers may forget that they ever subscribed to the product. After seeing the debits on the credit card statement, customers may raise disputes.

Fraudulent Claims

The biggest problem in the wellness industry is that of fake claims. Many businesses claim highly inflated results. Such claims demotivate the underwriters to onboard wellness merchants.

Because of all the risks mentioned above, traditional low-risk payment processors generally hesitate to approve wellness businesses for merchant accounts. However, specialized high-risk payment processing companies offer better results.

Benefits of a High-Risk Wellness Merchant Account

Reliable Payment Processing

By getting a dedicated merchant account, wellness companies can accept all kinds of credit and debit cards. A stable credit card processing account helps businesses to operate smoothly without worrying about payment holds and account shutdown.

High-Risk Friendly Approval

As we have discussed earlier, low-risk payment processors hesitate to work with wellness companies. The only options that we recommend are the high-risk processors. The onboarding for such accounts may take a bit longer than regular low-risk accounts. Once activated, these high-risk accounts can support the merchant for a longer time.

Chargeback Protection & Fraud Prevention

A low-risk payment processor may only offer basic defense when it comes to chargebacks and fraud. These specialized high-risk processing companies have advanced features such as AI-driven fraud identification tools as well as chargeback mitigation programs. Together, these advanced tools help merchants reduce risk on the account.

Multi-Currency Payment Support

Most wellness companies offer their products and services to local as well as international clients. Only accepting local credit cards is not an option. A dedicated account allows wellness businesses to accept payments from international customers in multiple currencies. The cost of the product is displayed in the customer’s home currency. It increases the comfort level of the customer and can have a significant impact on the conversion ratio.

How to Choose the Right Wellness Merchant Account Provider

While choosing a merchant processor for your wellness business, it is important for you to ensure that the provider has experience with high-risk industries. This doesn’t specifically have to be wellness, but it can be other related industries such as yoga studios, gyms, martial arts studios, doctors, and telemedicine. Credit card processors that have experience in working with similar merchants can offer you better services.

Competitive Processing Fees

The next thing you need to look at is the cost. At this time, you have to be very careful because the way payment processors present the pricing is complex. Some fees may be listed on the term sheet, but many other costs may be listed in the fine print of the merchant account agreement. Carefully observe all the fees, including the penalties, and then make the decision.

Integration With Your Business Model

Depending on how you operate your business, your integration requirement will change. For example, if you run a Pilates center, then you may need a retail credit card terminal, and if you have an e-commerce website that sells herbal products, then you will need an online payment gateway. You should choose the provider that offers solutions that can be easily integrated into your existing setup.

Customer Support

Try to work with a credit card processor that believes in offering 24/7 support to merchants. You never know when you need their assistance. The provider should offer you support through various channels, including phone, email, and chat. This way, you will be able to resolve payment-related issues quickly and minimize downtime for your business.

Steps to Apply for a Wellness Merchant Account

Before you apply for a Wellness merchant account, make sure that you are ready with the important KYC documents. The payment processor will require these documents to evaluate the risk involved in onboarding your business. The KYC documents include your business license, tax ID (EIN/VAT), bank statement, utility bills, and website compliance check if you are selling online.

You will send these documents to the payment processor for review. Along with these documents, you will also submit a merchant account application form. The payment processor will review everything that you submit and perform a detailed risk evaluation.

It generally takes a few days to a week for the approval of a wellness payment gateway. Once approved, the merchant processor will share integration details.

FAQs: Wellness Credit Card Processing

Can I Get a Wellness Merchant Account With Bad Credit?

Getting a wellness merchant account is tough, but it becomes tougher if the merchant’s credit score is poor. For such merchants, we recommend bad credit merchant accounts. Such merchant account solutions are fit for those businesses that are struggling with their credit score. While some merchants may not qualify for credit card processing, many do. For those merchants that don’t qualify for credit card processing, we recommend alternative payment solutions such as ACH and e-checks.

Conclusion: Wellness Merchant Services

A wellness merchant account can be the lifeline for your business in the health and wellness industry. This means you should work with a reliable payment processing company only. Whether you run an e-commerce store, a brick-and-mortar wellness center, or a subscription-based health service, choosing the right payment processor is crucial. With the right processor, you will be able to experience smooth transaction processing, faster settlement, and better defense against fraudulent transactions. Overall, such accounts can support bringing in financial stability to your business. If you have any further questions regarding wellness credit card processing, feel free to email us at [email protected]