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Plain answers about taking card payments.
What chargebacks really cost, how the rules catch people out, and how to read a statement you were never meant to understand.
What is a high-risk merchant account?
A high-risk merchant account is one where the sponsor bank judges the likelihood of chargebacks, fraud or non-delivery …
You sell online. That shouldn't make you a problem.
Online businesses need a way to accept card payments, either through a merchant account with a payment gateway or throu…
Read the exit before you read the rate
An early termination fee is a charge applied when a merchant closes a processing account before the agreed term ends. I…
Switching processors is paperwork, not a shutdown
Switching payment processors does not require pausing card acceptance. The new account is applied for, underwritten and…
Stop the chargeback before it becomes one
A chargeback alert notifies a merchant that a cardholder has disputed a transaction, before the dispute is processed as…
What actually happens when a customer disputes a charge
A chargeback begins when a cardholder disputes a transaction with their issuing bank. The bank provisionally reverses t…
Declined by one bank isn't declined by all
A merchant account decline is a decision by one sponsor bank against its own risk appetite, not an industry-wide verdic…
What documents do I need to open a merchant account?
A standard US merchant account application needs the completed application form, government-issued photo identification…
Interchange isn't the part you negotiate
The cost of accepting a card splits three ways: interchange to the issuing bank, assessments to the card brands, and ma…
Would a straight answer help?
Send a recent statement and we will tell you whether we can beat it. No call unless you ask.