Shopify High-Risk Payment Gateway

High-Risk Payment Gateway Overview

If you have a business that takes payments online, you know that you need to gain access to a wide array of merchant accounts in order to make sure that your customers can make a payment in a manner that best suits their needs, interests, and preferences. One example of a valuable and growing eCommerce platform is Shopify. Shopify is an eCommerce shopping platform and merchant vendor that allows users to create eCommerce stores. It comes with a variety of benefits and features, including the ability to use its merchant-only services for payment processing, establish branded stores, take advantage of its customer service experts, customize sale options, and more. The platform is not free from disadvantages, but vendors across many business services have found that it can be a valuable part of their overall eCommerce strategy. Unfortunately, some merchants find themselves in the unenviable position of being classified as "high-risk" merchants. This can be a big problem for these merchants, as it may mean that they have to pay added fees in order to gain access to eCommerce solutions, or may have issues getting approved altogether. Thankfully, there are many ways to reduce the fees associated with being a high-risk merchant.

What Makes A Business Get Classified as High-Risk?

One factor is usually not enough to result in a vendor being classified as high-risk. Instead, it is usually a series of factors. These include:

• The industry that a vendor uses. This can include a variety of industries, including CBD, adult products, credit repair companies, private airline charter services, and more. Generally speaking, these industries will have a higher than normal risk of fraud or chargebacks.
• The amount of fraud and chargebacks in an industry or to a specific business. Chargebacks are what occur when a refund is given on a credit card purchase. A high amount of chargebacks can cost all parties involved money, and in order to offset this risk, payment processors - like Shopify - may classify a vendor as high-risk.
• Working with clients who may have financial problems. This is the case because these individuals are more likely to seek a return on their product, be victims of fraud, or commit fraud in the first place.
• Use of recurring payments, as is the case with many subscription payments. This is because many people will not realize that they have a subscription service and seek a refund of a charge.
• Extensive use of foreign currency. This is because it is far too easy for fraud to occur using foreign payments.

What Advantages Does Shopify Have?

There is, of course, no shortage of third-party vendors that can allow you to set up online stores, integrate those stores with your website, and more. This begs the question: Why is Shopify worth using, particularly for high-risk vendors? Thankfully, there are real answers that can help explain Shopify's various advantages.

First, Shopify comes with more options than you could ever need. You can use a slew of its services, including its payment gateway, a full online store, and everything and anything in between. All of the content is highly customizable, meaning that you can add or remove features as best suit your needs. You can also customize it based on built-in brands and templates, or you can use your own programming expertise in order to create your own custom-designed storefront. Importantly, Shopify also has shopping cart support. It uses a robust and highly secure program that enables users to put items in their shopping cart, then check out. Carts can be set up so that individuals can save items for later, meaning that they can easily leave the store and return at a later date, picking up exactly where they left off. Stores can be set up in multiple languages and set up so that they offer free shipping, alternative shipping rates, automatic taxes, and more. Shopify also understands that users need more than just a store: They may need help steering potential customers to that store. As such, they offer a variety of SEO boosts, Google Ad credits, discounts, social media integration, and more. Shopify is also known for having extensive Facebook integration, so users can set up stores that can be easily accessed via Facebook. It is also worth noting that Shopify has extensive analytics that is available to users. It can give you a dashboard that shows who is accessing your store and where users are coming from, give you access to Google analytics, export reports, provide product reports, and more. In other words: Shopify is so much more than just an online store, and the above barely scratches the surface of the variety of advantages that Shopify has to offer any user. That being said, the use of Shopify can still be a serious challenge for users who are high risk. Fortunately, integrating your Shopify account with a third party can help to reduce this risk and give you access to Shopify's extensive payment options.

What are the Disadvantages of Using Shopify?

While Shopify unquestionably comes with a series of excellent advantages that make it easy to use for many merchants, there are challenges that exist from using it. First of all, the nature of creating a Shopify storefront will lock you into using this platform at the expense of others. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you find that Shopify works for you, but Shopify is not designed to easily integrate with other platforms. As a result, you can lose the portability that comes with using Shopify exclusively. This can also result in more problems later down the road. For example, say you decide to move from one Shopify to another. Switching platforms can be a challenge, as Shopify does not export the necessary data easily. Shopify, like many other similar programs, will take a chunk out of your profits with every sale it makes. As if that isn't bad enough, Shopify will also charge you for use of certain widgets designed to increase sales in your online storefront. Many of these widgets are virtual requirements for operating many stores, such as inventory management. These added fees make Shopify more expensive than other similar options, like WordPress. They also can leave many users with a bad taste, as the platform simply makes it appear as if they are just trying to nickel and dime users. Shopify does have extensive customizability options. However, it is not a blank slate. This means that creating your own options and customizing everything simply isn't possible. For many merchants, this will never become an issue, as the array of customizability options is often enough. However, if you have extensive programming skills or want to create an option for yourself that extends beyond the menu that Shopify presents you, you may be out of luck. Furthermore, as a massive conglomerate within the eCommerce space, Shopify often has faster loading speeds and access to better technology than you would be able to obtain on your own. Indeed, the size of Shopify can truly be leveraged for a variety of vendors.

How Can I Use a Third-Party Merchant Account with Shopify?

Shopify has support for two types of third-party merchant accounts. One is a direct provider, meaning that customers can just make a payment in their online store. Vendors also have the option of using third-party accounts, meaning that individuals can complete a checkout on a third-party's page. This software should be able to be easily integrated into your Shopify account. This is yet another benefit of Shopify: It allows businesses to easily configure their Shopify store to enable these types of payments. Furthermore, the integration is seamless. This means that users can easily make a purchase and then be taken right back to someone's store. Most users won't even notice the difference between the use of a direct payment or a third-party account. Third-party accounts can be particularly beneficial for any user, but particularly for high-risk merchant accounts, who may need access to a variety of services and protections that are not commonly offered by regular vendors. In this situation, users could set up a high-risk payment gateway, then integrate that gateway with their merchant account.

What Should I Look for in a Third-Party Merchant Account?

Third-party merchant accounts can be exceptionally useful to your business and may be able to provide you with an array of services. This goes double for businesses that have been classified as high-risk, as a high-risk business means that you will need additional supports in order to keep your payments as low as possible. As such, when making the decision to look for a third-party merchant account, there are many factors and services that you should keep in mind. First, what sort of services does your vendor offer? Remember, any vendor can process a credit card, but if you are looking for a third-party merchant account that offers more, you need to determine what additional services your third-party merchant account offers and how those services can help you. For example, in addition to payment processing, what sort of fraud protection or security measures do they have in place? What programs do they have that can eliminate or reduce chargebacks? Do they offer any sort of chargeback protection services? How easily do they integrate into other programs, like your own website or Shopify? How robust is their customer service? What happens if you have some sort of emergency, like a data breach, that requires an immediate resolution? Do they offer an array of payment methods, not only including online but also include in-store or mobile devices? Do they have check or eCheck processing? Can they work directly with your banks to identify custom financial solutions that will work explicitly for your business and within your industry? If you are a high-risk business, you'll need to make sure that a third-party merchant account has solutions that are explicitly designed to help your business. What sort of fees or fee protections do they offer? What experience do they have in working with high-risk vendors, or vendors in your industry? That last question is particularly important, as all high-risk vendors are not the same. This means that you need to find a vendor who has ample experience in your industry and can use that experience in order to benefit you. If you are considering hiring a new vendor for your high-risk merchant services, you should ask specifically for examples about how that vendor has worked with others in your industry. Last, what about broader services? Does your merchant account provide a point of sale equipment, and can they give you support on that equipment? How is their support for things like loyalty programs or gift cards? Can they offer you access to ATMs that you can put in your physical locations? If you are looking to expand your business and need access to capital funds, can they help you? Do they provide you with analytics that go beyond just one store, allowing you to use the information that they provide to make determinations about where to put your limited marketing dollars? For high-risk merchants, the need to find a vendor who can work with third-party vendors has never been higher. Chargebacks are expensive and can eat into your already thin profit margins, and is classified as a high-risk vendor means that using platforms like Shopify can get even more expensive than they already are. Thankfully, there are vendors available to you that can help reduce your risk, provide you with world-class customer service, and make sure that you keep as much money as possible in your pocket. For more information, reach out to Zenti today.