Guide for Offshore Merchant Account Buyer's

The term ‘offshore’ is basically used to describe banks from countries other than home country or foreign lands. An offshore account is like any other merchant account opened in any country other than the merchant’s home country. The main benefits of an offshore account are the security and the option of accepting major currencies. It also helps the merchant in increasing revenue due to tax relaxation, provides greater privacy to merchants and helps in gaining more customers (major currency acceptance).

Popular Among Merchants

E-commerce and offshore accounts are highly linked as merchants, irrespective of their industry types. It aims at attracting a majority of customers and look for maximizing sale to earn good profit. To achieve this, the merchant needs to have a merchant account that accepts the majority of credit cards. But it is not that easy to open a merchant account, as it includes many requirements and lengthy procedures, which is not the case with an offshore merchant account. Most of the businesses like to maintain an offshore account as it provides many financial and legal advantages to their client.

Offshore Merchant Account

Most of the merchants choose offshore accounts over merchant accounts for various reasons. Few of them are below:

• Hassle free procedure
• Low taxes/ tax relaxation
• Low initial costs
• International Reach
• Different currencies
• Major credit card acceptance

Why are Offshore Accounts so Popular?

No matter how small or big business you own, any merchant can get an offshore account. Especially, merchants who are planning to set up an online business, irrespective of their size, prefer offshore account over merchant account due to low initial cost.

Every merchant running an online business wants to hit the international market at a certain point of growth. An offshore merchant account makes the acceptance of various currencies as well as credit cards much easier. Although, merchants who are dealing with local customers with the prime objective of capturing the domestic market don’t get enough benefits from offshore merchant account as compared to the merchant targeting the global market.

Easy Way To Accept Payments for Home, Auto or Device Warranties

Credit Card Acceptance that is flexible for your home, Auto, or Device Warranties business. Merchant Stronghold offers the best range of solutions that can fulfill your business needs. Credit Card Acceptance is essential for your Home, Auto or Device Warranty business.

THE RANGE OF CREDIT CARD SOLUTIONS

Credit Card Acceptance services are crucial for Home, Auto or Device Warranties business. Your business can accept credit card anywhere in the world. Here are some of the services that we offer:

● Website Credit Card Processing – API Technology

● Retail Credit Card Processing – POS Terminals

● Virtual Terminal Setup – Key in Transactions

● Payment Gateway Set Up – Authorize.net or NMI.com

There is a range of services that can help your business. We can quickly set up a merchant account at affordable rates. We offer credit card processing for various businesses including restaurants, gas stations, Home, Auto, Device Warranties, and more.

Accept  Type of Card Brands

● MasterCard ● Discover ● Visa ● Diners Club ● American Express ● JCB

Our interchange and dues rates are low as compare to most merchant account companies, and we keep our Businesses our first priority. There aren’t many account providers that can match us in technology. Using Merchant Stronghold services, you will be able to run business flexibility, knowing that your money is protected.

No heavy charges on you at any stage, the rates are low and credit card accepting services won’t take much of your total profit. Our certified team is capable of protecting sensitive data including card numbers and anything can expose customer’s identity.

Our customer support team is always ready to answer any question about credit card payments and merchant accounts. Best Merchant Solution for Home, Auto or Device Warranties business

Benefits of E-Checks Payment Processing Services

Let’s take a look at some amazing benefits of E-checks.

COST-EFFECTIVE

Pricey credit card networks can be avoided with the use of ACH as transaction fee is comparatively low. There is no limit on the transaction amount. If any merchant, looking for a cost-effective processor to accept large payments, ACH is where your search ends.

FUNDS

In the traditional paper check method, it might take days to process a check whereas it is not the same with e-checks. Via E-checks funds get transferred faster and more conveniently.

RECURRING PAYMENTS

If a business is working on memberships or subscriptions, it is wise to choose ACH electronic network rather than the traditional method.

IDEAL FOR SUBSCRIPTION-BASED BUSINESSES

There are many benefits to choosing E-checks for subscription-based businesses. Some of them go as follows:

SAVE MONEY

Business can save a huge amount of money from long-term subscriptions. With electronic payments, network exchange fee is not applicable, which in turn helps the merchant to save a lot.

AUTOPAY

Irrespective of a canceled credit card, ACH payment processing makes sure that the customer does not miss payments. Credit card numbers may change rapidly but it is very rare that the account details of the customer will change. With the use of ACH payment processor, it becomes easy to avoid payment gaps.

EASY & SECURE

In addition, it is easy to initialize online e-check payments. A merchant can create a simple and secure form as per the customer’s convenience. Autopay feature can be set within minutes that avoid extra work of writing checks every month.

REWARDS

With the use of ACH, savings are amazing, which can be available to attract new customers while retaining old ones. Schemes like an incentive for customers, rewards, discount offers or cash offers help businesses attract more customers.

If you’re looking eCheck payment processing services. Don’t worry, Merchant Stronghold providing best e-check payment processing services. Contact us today for more information @ +1(888)622-6875.

E-Cigarette Merchant Account for High-Risk Industries

For E-cigarette businesses, it is difficult to get a merchant account. They must accept credit cards payment processing for your high-risk business. If you have a web eCommerce store, it is surely difficult to discover a merchant account provider. You should also be careful about payment processors who charge high rates and service fees. It is essential that you find an easy and respectable Merchant account, provider.

Consult Merchant Stronghold

Merchant Stronghold spends significant time in helping E-Cigarette and Vapor Products get validated for low rate merchant account processing. We work with both on the web and retail businesses! Our operators are trained & prepared to deal with your particular needs and answer the majority of your inquiries.

Merchant Stronghold has made exceptional plans with our processing associates to provide a low rate High-risk Payment Gateway and additionally purpose of offer machine to require the necessities of your developing business. Regardless of the possibility that you have been turned around different suppliers for any reason, there is still a very good chance Merchant Stronghold can help you get your Merchant Account approved.

Online retailers that offer vapor items such as vaporizers, tanks, e-juice, starter kits, E-Cigs, and other related items online are among high-risk merchant account. In common all online e-commerce business is high risk. As credit cards are absent, that is increasing the risk of fraud.

To stoke the fire, Vapor Retailers and Ecig Merchants that offer online go out to a member of pitching to minors. Thus, most banks would prefer not to guarantee the danger of this High-Risk Merchant Account. Other outsider processors, for example, Paypal are always shutting Ecig and Vaporizer dealer accounts.

You might get lucky and keep your account for several months. It’s only an issue of time before they do an inner review for you and understand that you’re offering an item regarded as restricted by Paypal. When Paypal discovers you, keep an eye out, in light of the fact that you will be closed down and any assets in your Paypal record will be solidified and come back to the client.

If you’re running high-risk business industries and you need a merchant account & payment gateway for your businesses. This is very important for payment gateway for customer transactions. Some merchants don’t know, how to open a secure merchant account processing. Merchant Stronghold for open a high-risk merchant account for all type of businesses.  

Few Important Merchant Responsibilities and Pricing

Have you ever seen all the pricing on your Merchant Account Agreements and asked what they mean? Online Business must always read and understand the terms and conditions for their payment gateway. Merchant Stronghold explains the pricing schedule of fees:

Tiered pricing

ERR Pricing (Enhance Recover Reduce)

Pass-through interchange pricing

Pass-through Pin Debit

Tiered pricing: Tiered discount pricing allows you to group interchange programs into different tiers “buckets” and then price those buckets separately based on the range of interchange costs grouped into each bucket.

ERR Pricing (Enhance Recover Reduce): Pass non-qualifying interchange costs to merchants. Using err, you have the option to assess a surcharge to the merchant’s downgraded sales volume. The surcharge is a client-defined percentage that is applied to the downgraded sales volume of participating merchants.

Pass-through interchange pricing: Using interchange passes through allows the expenses associated with interchange fees and dues and assessments to be billed directly to the merchant. If you are using interchange pass through plus, a sale transaction fee and/or a percentage rate would be assessed against the monthly volume and would be billed to the merchant along with the dues and assessments and interchange fees.

Pass-through Pin Debit: Allows you to pass through PIN debit network fees to the merchant. In addition to passing the network fees to the merchant, you need to bill a per item charge, a percent on the volume, and a monthly flat rate debit access fee.

IMPORTANT MERCHANT RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Ensure compliance with cardholder data security and storage requirements.

2. Maintain fraud and chargeback below thresholds.

3. Review and understand the terms of the Merchant Agreement.

4. Comply with Visa Operating Regulations. (Go to www.Visa.com, select Small Business and Merchants, select Operations and Risk Management, select Rules for Visa Merchants)

The responsibilities listed above do not supersede terms of the Merchant Agreement and are provided to ensure the merchant understands some important obligations of each party and that the Visa Member (Acquirer) is the ultimate authority should the merchant have any problems.

In order to comply with all Visa and MasterCard regulations governing Internet Credit

Card sales, Merchant Processing Bank requires that you will not accept credit card transactions through your website and/or e-mail and then manually enter them into your POS equipment or software. You must obtain a separate and secure e-commerce merchant account to accept credit card transactions for products and service purchased through a website or the internet.

Improve Merchant Statistics and Reduce Fraud Levels

Recommendations to Improve Merchant Statistics Below have listed recommendations that could help to reduce fraud level. Merchant must provide an activity plane to reduce fraud levels by the payment system. On the off chance that the merchant doesn't successfully lessen reduce fraud level Risk and Compliance department will close merchant traffic. To avoid penalties and disqualification, Merchant must survey its business processes. The following are recorded suggestions that could reduce fraud level.

Here are some guidelines for preventing Internet, telephone or mail order fraud:

• Request that cardholders provide the following information during the order taking process:
• Cardholder Name, exactly how their name appears on their card.
• Card Number
• Card Expiration Date, four-digit number MM/YY.
• CVV (Card Verification Value) and/or CID (Card Identification Data) for some regions, the three-digit number located on the back of the card in the signature panel.
• Card billing address along with the ship-to address (when necessary).
• Home, business or other telephone numbers where the cardholder can be reached.

For each transaction, be sure to:

• Request and validate the CVV (Card Verification Value) and/or CID (Card Identification Data) for some regions, the three-digit number located on the back of the card in the signature panel.
• Verify the customer’s billing address, either electronically or by our address verification service (AVS).
• Verify the cardholder name, full billing address, email address and phone number with the Issuer in real-time using.
• Check your delivery service contract for who is responsible for merchandise not delivered.
• Get a signature for each delivery and keep all delivery records.
• Do not keycard information to force through a sale for which you have received any declined response to your authorization request.
• If the sale is on a credit card, refund sales on the same card.
• Include your common DBA and customer service number on the customer’s transaction receipt.
• Clearly communicate any and all delivery charges, restocking or other fees.
• Clearly explain any return policies and offer documentation of this policy with each sale.
• When working on a chargeback, document efforts to satisfy the customer. Be sure to respond to all chargebacks.
• Duplicate charges, or installment plans, unless otherwise stated, require an authorization for each sale.

Protect Customer Information on my Website?

• Protecting Customer Information
• Truncate all credit card information.
• Do not store any CID data in your records or on any type of sales data.
• Secure your site. Data MUST be stored in a secure environment that is protected by firewalls from your Website or access to the Internet. This data should be password protected with limited authorized use.
• Do NOT store any customer or credit card information on your Web Server.
• Please refer to your Merchant Operating Regulations for further Card Not Present (CNP) requirements with respect to the submission of sales.