It goes without saying that the ability to process credit card payments is the key to the success of your business. More and more customers are leaning toward paying via debit or credit card, with many of them opting to avoid carrying cash altogether. Because of this, if your merchant account closed, leaving an inability to accept cards, there can often be significant drop in sales and profits.
When your credit card payment processing account is suddenly shut down or dropped, it can bring your business to a grinding halt. This situation often leaves business owners facing two major questions: Why have we been dropped, and what do we do now?
Why is My Merchant Account Closed or Shut Down?
A merchant account is considered a line of credit from the bank. There are three primary reasons a bank would shut down this line of credit: suspicious activity, outright fraud, and excessive chargebacks (forced credit card refunds). Whether or not your business is guilty, chances are that one of these is the reason the bank will cite as to why your merchant account closed.
What to Do if You’re at Risk of Having Your Merchant Account Closed
- Contact your processing provider to determine why your account was shut down. This will help you understand the situation as well as allow you to report the reason you were dropped to a new processor.
- Meanwhile, look into credit card processing solutions for high-risk merchants (such as a high-risk merchant account with Leap Payments). If you’re no longer able to work with your former processor, you’ll want to replace your existing account as soon as possible.
- Complete all necessary paperwork and provide all requested information as promptly as possible. This will not only make it clear to the prospective payment processor that you are serious and professional about your account, but it will also help you get your business’s credit card capabilities back up and running more quickly.
- Wait patiently for your paperwork to go through. Payment processors must operate under all kinds of state and federal regulations, so it may take some time to finish processing your application.
- Be meticulous about compliance, going forward, especially at the beginning of your relationship with the new processor. This will help to prove that you’re a reliable, trustworthy merchant and help to build a good account history.
High Risk? Get the Best Rates for Credit Card Processing with Leap Payments
At Leap Payments, we believe that all merchants—regardless of risk status—deserve the opportunity to prove themselves to be reliable and process credit card payments. With convenient in-house customer support, next-day funding and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, Leap Payments strives to provide the best in merchant services. Plus, all of our merchant customers receive a lifetime rate lock, which means that your processing rates will not increase for the life of your account with us.
To learn more about how Leap Payments can help you get back up and running after being dropped by another provider, call us today at (800) 993-6300.
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