Why a High Risk Merchant Account?

Certain business types are considered by the Visa MasterCard Associations to be "High Risk" for credit card processing. This means that acquiring banks are at a higher risk of financial loss when they underwrite these business types. In general, these merchants tend to generate high levels of chargebacks, and be more susceptible to fraud, insolvency, and, in some cases, criminal activity.

In addition to the merchant type, the merchant's processing history (ie: high chargebacks, TMF or MATCH listing) can require the services of a High Risk Merchant Account.

Finally, sales volume in itself can be considered a risk factor. In essence because every dollar in sales is potentially a dollar in chargebacks. Fast growing sales volume can require a High Risk Merchant Account.