Merchant Account for Adult Entertainment Companies
Introduction
Not having the right merchant account or credit/debit card processing service for your adult entertainment business is one of the reasons why startups in the adult entertainment industry fail. The industry of adult entertainment is competitive and with the right features such as payment via credit cards, you can easily attract more customers. Thinking ahead and realizing how a good merchant account can benefit you will promote your business greatly.
Many adult entertainment companies make the same mistake of picking the very first credit processing service that would have them and they end up paying unreasonably high rates for the rest of the time. This is why choosing a good merchant account for your adult entertainment company is important.
Denied by Other Credit Card Processors?
The adult entertainment industry is classified as high risk and you may be able to imagine why, but we'll talk about this later. Despite the fact that adult entertainment can be a profitable business, banks don't take this industry seriously. This is why most banks and credit card processors deem adult entertainment companies as high risk and reject their applications for a merchant account. As a result, these businesses end up signing for any service provider that will offer them a merchant account.
While it might seem like a good decision at the time, the business owners will later realize that they are paying a lot of money in fees and certainly more than other businesses and most of the time, they're also missing out on good features.
While getting rejected by famous credit card processors can be a blow for a startup in the adult entertainment industry, there are special services like this one that deal with high-risk business such as adult entertainment businesses.
Many credit card processing services are willing to work with high-risk industries, offer them affordable rates, and provide them all the services that other companies get.
Risk Analysis of the Adult Entertainment Industry
One of the reasons why banks and underwriters deem adult entertainment companies high risk is that they can be very easily used for scams and identity thefts. Another problem with this industry is the high number of chargebacks, which is something that banks don't like at all. Besides, the issues of piracy and ownership are also common and the fact that not many can survive in an industry such as this is why banks refrain from offering merchant accounts to companies involved in adult entertainment.
Despite all that, adult entertainment companies continue to be competitive. Therefore, if you want to survive in this industry, you can be sure that you'll need a good merchant account that will help your business progress.
Online Merchants
Adult entertainment companies are almost all operating online, and it's not breaking news that most of our purchasing and selling has moved to the internet. It's used for selling almost everything and adult entertainment is also a service that you can avail on the internet.
Whether it's an online dating service or an escort service, online merchants are offering all adult entertainment services. To make sure your audience keeps growing, you need to offer something that not everyone else is offering such as convenience. Having a good merchant makes that very easy.
A merchant account will let your adult entertainment company offer a virtual terminal to the customers so that all transactions involving credit or debit card can take place easily.
Type of Merchant Account Required
Having a merchant account is not a value-added feature anymore and has become more of a necessity. However, not every merchant account offers the same benefits. You can handpick the service you want to work with so that you get the rates and services that you're fully satisfied with.
If you know what you need from a merchant account for your adult entertainment company, you'll be able to find the right merchant account easily.
Many people end up paying high application fees to apply for a merchant account but still get rejected. However, if you're working a high-risk business, it's important to get a service that offers no application fees or setup fees because the chances of getting rejected will be higher. There are some services that demand no application fees, so you can easily apply for free.
Having good customer support is important because after the deed is done and you have made the agreement, all your issues and problems will be dealt with by the customer support department. Make sure the customer support is friendly, efficient and cooperative.
Make sure your business is in safe hands and that people working in the service are capable and effective.
Adult entertainment is an industry with regular customers and that's why this industry needs the feature of recurring billing. This makes accepting payments from clients much easier. You don't have to send a bill every month as the payment will be automatically taken from their account.
This is an industry where members initiate chargebacks all the time, so it's important to get a processor that understands this and doesn't charge you more for chargebacks.
Domestic and Offshore Options
Adult entertainment companies often have to choose between getting a domestic or an offshore account. Having an offshore account may feel like a lucrative choice, but domestic accounts have more benefits.
A domestic account is much more secure and you'll be able to get better rates as well. However, offshore accounts are sometimes the only choice some businesses have. The best merchant account providers often offer the choice of both domestic and offshore to the customers.
Conclusion
Having worked with adult entertainment companies, this service is well aware of the services you need to thrive in the industry. It's a combination of experience and quality performance that makes this service stand out. Rest assured that your business' credit card processing needs will be fulfilled.