Are you on the TMF Member Alert to Control High Risk List?

Posted on April 14, 2019 by admin

Has your name been added to the TMF (Terminated Merchant File)?

TMF was the default term everyone used at one point, but now that term has been replaced with MATCH. File and List also have the same meaning.

Do you know how to get off the MATCH (Member Alert to Control High Risk List)?

There are many merchants who find themselves on this list from time to time so don’t feel too bad. The majority of merchants that are on the list are not even aware that they are on the Terminated File / MATCH List until they try to submit an application for a new account only to find out they are declined.

Still asking what MATCH is?

A system that was created and managed by MasterCard, their database houses important information on businesses and the business owners whose credit card processing privileges have been terminated.

It is used by banks (merchant processing banks) to screen for prospective applicants. It verifies if an applicant has been terminated in the past. Banks also posses the ability to add or remove a merchant from the MATCH database, if they have just cause.

The biggest problem with MATCH is there is no accuracy to the information that is being reported.

Should Merchants Get MATCH?

There are many reasons a merchant gets added to the MATCH list and the reasons can vary from too many charge backs, to fraudulent activity.

How long will I be on this MATCH list?

MasterCard (section 11.2.6), 5-years

Can I get off the list?

This is where you will enter the realm of on hold music, the void of transfers, sit back and enter this threshold with patience, your speaker phone, comfy chair, TV remote, and favorite beverage.

Call the previous provider.
Find out the explanation and reason code for why you are on the list and what you need to do to get off this list.
If the termination is a result of too many charge backs this can be corrected with time. (If there are no further charge backs from the merchants former customers).
If you were placed on the list in error. You have to work with the bank that put you on the list in order for you to get your business name removed and the file details changed. (There has to be an investigation) If the acquirer finds out you were placed on the list in error they are obligated to remove you immediately.
Once you have gone through these steps and you are still on the list, then it is time for you to seek legal counsel and get ready for a possible arbitration hearing.

Still wondering if you can get a Merchant Account?

Should I accept checks on my website?

Posted on September 27, 2019 by admin

The question should be; do I need to accept checks on my website? First and foremost, you need to understand the customers that you are dealing with. Once that question is answered, then you will know what to do.

For the sake of this example, let’s assume that you want to give your customers the best experience ever, as well as many options for their buying power. Give them the option of a credit card payment and a check paying button. You now have released good buying power to them.

Most really are

While most of us weren’t looking, levels of merchant accounts were created. In this list of businesses, a lot of our day to day services have fallen into the high risk merchant account arena, if only because of their high volume of use, and good chargeback usage. That being said, the next time you buy a movie ticket or go on a trip, know that that account is under a high risk merchant account, as well as your pharmacy and the booking agent at the travel agency. This could also include your merchant account for this website, so don’t be alarmed.

ACH

Automated Clearing House is the system set up for accepting checks on your website. Some merchant accounts offer the service and you can get a bundle set up with your debit/credit card servicing. Others do not and you will need to shop around.

Begin with your banking institution, if nothing more than to feel a bit secure while you are getting yourself set up. If this is something you have never looked into, make sure you do your research before you dive right in. The more information you have, the less likely someone will take advantage of you, and the stronger possibility that you can find the best deal that fits your budget.

Offering options

Not all consumers have a credit card. Some are in transition between cards and appreciate the option of paying a bill with a check. Others will never have a debit/credit card and like the option of a check. Some will never have either, and their money order will arrive in the mail.

The point being, the more options you give a consumer, the more shopping they will do with you and the more advertising they will do. If their experience was pleasant and they enjoyed all the options given to them, the more likely they will spread the word. With social media being what it is, your business just jumped from slow and murky, to rock star and flying!

It never fails

So, when you are setting up your website and you come upon the option to have a check payment system, click it. It gives more options to your customers and it allows them the choice. Over all, people like choices and they enjoy having the option to choose for themselves. So, take the extra step and join thousands of others that give options to consumers. As long as it fits into your budget and it helps you in the long run.

What is an offshore merchant account?

Posted on July 9, 2019 by admin

Offshore merchant accounts are online trading accounts established in a non-resident country, allowing merchants to accept payments for completed transactions via credit cards. The difference between an offshore merchant account and a domestic merchant account is simply the issuing bank’s country of origin. A domestic merchant account involves an acquiring bank that carries out its operations and resides in the same country with the merchant whereas an International merchant account involves the services of credit card providers who base their operations abroad and do not reside in the same country as the merchant.

Offshore merchant accounts are gaining popularity among merchants because of the simple reason that it’s easier to open an International merchant account especially if a merchant’s business falls under the high risk category. Local credit card issuing banks put a lot of restrictions and require loads of documentation during the application process. Local credit card providers usually shy away from high volume sales oriented businesses. For businesses that have projections of steadily increasing their sales, then an offshore account would be the best option. Merchants operating offshore accounts have the possibility and opportunity of having multiple and high sales volume transactions without any restrictions. There is also the possibility of reducing a merchant’s tax liability with an international merchant account.

Users of International merchant accounts enjoy unparalleled non-disclosure services. These accounts are known to operate discreetly in regards to their customer’s information and transactions. Users do not face any restrictions in regards to funds transfer. Offshore accounts provide merchants with various benefits that include multi-currency transactions, no restrictions on the number of transactions and high level security measures to protect the account holders from fraud, all these benefits while presenting customers with the opportunity to settle transactions using different currencies. Merchants who operate offshore accounts have the advantage of accepting payments from multiple currencies. This makes any business open its doors to a wider pool of customers and increased sales by offering various payment options.

Merchants seeking offshore accounts are not necessarily all high risk, but certainly most of these applications are those that the credit card industry has categorized as high risk. This is due to the simple reason that offshore providers are a little bit more lenient when approving and providing merchant account services to various business types. While these international providers of merchant accounts are known to offer their services to virtually any type of business, they mitigate and cover themselves from obvious risks associated with providing merchant account services to these businesses by charging a lot more than domestic merchant account providers.

There is a whole world out there of international account providers; it’s from such a wide choice of merchant providers that a business finds a provider who is best suited for them. There are companies like eMerchantBroker that help online businesses find offshore account providers best suited for their business.

Why PCI is important and how much you should pay – discuss PCI compliance fees and what they do

Posted on July 3, 2019 by admin

Payment Card Industry (PCI) are requirements meant to guarantee that firms which are in the business of either processing, storing and transmitting information relating to credit cards, run their operations securely. The PCI come into existence for the sole purpose of managing developments in the credit card industry, with emphasis being put on securing the transaction process.

Regardless of the organization’s size, its compliance to Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements is of the outmost importance. Any business entity that accepts credit cards be it offline or online is bound to carry its operations within the stated guidelines of the PCI. By accepting credit cards a business places great responsibility to handle and transmit a customer’s credit card information safely and securely.

Compliance to PCI has various advantages while failure by businesses to comply with the laid down guidelines has some serious negative outcomes. For those firms that comply with PCI, they can guarantee their customers a safe environment from which to conduct transactions from. It’s this guarantee that provides your establishment with the much needed trust and loyalty likely to result in repeat customers. Once a business settles the initial PCI compliance fee, then the compliance journey begins. The result of this process is prevention of security breaches leading to data theft.

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) came up with the Data Security Standard (DSS) for purposes of assisting merchants that protect their customer’s data. As a credit card processing participant, it’s the merchant’s responsibility to protect a customer’s card information and ensure their business is complaint with PCI DSS. Failure on the business’ part to comply may result in restrictions, audit costs or costly fines

PCI DSS compliant costs are dependent on such factors as the type of business, an organization’s IT infrastructure, total number of transactions conducted annually, existing card processing and storage practices of a business. Level one merchants go through an onsite audit, whereas level 2,3 and 4 are required to submit a self assessment questionnaire while signing up for quarterly scans to access their vulnerabilities. With estimates varying in applicable fees, lowest PCI fees for such scans amount to about $150 annually per IP address.

Other PCI compliance fees could include hardware and software upgrades especially if the customer’s information is stored in-house. There are other alternative avenues such as tokenization, which store data remotely. Some of the lowest PCI fees are associated with such avenues because they usually charge on a per transaction basis as opposed to having an upfront payment procedure.

The payment brand providers such as American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover have been known to impose fines on either merchants or even banks on their failure to be PCI compliant. With some organizations being fined as much as $100,000 monthly while some merchants might end up parting with some of the lowest PCI fees or fines due to PCI standards violations

Failure to comply with the PCI Standards could make a merchant lose their ability to collect credit card payments, be on the receiving end of a class action law suit with the possibility of facing heavy fines. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard is a result of a joint initiative by American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover to curtail the growth of credit card theft.

Is online gambling legal in the United States? – Recent changes in legislation and many new states now allowing online gaming

Posted on July 2, 2019 by admin

With advancements in technology and a shift in federal state regulations, there is a steady and growing move towards legalizing online gaming in the United States. There are currently three states; New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware that have already passed regulations allowing or legalizing online gambling within their states. It’s only last month that both governors of Nevada and New Jersey signed into law regulation allowing for online gambling within their states. While Delaware which had already legalized gambling online last summer is soliciting bids from firms interested in running its overseeing online gambling service.

With many states searching for new revenue streams, there is a likelihood of similar proposals being passed by other numerous states to legalize online gambling. Such states include California where a proposed bill has been introduced by state Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood seeking to legalize all online gambling within the state. While another proposed bill by state Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana seeks to legalize only online poker.

The push towards legalizing gambling online is not restricted to states facing dwindling cash revenues. Silicon Valley technology firms and casinos operators have also joined in on legalizing online gambling. With such companies like Zynga preparing to offer online gambling services in Nevada. Supporters to the legalization of online gambling state that, there are online gambling consumers who already have offshore online gaming merchant accounts and that by legalizing gambling online companies within the United States stand to benefit and states get to regulate the gambling and collect tax from it.

This push towards online gambling is not without objections. Addiction experts and consumer advocates warn of serious outcomes such as rising income inequality and increased problem gambling. All this will have been brought about by the online gambling industry targeting vulnerable consumers. Up until the revised interpretation of the Federal Wire Act by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2011, the general overview about online gambling by the political class was its ban. Until its revision the Act was designed to deal with organized crime, but upon the Acts revision the Justice Department decided that the ban was only applicable for sports betting and thereafter lifting all restrictions imposed on gambling online and subsequently for U.S citizens to operate online gaming merchant accounts.

The change in legislation makes it possible to individual states to legalize online gambling. There is also a possibility that this legislation could allow residents within a state, that has yet to pass any bill legalizing online gambling to gamble on websites hosted by those states which have approved such bills provided there exists an authoring agreement between the states involved. Online gambling is still in its initial stage, with only three states having authorized it so far and among those offering legalizing online gambling placing restrictions like such states as Nevada only legalizing online poker. With legislation having been passed in only a few states, the practice is still yet to fully grow into its potential.

The opinion of most industry experts is that online gaming merchant accounts could hold billions of dollars, because internet based gambling is by itself a multibillion dollar industry. Perhaps something to think about when many ponder about ways to bring additional revenue into their states.

TMF Merchant Approved Quickly & Easily

Posted on October 28, 2019 by admin

Has your business been terminated by a previous merchant services company? Is your name on the TMF list from a previous business and now you’re trying to start over with a new company? The TMF list or MATCH list can be a death sentence for many business owners. Accepting Visa, MasterCard and other forms of electronic payments is vital to the operations of most companies today.

Get a TMF merchant account from The High Risk Guys!

You may have had a chargeback that you were fighting, or you may have had a financial hardship that made it impossible to pay your dues and assessments or chargeback fees. Whatever the reason, we are here to help. Our experienced merchant advisers can help get your business accepting payments in 48-72 hours.

>> Low Rates & Fees
>> $99 Account Set Up Fee (Charged AFTER approval)
>> Domestic and Offshore options available

If you need to accept credit cards, and you think you may be on the TMF list, contact us so we can explain what options you have available and how your business can start accepting electronic payments again. The High Risk Guys can save you time, money and headaches. Contact us today.

Tag Archives: TMF Merchant Account