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Why Are Tech Support Merchant Accounts High Risk

With the technology industry continuing to demonstrate accelerating growth, tech companies are needing more support than ever. However, tech support businesses wishing to accept credit card payments may require assistance from a high-risk merchant processor. This is because the remote nature of tech support comes with several risks.

Since the customer’s credit card is often not physically there at the point of sale, this increases the risk of fraud. In addition, chargebacks are also common due to customer disputes. Lastly, many tech support companies operate in several different countries at a time, increasing the complexity of financial transactions. 

Why is Tech Support a High-Risk Industry? 

Some payment processors may not be willing to work with tech support merchants due to their level of increased risk:

  • Card-absent transactions carry higher levels of risk compared to card-present transactions conducted in person, such as retail stores. Because of this, eCommerce merchants are often viewed as high risk
  • Malicious parties can pretend to be tech support businesses in order to steal personal information from unsuspecting customers
  • Chargeback rates for tech support businesses tend to be higher than average  due to dissatisfied or untrusting customers
  • Transactions from tech support companies that operate overseas can carry greater risk for some payment processors 

Applying for a Tech Support Merchant Account 

Although it may be more difficult to gain approval for a high-risk merchant account, it is not impossible for tech support merchants. 

During the application process, they keep an eye out for any red flags that can indicate risk. This includes merchant credit scores, processing history, and website security. Tech support merchants looking to gain approval should take care of any late payments and unpaid bills in order to gain access to a higher transaction limit or a lower rolling reserve. 

Learn more about which country is best for high-risk merchants at Processing Card. 

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