The average ‘law abiding’ citizen has never had to deal with a bail bondsman and has no idea what kind of valuable service he provides those who have been arrested or charged with a crime. As long as there is the choice of posting bail or being incarcerated for a length of time, a bail bondsman can be the only hope for a person who wants out of holding as quickly as possible If a person has been charged with a crime – although every US citizen is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law – the bail may be set at $5,000. Not very many people have this kind of cash. A bondsman will charge 10% of the bail – in this case $500 – and guarantee the person under arrest will appear for his date in court. The individual will pay the $500 directly to the bail bondsman. This is why those in the bail bond business need a secured, high-risk bail bonds merchant account.
Why is this industry considered high risk? The largest percentage of people seeking a bail bond are high risk individuals. From muggings to robberies to DUIs, many of these people have proven to be untrustworthy. Some reports say that as many as 50% of the people in certain states do not show up for court appearances leaving the bondsman holding the bag.
Then again there are unsavory characters who will charge their bail – in our example $500. The credit card may be stolen or borrowed. On some occasions when the owner receives their statement they will call and say someone used their card fraudulently. Others will call their credit card companies and cancel the sale right away.
Even though some may think the deck is stacked against them, a bail bond business can be quite viable. However, conservative banks and credit card processors will not even begin to approve a bail bonds merchant account. If by some chance the business does find a processor, the cost for the bail bonds merchant account will be astronomical.
There is a credit card processor that not only specializes in high risk accounts, but opens bail bonds merchant accounts on a daily basis. As long as the bondsman keeps the chargeback/dispute rate under 3%, the business can enjoy all the benefits that a non-high-risk account holder can. There are no set-up fees and the account could be approved within 72 hours.
What will impress the bail bondsman more than anything else is that his cash could be in his back account the next business day. Also, he is not required to have his own Visa and MasterCard registration. The fees are reasonable and all gateways and processing are CPI compliant.
Get approved for a bail bond merchant account in less than 72 hours!