When it comes to moving and transportation, retail location is less important than flexibility. Enable customers to find your business and pay online with a merchant account for your moving and transportation company. Setting up an online payment gateway though may not be as easy as setting up a website.
By moving goods and people in 2014, transportation directly created $692 billion in economic activity, according to the U.S. Department of Transportations’ Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Through the use of private motor vehicles, households contributed an additional $309.9 billion.
Households and the wholesale and retail industries rely heavily on moving and transportation services, as do every other industry, including the medical, hospitality, education, and the professional and business service sectors. Despite transportation being an integral part of the economy, banks find their businesses too risky. The history and background of this industry and its large volumes of chargebacks, which are when a credit card provider demands a business refund the loss on a disputed or fraudulent transaction, make it difficult for them to process credit card payments.
A responsible, legitimate company that wants to process payments efficiently and effectively must turn to eMerchantBroker.com (EMB), a credit card processor, to obtain a moving and transportation company merchant account.
Fill out EMB’s online application today and get approved for a merchant account within 24 and 48 hours. EMB also offers chargeback management tools, PCI-compliant payment gateways, and fraud filters. To succeed, moving and transportation company merchants must be able to accept and process credit card transactions. Begin the application process today.
Types of Moving and Transportation Companies
The moving and transportation industry includes establishments that operate merchandise warehousing and storage facilities, handle local and long-distance trucking of household, institutional, and commercial furniture, equipment and goods, and provide general moving services. To keep up with the need for services, moving and transportation companies need to have access to secure payment processing solutions via merchant accounts.
Get a merchant account from EMB for these types of businesses:
- Furniture movers
- Household and office goods movers
- Local couriers
- Local and long-distance truckers
- Merchandise warehouses
- Motor freight carriers
- Storage facilities
- Self-storage rentals
- Refrigerated warehousing
Businesses that don’t see the services they offer listed here and need help processing credit card payments, should fill out EMB’s online application today. Since high-risk merchants are EMB’s specialty, the firm works diligently to help bricks-and-mortar and online businesses of all sizes to succeed by offering personalized payment solutions. Start the process by applying for a moving and transportation company merchant account now.
Moving and transportation company merchant account application requisites
An online or retail business can apply online for a moving and transportation company merchant account today. To start, merchants must fill out EMB’s quick online application. In addition to the application, merchants will need to submit the following items to processors and underwriters:
- A valid, government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license
- A bank letter or a pre-printed voided check
- 3 months of the most recent bank statements
- 3 months of the most recent processing statements, if applicable
- A SSN (Social Security Number) or EIN (Employer Identification Number)
- Chargeback ratios must be under 2%
Also, all online merchants must maintain secure, fully-operational websites.
EMB cannot guarantee any approvals. However, the team at EMB does promise a simple, fast application process. Apply today and get approved in as little as 24 hours.
Underwriter’s review: ensuring risks don’t outweigh rewards
One of the important roles of an underwriter is to ensure moving and transportation businesses are operating as law-abiding, reputable businesses. During reviews, underwriters look for any questionable practices that could financially hurt credit card processors. Underwriters want to know that merchants have solid business models so credit card transaction disputes will remain low and few or no financial or credit problems.
Underwriters determine risk by looking at merchants’ credit scores, credit card processing history, bank statements, and websites. If a business was shut down by another processor in the past, that makes a merchant a greater risk. Bank accounts with negative balances, excessive chargeback ratios, and a history of late or missed payments also add to a merchant’s risk.
Moving and transportation businesses that want to increase their chances of approval should:
- Have some money saved in the bank
- Pay any outstanding bills and debts
- Encourage the business principal with the best credit history to apply for the merchant account
Savvy merchants not only want to get approved for a moving and transportation company merchant account, they want ones that aren’t restricted by caps on higher processing volumes and lower rolling reserves. Handling anything suspicious before it goes before an underwriter is a step in the right direction.
The risk is high and the industry is prone to chargebacks
Chargeback ratios run on the higher side in the moving and transportation industry for several reasons. One is the monetary values they handle. These types of companies often have fewer transactions, but the service purchases are much larger sums. Since one average sale is in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars, one chargeback has a much more dramatic impact than a business that handles thousands of transactions per month for items that cost less than $10.
Typically, the types of payments moving and transportation companies accept are more vulnerable to fraud. Most transactions are handled using credit cards that are taken online or over the phone. The risk for fraud is always higher when a transaction isn’t handled in person.
Finally, in general, businesses that are service based as opposed to retail or e-commerce based are deemed greater risks by credit card processors. Since there is no tangible product, there is much more room for interpretation when a service is being disputed between a merchant and a customer
Additionally, there are many other things that can go from a credit card processor’s view. Moving companies can break, damage, or lose furniture. Trucking companies can get into an accident and destroy its cargo and storage facilities can be burglarized. All of these potential occurrences add to the risk.
Keeping chargeback ratios down
Just because a moving and transportation company is deemed a risky venture doesn’t mean businesses have pack up and give up. By keeping dissatisfied customers to a minimum, a business is already decreases its chances of costly chargebacks.
To keep chargeback ratios below 2%, customer service representatives need to offer full refunds to complaining customers. In the short- and long-run, refunds are cheaper than chargebacks. By avoiding a chargeback, a business is protecting its merchant account. Processors can terminate any merchant account that has a chargeback ratio of 3% or higher. Once an account is shut down, a merchant can expect a longer, uphill journey to get a second one approved.
So, when a customer reaches out with a complaint, whether valid or not – the best approach is to offer a refund. In most cases, this is better than referring to a business’ terms and conditions and other policies or getting customers to understand more about the transaction.
Every email, receipt, and correspondence that a merchant sends out should include a clear contact number, email address, and the exact way a business’ name will be appear on all bills and statements. This is important since many chargebacks is due to customers failing to remember a purchase or recognize a transaction a credit card statement.
Another good way to keep a purchase on a customer’s mind is to send a confirmation email outlining the services that are scheduled and any other helpful documents that may include who to call with changes, complaints, or questions. Being open with communications, shows that businesses are legitimate, responsible, and want to maintain a loyal customer base.
Additionally, accepting payments with mobile credit card readers, which allow people to pay by using their smartphones, is another way to crack down on fraud.
Taking another route to cutting chargebacks
The chargeback mitigation program offered by EMB can reduce a merchant’s chargeback ratio by 25%. offers, are good ways to keep chargeback ratios down. EMB partnered with Verifi and its new Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network (CDRN) and Ethoca’s alert system to develop a program for high-risk merchants, such as moving and transportation companies, to make it easier to fight chargebacks.
Since CDRN works with banks and card issuers, the program allows merchants to achieve the greatest rate of chargeback resolutions while being directly involved in the process. By using a mitigation program that actively pursues chargebacks, companies protect themselves from losing revenue and prevent their moving and transportation company merchant accounts from being shuttered.
Chargebacks move processors in negative directions
When a business has excessive chargebacks, it indicates to processors that a merchant’s business model is inherently flawed. Whether customer dissatisfaction, a lack of customer service, and a lack of mitigation plans lead to chargebacks, it doesn’t matter to processors.
Credit card processors shut down merchants with high chargeback ratios to avoid getting hit with financial penalties. Credit card companies, like MasterCard or Visa, can charge processors with thousands of dollars in fines if they continue to process transactions for a merchant that exceeds a 2% chargeback ratio. Businesses with excessive chargebacks become too expensive for credit card processors, and the result are terminated merchant accounts.
Get a high-volume moving and transportation company merchant account
Every business wants to bring in as many sales as possible each month. However, since many moving and transportation companies are considered higher risk, they are given monthly credit card processing volume caps. Basically, this means merchants are only permitted to handle a limited number of credit card transactions per month. Once that cap is reached, the merchant is essentially shut down for business because they cannot take any more credit cards purchases.
Luckily, this only temporarily ties moving and transportation companies’ hands. Merchants don’t get stuck with these caps forever if the operate successfully. Transportation and moving merchants that need higher volume ceilings can request new caps in as few as three months. Businesses that prove themselves by paying their bills, have low chargeback ratios, and have some cash in the bank can ask a processor to consider raising their caps.
Moving and transportation company merchant accounts categories
The United States and other countries assign four-digit numerical codes, known as Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, to business establishments to identify businesses’ primary purposes.
Whether a merchant is local or long-distance often determines which SIC code moving and transportation company businesses use. In general, they fall under one of these codes:
- 4214: Local Trucking With Storage
- 4213: Trucking, Except Local
- 4212: Local Trucking Without Storage
- 4225: General Warehousing and Storage
- 4226: Special Warehousing and Storage, Not Elsewhere Classified
Visit the United States Department of Labor to view a complete SIC list.
The Northern American Classification System, NAICS, is a list of six-digit codes used by federal statistical agencies to classify business establishments. The codes aim to gather, analyze, and publish statistical information about similar types of businesses and the different ways they impact the U.S. economy.
In general, moving and transportation businesses generally use one of these codes:
- 484210: Used Household and Office Goods Moving
- 493110: General Warehousing and Storage
- 493120: Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
- 493190: Other Warehousing and Storage
- 531130: General Lessors of Mini Warehouses and Self-Storage Units
Visit the United States Census Bureau to view the complete NAICS code list.
Merchant Accounts For Moving Companies & Transportation Services
The risks inherent in the transportation service drive many service providers away. Let eMerchantBroker help your business stick behind the wheel with a transportation-oriented merchant account. We can approve your moving and transportation merchant account in as little as 24-48 hours. Banks have always been slow to provide merchant services to moving companies and transportation businesses due to a number of factors. First and foremost are safety risks and property damage risks.
Apply Today and Let Our Team Find The Perfect Merchant Account for Your Business
- No Application Fees
- Competitive rates
- No VISA/MasterCard Required
- Secure Payment Gateway