Believe it or not, things are happening all around you that could affect your business and revenue. You have a high risk credit card merchant account for a reason. Maybe you are engaged in one of the high risk industries like e-cigarettes, adult dating sites, adult toys, credit repair, or one of the myriads of other industries that are considered high risk.
If you have had to go overseas to find a processor you are paying top dollar for the service. It is a good investment of time to know about processes that could keep your chargebacks out of the danger zone. In simple terms, tokenization would help immensely.
Currently, when a customer makes a purchase you run their credit card number and maybe their CVV. The sale is approved. Two months later you get a report that the use of the card was fraudulent and even though the sale had been approved by the issuer, you are charged back for the sale. Not only have you assessed a chargeback fee, but you have also lost the revenue and you have lost the goods or services. In short, you have lost a lot.
The concept behind tokenization is that instead of sending encrypted words and numbers directly to the processor, another step enters the equation. The data is intercepted and a one-time-only token is encrypted. Rather than numbers and letters being transmitted to the processor, a token number is transmitted. That key and that key only can get into the token to get the information. This would be a huge step in stopping the theft of credit and debit card numbers at the source. When a large department store is hacked, the data is stolen as the card is swiped. Breaches are not found for months. Personal information would no longer be stored on the magnetic stripe thus eliminating this potential risk.
Tokenization would put a huge dent in fraudulent charges on credit cards. Many high risk credit card merchant accounts have earned the rating because of a high chargeback rate. Chargebacks would be cut significantly because it would virtually be impossible for a crook to clone a token. They are good for one purchase only and then they are void.
So why isn’t tokenization replacing more magnetic strips? Like any new technology, everyone accepting tokens has to be playing on the same field. There has been no standardization by the Feds at this time nor has there been standardization within the credit card industry. In order to accept tokens from certain issuers, you must have compatible equipment or software. What works for one will not necessarily work for another. But standardization is coming in the near future.
Until this happens there is still a company that specializes in high risk merchant accounts. You do not have to pay the exorbitant rates of overseas processors. There are no application fees and setup fees. Multiple CPI-compliant gateways are offered and many times settlement is in your checking account the next business day. You do not even have to have your own Visa and MasterCard license.
To get approved for high risk credit card processing in 48 hours or less, contact us today!