Proper management of a merchant account is particularly important for high risk merchants.  The merchant account is the lifeblood of a high risk business.  Paying attention and carefully monitoring your merchant account will assure the long term success of your business. 
Here are some handy tips to keep your merchant account operating smoothly.

Communication.  Make it easy for customers to contact you.  Check with the merchant account provider to confirm that the correct customer service number for your business is listed on the consumer’s credit card statements.  Promptly respond to telephone calls and emails.

Ongoing Customer Contact.  Communicate with your customers.  Keep customers updated on the status of orders.  Email customers to advise when an order has shipped and provide a tracking number for the order.   If a product is on back order, communicate regularly with the customer and provide the opportunity to cancel the order.

Extraordinary Customer Service.  Immediately resolve any customer disputes when a customer contacts you.  If a customer requests a refund, issue it immediately.  Try to resolve the issue in the customer’s favor as often as possible.   Some merchants insist they are not going to issue a refund if a consumer isn’t “right”.  But, it is often wiser to issue a refund instead of taking the risk that the customer will initiate a chargeback through the bank.  Even if a merchant wins a chargeback, the chargeback still remains on the merchant statement and can be factored into the chargeback percentages if the acquiring bank reviews the account or if the merchant applies for another account. 

Fast Response.  Respond immediately to requests from the bank regarding customer disputes.  Consumers will often call the issuing bank to dispute a charge rather than calling the merchant.  The merchant will then be contacted and asked for information and documentation on the sale.  Answer all requests promptly and provide supporting documentation

Account Monitoring.  Closely watch the high risk merchant account for suspicious activity.  Beware of any transactions that could be fraudulent.  Manually review suspicious orders and call the buyer for more information before shipping. 

Use Fraud Protection.  Learn how to use the automated fraud protection that is a standard part of any high risk merchant account gateway.  Block transactions from countries that are notorious for high levels of fraud.  Set velocity controls on the gateway to screen out potential fraud.  Validate each credit card transaction against a standard criteria including place of origin of the order, size of the order, referring URL and other factors customizable within the gateway software.

Comply with the Merchant Agreement.  Read the terms and conditions of the merchant agreement.  Know what your processing limits are, if any, and the anticipated ticket size of an average order.   If you are going to have any material changes on the account, contact your merchant account provider in advance.  For example, a merchant may run an advertising campaign that will drive more volume than normal.  Banks hate surprises but are often willing to work with merchants if they know in advance the reason for changes in the account. 

Guard Against Chargebacks.  Keep a close watch on chargebacks.  Excessive chargebacks are the primary reason for account termination.  To help avoid chargebacks:

• Do not complete a transaction if the authentication request was declined.
• On the website, clearly disclose all merchant policies including merchandise returns, refunds or cancellation.
• Settle transactions and close batches daily.
• For high ticket items, require a signature upon delivery, including proof of identification from the customer. 
• For recurring transactions, cancel the order immediately upon customer request. There will be a certain percentage of cards that do not go through each month because consumers sometimes change credit cards.  Contact these customers and obtain a current credit card number and reauthorize recurring billing on the new card.

Fast Risk Free Info