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Are You in Need of Web Design, Web Hosting or SEO Merchant Account Solutions?

Web design and SEO related marketing businesses are categorized as risk companies in the credit card processing market. In fact, being considered high risk applies to any business using one or more of these characteristics:

  • A Higher Likelihood or History of Chargebacks.
  • Irregular and Very High-Ticket Sales.
  • Your Business is in a Market that US Host Banks and Processors are Reluctant to Support.
  • A Highly Regulated Industry.
  • An Industry That is Highly Scrutinized.
  • An Industry with Long-term Processing between Billing and Delivery of the Service or Goods.
  • An Industry that is Based upon Recurring Billing, or Memberships.

Being high risk also relates specifically to web development, Web Hosting, SEO and SEM businesses, largely in part because they typically have big ticket transactions, these companies usually have a higher delay time between billing and the delivery of service than other industries, and as a general rule, most US sponsor banks (especially larger institutions) are reluctant to underwrite these businesses.

So what does this mean for you and your business? It means that you’ll need a high-risk merchant account. Double Helix Processing specializes in working with high risk merchants like your company, and we have multiple acquiring banking partners that offer web design, web hosting and SEO merchant accounts.

Why Does this Matter and How Can Double Helix Processing Help?

While any business involved in web design, web hosting, SEO, and marketing is an appropriate industry (vertical) for a high-risk merchant account, startup and existing companies in the following sub-industries are some common clients in this field:

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Website Design
  • Template Design
  • Web Hosting
  • Internet Development
  • Software Development
  • Mobile & Desktop App Development

The Bank will have underwriter’s, whose job in the high-risk sector, assess and minimize the risk from the credit card processor’s point of view. That especially means studying the regulatory threat or unsecured chargeback threat of a specific small business.

Unlike a low risk processor, a high-risk credit card processor for web design, web hosting and SEO merchant accounts will need to understand that some number of chargebacks are inevitable. What banks fear is that those chargebacks are ones that the merchant cannot pay back on their own, thus holding the credit card processor accountable.

What does this mean for your business? The best course of action would be to choose a credit card processing provider, like Double Helix Processing, that understands the complexity and needs of your business.

An underwriter reviewing an application for a web design, web hosting and SEO merchant account or any business related to search engine optimization, internet marketing, web hosting, design or web development firm, want to be certain that there is a fully developed business model (in the case of a startup business) with clear pricing, products, return policies, cancellation policy, etc. or for existing businesses to have a very clear track-record of success. Additionally, they will be looking at bank statements to determine if there are high chargebacks and that there is a regular positive balance in the checking account (so that chargebacks or returns will be paid).

How Does Being High Risk Affect Your Web Design or SEO Merchant Account?

Web Design, Web Development, Web Hosting, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and other email or web advertising services have increasingly become a critical component to business marketing. These services are supplied by SEO / SEM / Email and internet marketing companies that offer invaluable services by attracting new business to new clients to help grow and sustain their businesses.

While there is an entire rapidly growing industry of businesses that are successfully doing web design and SEO, unfortunately, there are also some less-honorable businesses in that space. These less reputable companies have regularly failed to deliver promised services or engaged in a fair amount of fraud, and consequently, the whole sector finds it difficult to obtain reliable and affordable credit card processing solutions since many sponsor banks refuse to underwrite these companies entirely as a result.

Because the increased concern of potential fraud, the banks that decide to approve or decline to underwrite web design, web hosting, SEO, and marketing companies, these businesses often have their merchant accounts closed down by their credit card processors at the first sign of trouble with chargebacks or issues with recurring billing models.

Luckily, Double Helix Processing is one of the very few providers of reliable US and offshore merchant accounts for web design, web hosting, marketing, SEOs, SEMs, and other web related companies.

Why Should You Choose Double Helix Processing?

We understand the unique needs of the different Web Design, Web Hosting and Marketing related business types and have established numerous acquiring banking relationships to become your best resource in getting Web Design, Web Hosting and Marketing merchant accounts set up and accepting online payments. Our expertise is your ticket to getting the stable processing you need to further your business.