Page 24 - GS170602

Views

Inexperienced high-risk brokers may only submit applications to one or two cessor might already have a tainted
banks that they have relationships with and basically see what sticks. This view of that agent's deals before the
would be what I like to call the "pin the tail on the donkey" approach. Once paperwork ever hits the processor's
they get declined, they randomly resubmit elsewhere – costing your merchants desk.
time and money.
Not only is it just as important that
Occasionally, there is only one domestic solution for certain high-risk mer- your high-risk colleague understand
chants, and you only get a single shot to submit it the correct way. Butchering the merchant's business and the flow
the paperwork on a high-risk deal right out of the gate will almost always end of a transaction, but the agent also
in a decline. Processors taking on the risk don't want unsuitable applications must be extremely well-informed
coming in. Not to mention, if you are working with an inefficient agent, a pro- about the different processors'
guidelines and familiar with their
changing habits and preferences. For
example, I know one processor that
will approve an account for guns and
ammunition online within 24 hours.
Yet, if you send that same processor
an application for a time-share busi-
ness, you will get an instant decline.

Choose wisely
Most of us have been in this industry
long enough to know that relation-
ships are paramount. The credit card
processing world is small enough for
waves to travel far, but large enough
for everyone to have a seat at the ta-
ble. Plenty of processors have agents
who typically send them nothing
but trash accounts. I have even seen
agents have their contracts terminat-
ed because they were falsifying in-
formation. Hitching your merchants
to that type of wagon is a dangerous
game.

High-risk is truly a form of risk
management, and you want to find
the most knowledgeable and con-
nected manager out there for your
merchants. In sum: don't believe the
hype; work with someone who is
passionate about current trends and
focused on relationship building in
order to gain a competitive edge.

Brett Husak is a Managing Partner with Deft
Payment Systems who specializes in high-risk
partnerships. Our mission at Deft is simple:
To provide savings and satisfaction. We are a
one-stop solution for all your payment needs,
www.deftpaymentsystems.com. Contact
Brett at 844-549-3338 or brett@deftpay-
mentsystems.com.

24