Best Credit Card Processing for Nutraceutical Companies

According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 80% of Americans use some type of supplement. This percentage has grown in recent years and companies selling supplements have increased as well.

Business owners in this industry often use eCommerce as their primary avenue of sales so having the ability to process credit cards is paramount.

Easy Pay Direct
Offers Load Balancing for high risk industries and has experience working with businesses in the industry.
Domestic accounts have zero early termination fees.
Variable contract terms.
High risk tolerance.
Single point of contact for multiple merchant accounts.
Public pricing is available.

summary

5/5

Best for

E-commerce companies, SaaS companies, "high-risk businesses", & established small/medium businesses ($500,000+ in annual sales)

Specializes in

Easy Pay Direct has unique gateway software and banking solutions to optimize payments for eCommerce, SaaS, information products, supplements, and CBD amongst other verticals.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee:  $99

Monthly Fee: $24.95

Swipe Rate: 1.59% + $0.17

Keyed-in Rate:  2.39% + $0.29

Early Termination Fee: $0 (domestic accounts)

Contract Terms:

1 Year 3 Years
Helcim
Has a sophisticated product and inventory manager for a streamlined operation.
No setup fee.
No early termination fee.
Works with small businesses.
Month to month contract.
Works with merchants in the United States and Canada.

summary

4.8/5

Best for

Small businesses

Specializes in

Online, retail, service industries

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: $20

Swipe Rate: Variable

Keyed-in Rate: Variable

Early Termination Fee: $0

Contract Terms:

Month-to-month
eMerchantBroker
Offers chargeback dispute resolution and prevention programs.
Works with any size high risk business.
No setup fee.
Variable rates depending on the merchant's volume.
Merchants are notified whenever a fraud or chargeback occurs.
Checks are allowed to be accepted from customers.

summary

4/5

Best for

eMerchantBroker is best for any size business that is considered high-risk. It's considered one of the top payment processors for high-risk businesses that would otherwise have difficulty finding a standard merchant account provider. 

Specializes in

eMerchantBroker specializes in credit repair, collections agencies, adult websites, travel and timeshare, firearms and guns, bankruptcy and bad credit, online and in-person smoke shops. They also work with electronic cigarettes and other companies that fit into the high-risk merchant account category.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: Undisclosed

Swipe Rate: 3.00% + $0.15

Keyed-in Rate: 4.00% + $0.25

Early Termination Fee: Up to $595

Contract Terms:

1 Year 3 Years

Why Do I Need Credit Card Processing for Nutraceutical Sales?

Credit and debit payments continue to be the most popular forms of payment in the United States. If you want to capture the most customers, you need to work with a payment processor to be able to accept these forms of payment.

Working with a credit card processor can give your business the ability to accept:

  • Major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover
  • ACH payments and eChecks
  • Gift card and loyalty programs
  • Contactless and digital wallet payments

The nutraceutical industry is often considered a high risk industry in the eyes of payment processors so some of the most popular processors may not be willing to work with your business.

Fortunately, there are a wide variety of processors available that work with nutraceutical companies and help them mitigate their risk.

Why is the Nutraceutical Industry Considered High Risk?

Each credit card processing company has different criteria for what determines whether a business is a high risk.

Such factors might include:

  • A high percentage of chargebacks
  • Exclusively online business
  • Businesses with poor credit history
  • Type of industry

Nutraceuticals are largely unregulated by the Federal government in the United States. As a result, companies can make claims about products that are unsubstantiated and may open a company up to lawsuits.

If a supplement or vitamin does not do what the customer expects it to do, they may request a refund, resulting in possible charge disputes.

The tendency for this industry to have higher chargeback rates combined with the risk of possible litigation often makes these businesses qualify as high risk.

To mitigate their risks, a payment processor may charge different rates to high risk accounts. They may also have special policies or programs that they apply to high risk businesses.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Credit Card Processor

Since there are many payment processors to choose from, it can feel overwhelming to decide on which provider to use.

By considering these factors, you can feel confident that you are choosing a credit card processor that will meet your needs while also providing your business with a good value.

Rates and Fees

As previously mentioned, if a business is considered high risk, they will be paying higher costs for payment processing compared to other businesses.

There are numerous pricing models and each processor may have different rates and fees. Some of the more common fees you will want to be aware of for comparison are:

  • Chargeback fees: If a customer initiates a dispute with their card company and the transaction gets reversed, it is considered a chargeback. This fee is typically assessed per incidence and can be substantial. Some processors may also assess additional fees if a threshold of chargebacks is met during a period
  • Monthly service fees: These fees are charged once a month, and are common, especially for high risk businesses. They can vary widely between processors.
  • Cancellation/termination fees: If you are not satisfied with your processor, you will want the ability to change. With high risk processing though, agreements tend to be longer-term so you will want to know what it will cost if you need to make a switch.

It is important to understand that card networks set what are known as interchange fees and payment processors have no control over them.

Interchange fees vary by card network and can be different for various types of transactions such as card-present versus card-not-present. No matter which processor you choose, your interchange fees will be the same.

The most critical rates to compare are the transaction rates. These are set by the card processors and will differ between companies. These are usually percentages applied to each transaction with a small flat fee added as well.

A small percentage rate can add up in the long term so be sure to consider all costs that will go into your true costs of processing.

eCommerce Options

If you have not already established your nutraceutical business in the digital marketplace, you may want to choose a processor that offers tools to effectively sell online.

Many card processors offer software and applications that can help your business beyond just the ability to process payments. For example, they can provide platforms so you can manage your inventory, run sales reports and even create customer accounts.

Giving you more capabilities to manage your business is an added value built into the cost of card processing.

Giving your customers the ability to create their accounts can be valuable as it will give them the ability to review past purchases or even set up recurring orders.

Since supplements are products that are consumed regularly, many customers may take advantage of auto-ship features so they are never without their favorite products.

Even if you already have an online store established, you may find the processor has a superior option and you can migrate to their platform. Most processors will give you the ability to demo the software so you can test it out before making a switch.

Security

The threat of cybercrime continues to increase, especially as more and more transactions happen online. You will want to choose a payment processor that can offer layered security measures to protect your data.

Every year, the Payment Card Industry Security Council updates their standards for best practices. These standards are intended to secure transactions in the payment processing industry.

Businesses and payment processors are expected to follow these standards or could be subject to additional fees.

Choose a payment processor that is familiar with these standards and has implemented them. The term to describe this is PCI Compliant.

Some examples of measures a processor needs to take to be compliant are:

  • Maintaining a secure network
  • Encrypting cardholder data
  • Having an internal security policy for employees and contractors

More information about PCI Compliance can be found here.

Additional Tips and Considerations

Hardware

Though many nutraceutical businesses exist solely online, if you have a brick and mortar store, you will need to consider what hardware you will need to process payments.

There are several configurations available to business owners. You may opt to purchase or lease a card reader terminal so your customers can swipe their cards for in-person transactions.

Processing cards this way yields lower processing costs as transactions where the physical card is present are considered lower risk.

Swiping or ‘dipping’ a chip into a card reader is also much faster than manually keying in card information. This will save your staff time.

If you have an extensive inventory, you may consider adding a barcode scanner to your system to bring up product information quickly during purchases.

Processors offer credit card point of sale devices that resemble more traditional registers and come with a secure cash drawer.

Obviously, added features come with added costs so you need to consider what pieces of equipment you would like to have versus what is essential.

Customer Service

Any time a business implements a new system or practice, there is a learning curve.

Ask your processor the anticipated amount of time needed to get your system set up and running. If you or your staff will need training, ask what resources are available and how long you can expect to dedicate to the process.

If your business experiences an issue after the initial implementation, you will want to have easy access to support. Choose a payment processor that offers live support when you will need it.

Some card processors offer 24/7 live support, while others may only be available during traditional business hours.

Also, consider how the service is reachable. Some companies may offer a telephone number or email for help, while others offer live chat modules on the web.

This isn’t always something business owners consider when choosing a payment processor but when you encounter a problem, time is of the essence when resolving it.

Experience is Key

Since nutraceutical businesses are typically high risk, you want to choose a payment processor that has experience working with businesses of this nature.

Easy Pay Direct offers something called Load Balancing. This is a patent pending system where your business maintains multiple card processing accounts.

This helps the card processor mitigate their risk by spreading out your transactions across multiple accounts. In this way, no single account takes on too much risk.

eMerchant Broker offers programs that are specifically geared toward assisting your business through chargeback disputes. Working with a processor that has experience in mitigating the risk of these chargebacks will save your business time and money.

Helcim offers a powerful eCommerce platform with Card Vault technology to securely store your customer’s information. They also provide the added feature of a customer relationship manager (CRM) so you can get the most out of managing your customers.

Choosing a processor that is experienced gives you the advantage of having a partner you can trust to help you make the best choices in payment processing for your business.

Reputation is Everything

A payment processor can offer the best features and rates, yet after working with one you find out their employees are rude or they are disorganized.

Choosing a card processor that has a proven reputation in the industry will help you avoid any surprises. It is best to do a quick search for reviews of companies to see if there are any red flags that pop up.

You can also do a search with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any current or past complaints against the processor. The BBB can also shed light on how long the card processor has been in business.

Working with a recently formed company may be riskier than one who has an established business. Taking a few minutes to do this extra legwork can help you avoid choosing a processor that has a poor track record.

Final Thoughts

The nutraceutical industry continues to grow and online retailers are on the rise. Since these businesses are often considered high risk, you will likely not be able to establish payment processing with the most popular processors.

There are several reputable and experienced processors to choose from.

We advise carefully reviewing all rates and fees associated with card processing. Processors should be transparent with charges so you know what to expect.

If you sell via eCommerce or plan to, consider what value-added features each processor has to offer.

Security should always be a top priority so be sure to choose a processor that is PCI compliant and will help you maintain compliance.

If you have a physical storefront, you will likely need additional hardware like a card reader, barcode scanner, or cash drawer. Identify what equipment you need before you start your search.

Finally, choose a processor that offers timely customer service support when you will need it, has experience in the space, and has a positive reputation in the industry.

Once you have identified a card processor that meets your business needs and provides services that enhance your business, you hopefully will be establishing a lasting partnership.

Taking the time to make the right choice initially will save you the time and hassle of having to switch payment processors in the future.

Consider taking a look at our top recommendations for the best credit card processors for nutraceuticals:

eMerchant Broker

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