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:
summary
4/5
Best for
High-Risk Merchants
Specializes in
High Risk
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: None
Monthly Fee: None
Swipe Rate: Unknown
Keyed-in Rate: Unknown
Early Termination Fee: Unknown
Contract Terms:
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:
Almost all sales an independent business owner for an MLM makes will be done online. That means their customers will be using credit cards, debit cards, and other forms of electronic payments when they place orders.
MLM payment processing allows these companies to accept these payments safely and securely.
But payment processing is just one part of the equation. Multi-level marketing companies will need to partner with a company that offers merchant services in order to accept payments for their products.
The term merchant services encompasses two aspects of payment processing - the merchant account and the actual credit card processing.
A merchant account is similar to a bank account, but its functionality is different. It works more like a holding tank for funds after a payment has been processed.
Once a payment is deposited into the merchant account, any transaction fees or other charges are removed from it. From there, it is sent to the business bank account.
Credit card processing is the service that moves money through the pipeline by first getting payment authorization, then depositing funds into the merchant account.
Without merchant services, MLMs would not be able to accept any form of payment other than cash. Considering most transactions are completed online, that is not a viable solution.
MLMs have a few different options available to them for accepting payments.
A payment gateway is an absolute must for MLMs. This is the software that integrates with the website’s shopping cart. Customers encounter payment gateways all the time when they purchase goods online.
Your payment gateway should be seamlessly integrated to allow for a smooth checkout experience. The credit card processor will take care of everything behind the scenes, including authorizing payments and ensuring you receive funds in your business account.
While MLMs might not need mobile card readers, it’s a good idea for their independent business owners to have them.
A mobile card reader will allow your IBOs to accept payments in-person, no matter where they sell their products. They are the perfect solution for selling at trade shows, community fairs, and other events.
Mobile card readers are convenient and they function like mini POS systems.
Will your MLM accept orders over the phone? If so, investing in a virtual terminal is wise.
Your customer service team can be trained to process payments using a virtual terminal, which is just a website used for that purpose. It works with any device that has an internet connection.
You will most likely have a lot of orders come through over the phone. You may even have customers that want to order using your MLM’s chat feature, if you have one.
Being able to process payments for these types of orders is critical, and it is something that can set you apart from your competition.
Any MLM is known as a high risk business in the payment processing industry. A lot of payment aggregators - such as Stripe, Square, and PayPal - don’t work with high risk companies.
But some do, and they can be an attractive option to consider.
MLMs are known for excessive chargebacks, which means that customers are often likely to dispute charges and get their money back.
When this happens with a payment aggregator, businesses run the risk of getting their accounts frozen. They could lose the ability to process payments and not have access to their money for months at a time.
With a merchant account, the likelihood of something like that happening is much smaller, so it’s a safer solution.
Alternatively, there may be a way for some MLMs to partner with payment aggregators like PayPal, but that should only be one solution, not something the entire business model is dependent upon.
It’s understandable that you would want to get started with accepting payments as soon as possible. But before you make a decision, please know that not all processors are the same.
There are many questions you should ask before you sign a contract with any company.
As an MLM, it is possible for you to expand your business into other countries’ markets, even if you start out in the United States.
If that is something you want to do, accepting multiple currencies should be a requirement.
Some credit card processing companies offer this type of service, but not all of them do. Even if it is not something you’re considering implementing right now, it’s wise to work with a company that will offer you that option when you’re ready.
As we mentioned earlier, the MLM industry is at risk for excessive chargebacks just because of the way most businesses are set up. Getting too many in a short period of time could quickly land your company on the MATCH list, which would mean that you could no longer accept credit card payments.
Load balancing offers you a level of protection because instead of just depositing your funds into one merchant account, several are used.
With more than one merchant account in place, if one of them has a lot of chargebacks and needs to be frozen, you won’t lose access to all of your company’s funds.
Fraud is a serious problem, and many people have had their identities stolen, or had their credit card information compromised.
Any payment processor you work with should have excellent fraud prevention measures in place to prevent these types of problems. Ask questions about it and find out if they have ever had any issues in the past.
You’ll be asked to sign a contract with any company you decide to do business with. But before you do, make sure to read it carefully and ask questions if you don’t understand the terms.
You’ll want to find out how long the contract is in place and what the timing is if you need to cancel it. For instance, if your contract is in place for 3 years and you decide to cancel, you may have to do so 60 days or more before it expires. Otherwise, it may be too late.
Also, if you decide to cancel, what happens? Will you be charged a high early termination fee? Sometimes these fees can be $500-1000 or even higher.
If there’s something in the contract that you’re not comfortable with, it may be negotiable. But don’t sign anything until you know what you’re signing in great detail.
Getting an answer to this question is critical. You want to accept as many forms of payment as you possibly can.
Most people will pay for their orders with a credit or debit card. But some prefer to use electronic checks or they may want to schedule ACH payments. You want to be able to provide your customers with options.
Also, please consider adding mobile wallet payments too. Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and others are growing in popularity, and as more people use them, you want to have them as options for the people who will be purchasing products from your site.
First, you’ll want to make sure that the company you choose has experience working with MLMs. If they don’t, they won’t understand your industry and you may not get the best service.
You should also read reviews for any payment processor you’re considering working with. How have other company’s felt about working with that company? Were their experiences positive or negative?
Finally, look for hidden fees or anything else that wasn’t clearly spelled out in your contract. You’d be surprised what some processors will try to charge businesses like yours in exchange for their services.
Any business that you work with should be more than willing to answer all of your questions, even if you ask them more than once. Good customer service is essential, and it’s what you should experience from the sales team right from the very beginning.
No matter which MLM payment processor you work with, at some point, there may be issues that need to be dealt with. A customer might have trouble using a credit card, or a payment might not go through the way that it should. This is to be expected.
But when problems arise, you want to know that you can get the help you need from your processor’s customer service department.
Because your business will operate online, your customers can shop with you at all times of the day or night. It’s a good idea to work with a company that offers customer service 24/7.
Some even connect you with your own account representative for personalized service. That will help you quickly nip any problems that arise in the bud.
With any luck, it won’t be long before your U.S.-based MLM is set to operate in other countries. When that happens, you want to be prepared for the growth.
That means working with an MLM merchant services provider that can grow with you.
Does the company have the ability to accept payments in other countries? Other currencies? Can they process payments made with credit cards that aren’t typically used in the United States?
It might not seem important to you now, but eventually, it will be very important.
The last thing you want to happen is to have to cancel your services with them and pay a high early termination fee.
Once you decide to work with a particular MLM credit card processor, there will be an underwriting and approval process.
Since your business is considered high risk, it might take a few days to a week or so before you can get approved. Please try to be patient.
It will help if you can provide the underwriting department with as much information right from the start. You may need to give them:
It is a good idea to have your website up and running when you apply for payment processing services for your MLM. The underwriting department will want to know that they are doing business with a legitimate company.
Once your account is approved, you may be able to start accepting payments very quickly through a payment gateway. Integration with your shopping cart software is usually a very fast process.