Payment Processing for Adult Industry Merchants

Thursday, November 21st, 2019

Since the invention of the internet, online adult entertainment has been a lucrative business opportunity for any merchant savvy enough to seize it. The ability to offer an array of payment options to customers ensures that your business stays competitive online. Offering more payment solutions means that your customers will be more likely to use your services and will actually be converted into a sale.

Unfortunately, despite the high demand for adult entertainment online, traditional banks will not provide payment processing solutions for this industry. This is because the adult entertainment industry is considered high-risk. There are a few reasons for this.

The first reason is that erotic websites have a higher risk of being prone to chargebacks. That is, when a customer disputes the charge through their bank or credit card, resulting in the merchant refunding the purchase and being charged additional fees for the processing. This can also happen because of instances of fraud where the person using the payment information is not authorized to. The large volume of transactions that a successful online adult entertainment website executes only increases this chance of fraud.

The other reason why traditional banks won’t provide merchant accounts for online adult entertainment is due to the negative perception that the mainstream public has for this industry. Banks don’t want to tie their name and reputations to these types of businesses.

Unfortunately, without having dependable payment processing, it is impossible to run an online business. That’s where high-risk merchant accounts can help provide the tools your business needs for success.

Solutions for Adult Industry Merchants

There are businesses out there such as Best Payment Providers that specialize exclusively in providing tailored merchant account options to high-risk industries. These specialty companies allow you access to experts who can help answer your questions, get you set up with an account typically within a matter of 24-hours and help you begin processing payments for your services.

When shopping around for a high-risk merchant account, it’s important to consider the pricing that you are able to pay. Just like with typical processing, high-risk processing comes with processing fees.

You’ll also need to have extra money set aside in a different account to cover rolling reserves, which helps keep you covered in the case of any losses, such as in the situation of chargebacks or fraud.

Because the adult entertainment industry is very time-dependent, you need solutions that can be provided with dynamic pricing models that fit your business structure and are dependable.

What You Need to Open an Adult Industry Merchant Account

In order to process your application for a high risk merchant account, most processors only require a valid ID, a bank letter or voided check, a secure and working website, three months of bank statements, three months of your most recent processing statements when applicable, an SSN or EIN, and a chargeback ratio that’s less than 2%.

Once you submit this information, most merchant account providers will be able to open your account and get your payments processing within 24-48 hours.

Don’t wait to make the best decision for your business!