OUR
BLOG

Opening a merchant account with an acquiring bank can be a strong alternative to Stripe, especially for businesses facing issues with account holds, limited support, and high-risk restrictions. Stripe's automated risk management can lead to sudden account freezes, while an acquiring bank offers more stable, predictable access to funds through a personalized assessment of each business. Unlike Stripe’s limited support, acquiring banks often provide dedicated account managers for hands-on, real-time assistance. High-risk businesses also benefit, as banks are generally more flexible and willing to serve industries that face restrictions with Stripe. Overall, an acquiring bank provides customizable payment solutions and faster access to funds, making it a viable Stripe PayPal alternative for businesses needing more control and support.

High-risk merchant processing provides tailored payment solutions for businesses in industries with higher fraud and chargeback risks, such as online gaming, e-commerce, and travel. Unlike standard processors, high-risk merchant processors offer specialized tools like chargeback management and fraud prevention to handle these added challenges. Businesses in high-risk sectors typically face higher fees and undergo rigorous vetting processes to secure reliable payment processing. Choosing the right processor involves evaluating experience, transparency, and security features, which help mitigate financial risks. A good high-risk processor enables businesses to operate securely and efficiently while navigating complex regulatory and operational demands.

Credit card processing is essential for businesses, especially those in high-risk sectors like travel, adult entertainment, and e-commerce, where transactions carry a greater chance of chargebacks and fraud. High-risk card processing services offer specialized features, such as chargeback protection and enhanced security, tailored to these industries. However, high-risk businesses often face higher fees and more rigorous vetting from processors due to increased financial risks. Choosing the right credit card processing service involves evaluating costs, integration, security, and customer support options. A reliable provider can ensure secure, smooth transactions that protect both businesses and customers in high-risk and standard sectors alike.

High-risk industries are sectors that face greater financial, regulatory, and operational challenges, often resulting in higher transaction fees and restricted access to financial services. These sectors, including travel, adult entertainment, e-commerce, and finance, are frequently associated with high chargeback rates, stringent regulations, and reputational risks. Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) help financial institutions identify and manage businesses in these high-risk sectors by flagging those with increased risk levels. Businesses operating within high-risk industries can benefit from specialized partnerships, proactive chargeback prevention, and strong compliance to navigate their unique challenges effectively.

An independent sales organization, also called ISO, is connecting the dots between online merchants and acquiring banks. ISOs are guiding businesses through all the steps of opening and managing a merchant account, so they can process credit card transactions with ease and confidence. Independent Sales Organizations have a wide network of payment acceptance options and methods, and are usually composed of a team of seasoned payment experts.

If you want to accept credit or debit card payments online for your e-commerce website, you’ll need a Merchant Account. But what is a Merchant Account, and why is it so important? How to set up merchant account? A Merchant Account is a special type of account that allows online merchants to process transactions. It acts as an intermediary account, temporarily holding funds from customer payments before transferring them to the merchant’s bank account. Without a Merchant Account, online businesses can’t accept card payments. A Merchant Account ensures seamless payment processing, boosts customer satisfaction, and helps increase sales by making payments more convenient for customers. How to set up a merchant account? Find the answer by reading our blog post.

Our typical client is an ambitious e-commerce entrepreneur selling a wide range of physical or digital products and services online, frequently utilizing trial and subscription models.

Partnering with an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) rather than opening a merchant account directly with a payment processor or acquirer can offer several advantages to online merchants. We have summarized some key factors that outline benefits of doing so in this article.

When Stripe terminates a merchant account, the consequences can be devastating. The good news is, however, that you can still recover swiftly if you follow the right steps. In this blog post, we will explain why merchant accounts are getting closed by Stripe. On top of that, we will describe some quick recovery strategies that are available for e-commerce businesses so that merchants can bounce back quickly. Getting your Stripe account closed doesn't have to mean the end of your business.

A concise guide on what steps to take when facing a termination from your processor.

Learn about the key differences between the two organizations with a shared goal - to connect merchants with payment processors.

written by Benjamin Joyeux, CEO and Founder of eFlow Processing

Understanding a payment orchestrator - end to end solution to coordinate various aspects of the payment process within a business or financial ecosystem.

How can you as a merchant implement a multi-layer strategy against friendly fraud and chargebacks to safeguard your business?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online shopping, resulting in a surge in Card-not-Present (CNP) transactions and chargebacks. As e-commerce continues to thrive, this blog post explores the evolving landscape of chargebacks, including the rise of CNP fraud, the global chargeback volume projection, and regional trends. It also highlights the importance of adapting strategies to effectively manage and prevent chargebacks in this new digital commerce era.

💡As a high-risk merchant account provider, we understand the seriousness of card fraud and its potential impact on the financials and reputation of an ecommerce business. This issue becomes even more significant in the High-Risk sector, where the nature of the products and services makes merchants more vulnerable.

What is Delayed Capture? It simply means pre-authorizing the payment at the point of purchase and then capturing the funds at a later, more strategic time.

eFlow Processing, a leading independent sales organization (ISO) in the high-risk payment industry, is pleased to announce that Robbert van Schaick has been appointed as the company’s Head of Sales, effective September 1st, 2023. In his role, Robbert will focus on expanding eFlow’s consistently growing portfolio, as well as nurturing and strengthening relationships with existing clients.

Learn a bit about Authorization codes and familiarize yourself with the list of nearly all the identifiable codes out there!

Learn about Ethoca Alerts and how you can catch and prevent MasterCard chargebacks from occuring

The ever-present challenge for every eCommerce merchant – card fraud. A code used to label a type of dispute related to fraud - 10.4 - described as ‘other fraud’ in a ‘card-absent environment’, meaning; the internet, mail-order and phone-order is often abused and pertains to ever-present cases of friendly fraud in ecommerce. These cost a substantial amount of money to the merchants, since the liability for handling the dispute costs is ultimately in their hands.

eFlow Processing, a leading independent sales organization (ISO) in the high risk payment industry, is pleased to announce that David van der Plicht has been appointed as the company's new Head of Risk & Acquirer Relationships, effective May 1, 2023.

As a merchant, accepting prepaid cards can be challenging due to the high rate of declined transactions. This is partly due to the fact that prepaid cards do not require a credit check, and the issuing bank may not have information about the cardholder's creditworthiness. Additionally, prepaid cards have lower spending limits than traditional credit cards, which can lead to more declined transactions.

Recurring memberships are becoming increasingly popular in the world of online retail. They provide a steady stream of revenue for businesses, as opposed to one-time sales.

Cascading or smart routing is an essential technique for online businesses that accept credit card transactions. It can help to reduce costs, increase the chances of a transaction being approved, reduce the risk of chargebacks and fraud, avoid merchant account suspension, and improve customer experience.

Anti-fraud systems are a crucial tool for businesses accepting credit card transactions online. These systems detect and prevent fraudulent activity, saving businesses money and improving customer trust.

The 3DS 2.0 protocol replaces 3DS 1.0, adapting to the changes in payment methods of the 21st century. Find out more about it and its benefits.

E-merchants are facing many challenges, and, among these, the most common is fraud, which includes friendly chargebacks and friendly fraud when using credit card. It happens when a customer disputes the payment of a product or service with the bank instead of asking for a refund. These chargebacks also have consequences for the merchants, both in terms of fees and reputation.

Discover 6 steps to decrease your chargeback ratio

Learn about RDR and what this powerful tool can do to help your business thrive like never before.

Merchants a classified by Visa based on their Merchant Category Code (MCC). It is four-digit number that describes a merchant's primary business. Here is the list of High Risk MCCs.

Acquirers impose specific payment terms to protect themselves against bad debt. In this blog post, we will focus on the Rolling Reserve.

Understand the two Visa Monitoring Programs: Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP)