High-risk accounts
High-risk ecommerce merchant accounts
Stratamize places high-risk ecommerce merchant accounts and sets up a hosted checkout, after preparing your store and policies for underwriting.
About two minutes. Our team follows up.
What we set up
- Merchant accounts for online stores other providers decline
- Fulfillment, order values and history explained for underwriting
- Hosted online checkout set up after approval
High-risk ecommerce
Who we work with
Some online stores need a closer review because of what they sell, their order values, their processing history or how they deliver. As a registered ISO, we place merchant accounts for these stores and set up a hosted checkout with the gateway after approval.
We work with online stores that a payment facilitator turned down or closed, or that expect to: stores in restricted product categories, high order values, preorders and made-to-order goods, drop-shipped catalogs, and businesses with a past account closure. Selling online does not make a business high risk on its own; the specifics do.
Underwriting
What underwriting asks for
- Your live or planned website, your full product categories and where your customers are.
- Average and largest order values, monthly volume, and why those figures might change.
- How orders are fulfilled: stock on hand, drop-ship, made to order or preorder, with delivery estimates.
- Refund, return and contact policies, and examples of your order confirmation emails.
- Recent processing statements, refund and dispute history, and the notice from any provider that restricted or closed your account.
Disclose the whole catalog and every sales channel from the start, including the small ones. An account that is approved for part of a business and later finds the rest is usually closed.
Setup
How setup works
After approval we set up the gateway, NMI or Authorize.net, with a hosted payment form, so card numbers go straight to the processor and never through your website or our team. On the setup call you get your login and keys, and we run a test transaction with you.
The checkout uses a hosted payment form, such as Authorize.net's Accept Hosted, embedded in your store or reached by redirect. Card numbers stay off your site, which keeps your security obligations smaller.
Your store should advance an order only after the payment result comes back, and record the transaction reference with the order, so a refund or a dispute can be traced to the right shipment.
Reserves
Reserves and chargebacks
Underwriting may set a reserve: a share of each settlement held back as a cushion against chargebacks and released on a schedule your agreement states. Whether one applies, and its terms, depend on the review. What keeps an account in good standing afterward is ordinary practice done consistently: a business name customers recognize on their statement, a refund policy they can find, and a support line that answers before a customer calls their bank.
Delivery is the other half of dispute prevention for online stores: tracking numbers on every shipment, honest delivery estimates, and a clear message when an order is late.
Selling online? The gateway is set up with the account: see the high-risk payment gateway. From our blog: Before you apply for a high-risk merchant account.
Does every online store need a high-risk account?
No. Tell us what you sell and what your current provider said, and we tell you whether a standard account or a high-risk account is the right fit.
Can you help after an account was closed?
Yes. Bring the provider's notice and your recent statements. The reason for the closure shapes the new application.
Do we need to rebuild our store?
Usually not. Most store platforms connect to NMI or Authorize.net. Tell us your platform and we confirm before you apply.
High-risk accounts
Get your application ready for underwriting.
We tell you what underwriting will ask for and prepare the file with you before it goes in.
Approvals usually come back within hours, three days at most.
Book a call