Now that you’ve chosen your content, designed your site, you’ll need a way to process the credit card payments. You’ll need a credit card processor, preferably one who caters to the adult industry.
The problem is that any financial institution, whether its a bank or creidt card processor, will go through your application with a fine tooth comb. There are very strict standards and criteria that you will need to have before you can get a merchant account.
Ready for the ugly truth? Adult websites and companies are considered very high risk. That One very important thing you have to understand though, adult businesses are considered high-risk businesses. This translates to higher fees and a significant sign up fee. The reason for this is simple. Chargebacks.
Chargebacks, one of the biggest headaches of processing credit cards for porn sites, typically occur when, say, someone’s wife finds out he’s been buying porn. Rather than owning up, the aggrieved party tells the credit-card company that he’s shocked–shocked–that someone else was purchasing porn on his card, and demands that the charges be removed. This happens far too often and is the reason why there is low leniency for chargebacks in the adult world.
Ok now that you know the headaches of the average adult webmaster, start researching adult processors. When you find them, write down how much their fees are, their setup fee, and what they require from you. When you find one that is reasonable, then apply for an account.
The type of information that they’ll usually ask for is
- Contact information for the company.
- How long you’ve been online, how much is your traffic and estimated revenue or actual revenue, etc
- A description of the types of services and products that will be sold on your website.
- Any information about any payment processors that you have been with in the past or currently.
- Any information about past sales volume, chargeback ratio, transactions, and refund ratio.
If you find that you have been rejected, it can be due to something as trivial as paperwork. Some common reasons could be
- documentary deficiencies
- grave complaint record filed to the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- ripoff record
- misrepresenting certain, if not, all information about yourself and your business
If you find that you’ve been rejected, correct the information and apply to someone else. Avoid making the same mistakes twice.