Saturday, 27 March 2021

Why high-risk merchants prefer eChecks?

 Is your business deemed high risk by banks and other traditional processors? If yes, you are going to have a hard time finding a reliable and secure payment processing mechanism for your business.

Not all hope is lost.

There are still payment processors out there that specialize in high risk credit card processing and will be willing to work with high-risk businesses such as yours. The only downside? Higher processing fees! While there may be no way around this, you can look into accepting eChecks to lower your merchant fees.

An eCheck—or electronic check—is a digital equivalent of a traditional paper check. There are many reasons you would want to begin accepting eChecks from your customers.

To begin with, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reports that only 7% of U.S. adults do not have a bank account. Since the vast majority of the population has access to banking facilities, accepting eCheck as a form of payment translates into increased profitability for your high-risk business.

With eCheck, your business will also gain a competitive edge in the market. Keep in mind that not all of your customers have a credit card, but they do have a bank account. Since you accept their preferred mode of payment, you can take business away from your competitors who do not.

The final incentive to consider eChecks is that they are less expensive and faster to process—in most cases, processing costs less than a dollar and the funds are typically available the same day or the next business day.

Are you sold on eChecks? Now, you need to find the best high risk echeck processing specialist. Find an eCheck processor that fits your specific needs. For example, if you run an online casino, make sure that the processor works with businesses that are involved with online casino and gaming businesses before signing a contract with them.

Wednesday, 24 March 2021

3 Challenges Every Online Casino Merchant Faces

 The global online casino industry is on a roll. Its market was worth USD 53.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.5% between 2020 and 2027. This market growth is driven by increasing internet penetration and the growing use of smartphones. Furthermore, factors such as quick and easy access to online gambling and gaming, legalization and cultural acceptance, corporate sponsorships, and celebrity endorsements are all helping to drive market growth.

Entering the online casino industry seems promising, doesn’t it?

Yes—but there are numerous challenges that you will face as an online casino merchant. Here are three of those:

1. Fraud

The rapid growth of online casinos comes at a cost—increased cybercrime. The most serious threat is either identity theft or spoofing. Many new account registrations are frauds. Meanwhile, during peak attack periods, automated bot attacks can account for about half of daily casino traffic.

2. High Risk

Traditional payment processors consider online casino merchant accounts as high risk for various reasons, including age limits, vague regulations, high-volume turnover, higher-than-average chargebacks, money laundering, and fraud. Save time when looking for a merchant account for your online casino business by seeking out high-risk merchant providers who explicitly support online gaming and gambling businesses. The right high-risk merchant provider will help you minimize your risk and improve your data security by utilizing cutting-edge data protection technology and fraud prevention mechanisms.

3. Chargebacks

A chargeback is a credit card transaction that a cardholder disputes because of non-receipt of services, dissatisfaction, or outright fraud. Say a player at an online casino table loses big time and then calls his credit card company to dispute the charge. It’s a “he-said, she-said debate that online casino merchants often run the risk of losing. When a player does this and gets away with it—whether it is a genuine mistake or not—they are 50% more likely to do it again within 90 days. Chargebacks are exacerbated by buyer’s remorse, the convenience of calling the credit card issues and disputing a charge, and merchant policies. Of course, the greater the number of chargebacks your online casino has to pay, the greater the effect on your business’s bottom line and credibility. You could also lose your merchant account if you have too many chargebacks!

What’s the takeaway?

In tandem with high-risk merchant account providers, online casino operators must devise new methods for identifying and authenticating good customers while providing a seamless online experience to overcome these three challenges.

Monday, 1 March 2021

The Biggest Advantage of Setting Up an Offshore Bank Account

 With the global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the way we think about money has changed a lot. Leading global economies have faltered, millions have lost their jobs, and almost a fifth of ALL US dollars was printed in 2020! Up until recently, we were all obsessed with what we could get in terms of 'consumer durables' and how much we could borrow to advance our spending power, but everything has been turned on its head today.

Saving is the new spending, and there are plenty of easy ways you can develop a positive savings habit. For example, you can pay yourself before you pay anyone else when your salary cheque arrives. i.e., moving a portion of your income into a less accessible savings account each month so that you do not waste that money, but instead, you save it for a rainy day. Similarly, if you are a business owner, it could make good sense for you to set up an offshore bank account because such an account structure could benefit your finances.

Perhaps the most significant advantage of opening an offshore bank account is that it allows you to defer the payment of taxation on the interest that you earn. Generally speaking, interest is paid gross, i.e., without the deduction of tax. This means that your savings have a booster for the tax year as interest is paid each month on a larger sum. At the end of the tax year or the end of the term of your savings account, you may well have a taxation liability. Still, because your money has grown in the interim without tax being taken away, this can have a booster effect on your money's growth.

For some, offshore banking services can help legitimately avoid tax. However, never assume you have no tax liability; such an assumption could land you in serious trouble! Always determine your liability because when it comes to tax, ignorance can never be an excuse.