CBD Merchant Account
This is a booming era for CBD products, but the financial world has been slow to catch up with customer demand. Until just a couple years ago, CBD products were not available per federal law. Although that’s now changed, a stigma still seems to cling to the industry, leading many major merchant processing companies to avoid or penalize CBD sales.
As an entrepreneur with a CBD business, there are trustworthy solutions available that will allow you to safely and successfully connect your customers with the CBD oils, tinctures, lotions, and beauty products that they seek. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to find quality CBD merchant services.
Choosing the Right CBD Merchant Account
Look for a credit processing company with a history of success. With CBD as a new industry, new financial institutions are popping up to get involved. When you can’t look back and see a pattern of reliability, you can’t be sure that your credit card processing will stick around for the foreseeable future.
Plus, not every high risk merchant account provider will have your best interests at heart. If it seems too good to be true, with incredibly low rates, the company’s customer service or security might be skimpy. Other providers may instead overcharge CBD merchants, taking unfair advantage of a market with limited options.
There are huge advantages to working with a company that’s familiar with CBD merchants. That’s an instrumental part of our offerings at TailoredPay. We’ve taken the time to evaluate fair rates that help cover any risks and we’ve learned what services are most appreciated by similar companies. Plus, you’ll be able to see what their other customers are saying about the processing provided.
What Payment Processing Company is Right For My CBD Business?
So your business needs online credit card processing—how do you find the right company to handle that important task? You’ll want to have a list of important questions prepared. If a website doesn’t cover these, reach out to a promising company’s customer service team to find out if they offer the features you need.
It’s smart to ask…
- Are there setup fees?
- What’s the timeframe for getting started?
- How many transactions can I complete per month?
- Is my account considered high-risk?
- How does your system ensure my customers’ financial information remains secure?
Finding a CBD Payment Processor for Shopify
While Shopify’s terms look a little hazy when it comes to CBD, there are many merchants successfully using this platform to distribute their wares. One thing’s pretty certain, though—you’ll have trouble with payment processing through Shopify’s standard setup.
However, Shopify does permit selling to use a third-party payment processing service. TailoredPay offers this essential high risk credit card processing service so that you don’t have to choose between Shopify and CBD sales.
Risk Levels for Merchant Processing
A credit card processing company may be wary of backing ventures that are deemed high risk. There’s an assessment process, similar to the steps a bank would take when you ask for a loan. Certain industries are designated as risky in this realm:
- Dating services and adult services
- Nutraceutical products such as dietary supplements
- Online gambling or casinos
- CBD and vape products
There are a few different reasons why any one of these areas would be considered risky. First, there’s the subjective factor of reputation. With CBD merchant processing, some financial institutions simply choose to avoid processing “controversial” payments.
There’s also the issue of fraud and chargebacks. High risk merchants are more likely to have their charges disputed by customers. The credit card processor then must spend time and money researching the claim and possibly providing a refund.
Are CBD Merchant Services Expensive?
There is no reason why it should be prohibitively expensive to run a CBD business. You’ll need to choose your payment processor with care, though.
You don’t want to have your small business’s whole budget planned out and then discover that a hidden fee has wildly changed your month’s earnings. Reputable credit card processors such as TailoredPay want you to succeed, and they will help you do so by answering questions and being upfront about your plan.
Getting Started with Your Merchant Account
When you have a great new idea for a business or are ready to grow a small business, TailoredPay is here to help you process credit card payments easily, safely, and affordably. It only takes a few minutes to fill out our online application, so there’s no reason to wait. In fact, we pride ourselves on a fast turnaround time—most approved accounts can start processing their CBD sales in under 72 hours.