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The 10 Best Nutraceuticals Merchant Accounts

Nutraceuticals are defined as products that are isolated from foods yet sold in medicinal forms. Moreover, they are categorized as food that provides health benefits such as the prevention of and treatment of disease. They seem to be a more affordable solution to the exorbitant costs of medical treatment seen in most developed countries today.

The global nutraceutical market is estimated at 117 billion US dollars. Currently, the US, European Union, and India are the largest nutraceutical markets. However, China is moving closer to surpass them by the year 2030.

This massive market growth is clearly catering to an insatiable demand for consumers to take control of their health. Most would think that merchants entering this lucrative industry would have zero problems opening their doors and acquiring their merchant service accounts. However, this is simply not true.

Banks consider these businesses high risk because of higher incidences of chargebacks and continuity billing. Also a lack of regulation as well as the questionable benefits of such supplements, especially in the US, makes banks leery about offering merchant accounts.

Businesses that are operating legitimately do not have to fear and be left out of the game. Below are 10 reputable merchant service providers that are experts in the field of nutraceuticals and are more than willing to get merchants up and running.

0 1

GSPay (Global & Secure Pay)

Headquartered in Gainsborough, North Lincolnshire in England, GSPay has specialized in the high-risk industry for six years.

The Pros

Advantages for high risk offshore merchant account clients include complete application programming interface, approval available in less than a week, easy setup, no initial deposits, no monthly fees, no application fees, no volume restrictions, multiple currencies support, transaction fraud scrubbing, and payouts are weekly.

The Cons

At this time, GSPay does not offer check processing solutions. This could be a problem as alternative payment solutions are always key to draw more customers. Also, they only take US dollars and Euros. This greatly limits the client base and inhibits expansion.

0 2

Payline

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and founded in 2009, Payline offers its merchants the following benefits: access to a virtual terminal, no cancellation or termination fees, next day deposit of funds, direct integration with Quickbooks, and a chargeback prevention platform.

The application process is quick and painless in which their high risk experts work to create a customised solution.

They also offer a dedicated support team to navigate the different options available to high risk merchants.

The Pros

Their virtual terminal alone, as a vast array of features, including: invoicing, a hosted payment page, billing plans and scheduled payments, shopping cart integrations, ACH payments, Mobile App, securely stored customer data, in-depth reporting, emailed receipts, void and refund capabilities, free PCI compliance, and unlimited users.

The Cons

The few complaints filed against the company include withheld funds, product malfunctions, and slow customer service.

0 3

Host Merchant Services

Based in Newark, Delaware and founded in 2008, Host Merchant Services provides customizable payment processing solutions for high risk merchants, including nutraceutical businesses.

The Pros

Their features include a guaranteed lowest rate, free mobile options, affordable point of sale, free equipment for qualified accounts, transparent statements, online marketing tools, multiple payment gateways (Transaction Express and Authorize.NET), virtual terminals, online shopping carts, PCI compliance, merchant cash advances, EMV credit card machines (including traditional, mobile/wireless, and PIN Debit PIN Pads), point of sales systems, gift and loyalty programs, cash discount programs, small and large ticket processing, and data breach protection.

The Cons

Only a handful of complaints have been reported and were related to merchants being denied an account or malfunctioning hardware. The others were about a misrepresentation of rates and an unexpected equipment lease. It is imperative that merchants read the fine print thoroughly to avoid these unnecessary charges.

0 4

eMerchantBroker

Based in Los Angeles, California, eMerchantBroker offers high risk processing solutions. They offer unique payment solutions for nutraceutical businesses.

The Pros

EMB offers custom-made paid solutions, excellent customer service, approval rates between 24 and 48 hours, chargeback management tools, PCI-compliant payment gateways, as well as fraud filters.

The Cons

Very little information about the standard contract. This could only mean that the contract terms vary widely from merchant to merchant. There are early termination fees that are up to $295 for 1 year contracts and up to $595 for 3 year contracts.

0 5

Radiant Pay

London-based Radiant Pay is an agency offering payment solutions to merchants across all “legal” industries, including nutraceutical merchants. It is a leading payment solution provider in the UK, European, and Asian countries.

The Pros

Some of the advantages offered include quick approvals, partnership with banks around the world, round the clock support, affordable pricing plans, quick payouts, minimal transaction charges, no deductions from revenues, uncapped transaction volumes, multi-currency processing, low taxes, risk management solutions, and personalised consultations.

The Cons

Some complaints about the company have to do with sales agents imposing highly undesirable contract terms. It is best to read the fine print thoroughly before signing anything with this company.

0 6

Total Processing

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Manchester, UK, Total Processing offers customised payment solutions for businesses. They specialise in high risk merchant accounts for nutraceutical merchants.

The Pros

Their expertise lies in the following: high availability account servicing, high availability and redundancy, scalability and change speed reactivity, independent from an acquiring bank, dedicated expert support, robust and simple integrations, cost effective solutions, PCI level 1 compliant, and business critical cash flow delivery timescales.

Additional benefits for their merchants include: a secure payment gateway, hotlists, flexible card verification, security tools, enhanced reporting functions, fixed bonds, rolling reserves, deferred payments, online risk analysis, and recurring payments. Accepting all traditional and alternative payments, including ApplePay ( a total of 198 payment methods).

They also provide great customer service and chargeback prevention.

The Cons

Although there is a phone number, search bar and chat feature for questions, the live chat feature is only available during office hours, which doesn’t help if there are emergencies after office hours. Having 24/7 support is key to putting out any potential fires.

0 7

Instabill

Located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Instabill was founded in 2001 by CEO Jason Field to help high risk merchants secure credit card payment solutions.

The Pros

Nutraceutical merchant benefits include the following: easy person to person transfers, no debit/credit card or PIN use, a convenient storage solution on your PC or smartphone, traceable transactions to deter fraud.

The Cons

Due to Instabill’s focus on high risk accounts, it may feature tiered pricing, early termination fees, and PCI Compliance fees. Most complaints against Instabill are about the company’s fraud prevention policies. Merchants report cancellation of their merchant accounts or withholding funds.

0 8

iPay Total

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in London, iPay Total is a payment processor that offers end-to-end high risk merchant solutions to nutraceutical merchants around the world.

The Pros

Some features offered on nutraceutical merchant accounts include: multi-bank processing (including offshore), secure payment gateway, chargeback alerts, chargeback disputes, ACH/Check 21 processing, repeat/recurring billing, fraud prevention and protection, and competitive processing rates (below 6%), as well as 24/7 support online or by phone.

The Cons

High risk merchant account contract terms are not disclosed to the public. iPay Total also claims to charge a set up fee of up to £4,500, an incredibly exorbitant and prohibitive amount, especially for small businesses starting out.

0 9

Durango Merchant Services

Founded in 2004 and located in Durango, Colorado, Durango Merchant Services works with many gateway processors and suppliers with sponsor banking relationships that offer credit processing solutions for both the US-based and internationally based companies.

The Pros

Features in the contract include: variable contract lengths (month-to-month), free application processing, direct financing with regular deposits (daily or weekly, depending on whether onshore vs offshore), recurring billing, competitive rates, acceptance of multiple currencies and deposits, compatibility with major gateways and shopping carts, integration assistance with more than 100 shopping carts, chargeback prevention tools and advice, eCheck processing, gateway includes fraud detection and prevention tools.

The Cons

The only complaints received about this company were about Durango’s inability to get approval for a high risk merchant account and about a partnering bank withholding a merchant’s funds.

Provider of the Month

The trend for consumers seeking alternative forms of medical treatment and natural supplements will not be going away soon. Most of the technological and product development in this space has been in direct response to consumer needs.
Nutraceutical merchants can certainly answer this call and open a merchant service account with a reputable provider. What is critical is that they do not take any unnecessary risks, keep their chargeback ratio lower than 2%, just to name a few requirements. Do your research and make sure that you are able to fulfill all requirements laid out by prospective merchant service providers. This will place you in a better position to be accepted.