How to Apply for a Nutra High Risk Merchant Account

Apply & Maintain Your Nutra Merchant Account

The lack of established healthcare regulations is one of the primary reasons nutraceutical businesses are considered as high-risk. What this means for you, the nutraceutical business owner, is that the process to apply for a nutra high risk merchant account is longer and tougher. 

But while the industry continues to gain legitimacy, and an eager public continues to purchase nutraceuticals every day, we have to wait for regulations to catch. As with any science, health, and medicine industry or niche, the process is slow. 

Although applying for a nutraceutical high-risk merchant account is not the easiest thing to do, following the right steps and making sure that you don’t break any rules will surely help you get an approval. To make things easier, here are some valuable tips and tricks in applying for a nutra high-risk merchant account:

Gather all your supporting documents.

As a high-risk merchant, you’ll need strong supporting documents to increase your chances of getting an approval. You can easily fill out an application form online with a high risk merchant account provider and you’ll need to submit these documents to underwriters and processors:

• A bank letter
• 3 months of your most recent bank statements
• 3 months of your most recent processing statements (if you already have one)
• A valid, government-issued identification card
• A Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Certificate of Incorporation (if applicable)
• Agreements with your suppliers (if you don’t manufacture your products)

After you apply for a nutra high risk merchant account, be sure to save all these documents for future reference.

Review your website for any flaws.

Most nutra businesses operate online. If you are one operating online, it’s very important to review your website and take note of these areas that underwriters usually look into:

• Product description. Make sure that all your products are properly labeled with all its ingredients and that no product contains any dangerous substances or prescription drugs.
• Trial period. If you’re offering a trial period for your product, state the details and terms clearly to avoid confusion and reduce the risks of chargebacks.
• Shipping policy. You need to have a clear shipping policy page that states everything that your consumers need to know about ordering your products.

Be sure that these are in place BEFORE your site is live and before you apply for a nutra high risk merchant account. If your site is already live, be sure to make these updates to your site a priority. 

Prepare your accounts for analysis.

Underwriters will usually look deeper into your business to make sure that they won’t get into any financial trouble by approving you. To increase your chances of getting approved for a high risk merchant account, you need to:

• Take care of any outstanding debts and bills
• Let a business partner with the best credit history apply for the account
• Fill up your bank account with a substantial amount of money
• Keep your chargeback rates as low as possible

If you get approved for a high-risk merchant nutra account, you need to be responsible enough to maintain and keep it. Apply for a nutra high risk merchant account at more than one processor to ensure there are no interruptions in business if your merchant account is suspended for any reason. 

Avoid chargebacks at all costs by making sure that all your terms and conditions are clear to consumers, your products or website are not making any false claims and your customer service team is available to take care of consumer concerns. 

Last year, the nutraceutical market was already worth $382.5 billion and this number is expected to keep on growing over the next few years. Just like the pharmaceutical revolution, nutra is and will continue to change the world. Science is catching up to us in a very profound way. And the nutraceutical companies are on the verge of changing the way we experience health benefits… although the latest scientific advancements. 

With more consumers taking dietary supplements in the efforts to live a healthier lifestyle, nutraceuticals are one of the most lucrative industries in the world today—and also one of the riskiest.