What is an Adult Merchant Account?

An adult merchant account is a credit card processing account that is designed specifically to meet the needs of high risk adult-themed companies. Adult-themed companies include specialized dance clubs, movie producers and other related professions in the adult film industry, and adult shops. It’s just a simple fact that these types of stores often see a greater turnover rate in terms of credit card and debit card refunds and customer disputes. The standard merchant account provider will not want to take on the increased risk associated with these types of stores, which is why it’s so important to look for a provider who will accept adult-themed merchants.

The benefits of an adult high risk merchant account include:

  • the ability to accept credit card and debit card payments from all major credit card issuers, including international financial institutions
  • being able to accept and convert multiple currencies to your local currency
  • automatic logging of all transactions
  • required signature for in-store purchases; complete credit card details for online purchases
  • automated transactions, which is helpful for subscriptions and other recurring billing
  • strict provisions about fraud

Being an adult-themed merchant mean that you’ll need to take the time to shop around for a suitable merchant who will have no qualms about providing you with credit card processing services. However, these services may come at an increased cost. Since the merchant provider is taking on an increased financial risk by processing credit cards for you, they will most likely pass that increased cost to you by charging a higher setup fee, monthly fees, and even higher per-transaction percentages. You’ll need to adjust your inventory and pricing accordingly, especially if you wish to get ahead.

Once you have had your merchant account for several years or even months with no excessive charge backs or disputes to deal with, it’s entirely possible that your merchant account will lower their rates in order to keep you as a loyal customer.

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About Dequiana Jackson

Dequiana Jackson, Founder of Inspired Marketing, Inc., helps overachieving women entrepreneurs conquer limiting beliefs and create marketing plans that grow their businesses. This includes one-on-one marketing plan development, digital product creation, web design and content marketing. Dequiana is the author of Know Your Business: How to Attract Ideal Clients & Sell More and runs the award-winning blog, Entrepreneur-Resources.net.

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2 comments

  1. Adult websites, shops and clubs are probably one of the first professions to fall into the category of high risk businesses. I think a major reason for this is higher than usual customer disputes and credit-debit card refunds associated with them.

    This is why most banks and merchant account providers hesitate to support adult merchants by approving them for merchant accounts. This is exactly when specialized adult merchant account providers come in to help. These providers design or customize their credit card processing accounts and services in such a manner that they can meet their unique business requirements.

    However, being a high risk merchant, I understand how difficult it can be for an adult merchant to find a reliable and practiced adult merchant account provider. It remains important to spend lots of time shopping around for an established professional who can deliver quality services within reasonable costs. But if you are unable to find the right provider and left with the only option of asking help from just any merchant account company, you should be prepared to pay exceptionally high prices!

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