At Premier One Payments, we are proud to offer a range of payment processing solutions to ensure that your business thrives and succeeds in the modern consumer era. The fact is that most consumers today handle the majority of their transactions with credit cards or debit cards. Not being able to accept those types of payments because you can’t find a credit processor willing to take on the risks of your business can severely handicap your company’s potential for growth.

With Premier One, you not only get credit and debit card payment processing but also processing solutions for other types of payments—such as electronic payments or checks. Additionally, our merchant accounts include a range of other perks to protect and stabilize your business while also giving you more flexibility with your payment processing. These features include:

• Secure point-of-service terminals
• Easy online payment card processing
• Multiples Merchant IDs (MIDS)
• Load balancing gateways
• Reasonable payment processing fees
• Customer support and assistance via our merchant account experts, available via online phone or online chat
• Chargeback protection

Our accounts also come with no setup fees, high approval rates, and quick approval turnarounds. Put simply, with Premier One Payments; your dietary supplement business could be accepting customer payments more smartly and securely within a matter of a few days.

Why do banks and merchant account providers view nutritional supplement companies as being so risky? The biggest reason is the industry’s regulatory system—or lack thereof. Where pharmaceutical companies are heavily regulated and monitored, nutraceutical companies are not. Nutritional/dietary supplements are not heavily regulated in the United States, which means there is room in the industry for dishonest or illegitimate businesses to find a foothold.

That’s not to say that the nutraceutical industry is full of bad actors, or that there are not many, many legitimate businesses doing good work in the industry. On the contrary, the dietary supplement market is vast —and growing—for a reason. Globally, the dietary supplement market was worth more than $115 billion by the end of 2018. By 2025, the industry is expected to grow to nearly $195 billion. Consumers rely on these products to boost their daily intake of vital nutrients, which can deliver considerable health benefits in both the short- and long-term. Undeniably, the nutraceutical industry is an essential portion of the healthcare equation for many people.

Despite these factors, the unregulated nature of the dietary supplement market tends to make banks nervous. Because companies aren’t required to 1) prove the benefits of the supplements they make, or 2) advertise the benefits (or lack thereof) of those products honestly, manufacturers can exploit the popularity of the market by making false claims about their supplements.

In fact, contrary to what many people believe, the nutraceutical industry is not regulated by the FDA. Nutritional supplements are not considered drugs under the FDA, but as a category of food (as defined by the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act). As such, manufacturers must be honest about ingredients and cannot include any elements that may harm users. However, dietary supplement manufacturers are also not required to run clinical trials of their products. The FDA can take action to halt a company from making supplements if it has reason to believe those products are unsafe. However, this system is the opposite of the way things work in the pharmaceutical industries. In pharmaceuticals, companies must prove that their drug is safe before they are allowed to take it to market and start selling it. In nutraceuticals, a product can be sold until it is proven to be unsafe.

Some companies have taken advantage of the loose regulations surrounding the dietary supplement market. They’ve exaggerated the benefits of their products, failed to list all the ingredients, or skimped on quality control measures that would guarantee that each pill or tablet contained the same amounts of each ingredient. As a result, some dietary supplements are ineffective or even harmful, sometimes containing substances such as pesticides.

While there are plenty of nutraceutical companies that are not at all guilty of these lax and irresponsible misdeeds, the industry a whole is a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. The risk for false claims and potentially unsafe products is enough to scare merchant account providers away from all nutritional supplement companies. Part of the reason is that businesses in this industry have a high risk for chargebacks—particularly those that sell their products exclusively online or that utilize subscription models to distribute their supplements. Unhappy customers, with no other recourse to return sub-standard supplements or get their money back, will initiate chargebacks with their credit card company. In turn, the merchant account provider could be stuck covering the fees or paying back the transaction amount. Rather than face these risks, many merchant account companies avoid the entire nutraceutical industry.

If you run a legitimate dietary supplement business, you are no doubt frustrated that your applications for merchant account services are being rejected for reasons that have little to do with you. Shouldn’t your business be allowed to prove itself, rather than being judged for the sins of other companies in your industry?

At Premier One Payments, we believe the answer to that question is “Yes.” For this reason, we offer high-risk supplement company merchant account services. We specialize in working with businesses that have been deemed to be “high-risk” by other banks, credit card processors, or merchant account providers—such as student loan consolidation companies, credit repair businesses, vape and E-cigarette retailers, travel agencies, and more.

Part of the reason we can offer accounts to businesses that are touted as “high-risk” is that we employ rigorous chargeback monitoring and protection. This service is designed to detect instances of “friendly fraud”—or situations where customers initiate chargebacks as a means of getting their money back for products they have already received. With daily monitoring, we can spot chargebacks on your account and initiate reversals necessary to fight back against friendly fraud. This method helps keep your chargeback ratio low and shields you from dishonest consumer practices. Merchant account providers are especially wary of businesses with high chargeback ratios, so keeping that number down is in your best interest.

Are you ready to learn more about Premier One Payments and our high-risk dietary supplement merchant account options? Our approval rate for all applicants is 98 percent, which means you have a good chance of landing an account with us. Contact us today to get started.

At Premier One Payments, we offer a range of payment processing services for those in high-risk industries