UNACCEPTABLE
or "HIGH-RISK"
MERCHANTS:
Adoption
Services
Age-Verification
Services: Membership
services that register people by their age in order to verify that
they may view adult entertainment sites. Often, Age verification services
use multi-level marketing to entice ISP's and Webmasters to host links
to their registration pages.
Aggregating: (See
"Factoring")
Airlines: NONE
are acceptable.
Audio Text/Telephone
Consultation Services: Sell
recorded or live audio information (psychics, 900 #s, recorded advice,
etc.), usually by the minute, or by the time the customer spends on
the phone.
Benefit/Incentive
Programs
Car Rental
Card-registration
services: Charge
to register credit cards in exchange for consumer insurance or
protection.
Charge-back Ratio,
Excessive: Charge-backs
cannot exceed 1%.
Check-cashing
establishments: Charge
a fee to cash checks for consumers.
Coin Dealers
Collection Agencies:
Collect
payments due or seize property on behalf of a lender/seller.
Companion or Escort
Services: Charge
a fee to provide a companion or escort.
Credit restoration
or repair agencies, collection agencies: Charge
a fee to help consumers handle personal debt and collect overdue bal-ances/
loans on behalf of lenders.
Credit Card Protection
Debt Consolidation
Drug paraphernalia
of any kind: Sale
of any product associated with illegal drug use (pipes, syringes,
etc.)
E-Payments/E-Cash
Employment
Agencies/Recruiters: Provide
staffing/placement (temporary or permanent) for other businesses.
Escort Services /
Companion Services: See
"Companion Services."
Export/Import: See
"Import."
Factoring: A
business that opens a merchant account and hosts numerous other
businesses who also use that same merchant account to process
transactions.
Fantasy Leagues: Businesses
that charge customers to participate in fantasy or gaming activities
over the Internet.
Financial Aid: Lending
services that are, or approach, being illegal. (Loan sharking.)
Firearms: other
than retail sporting
Foreign
Companies/Business operating outside the US: Any
business located outside the US, including Internet businesses with
servers located outside the US.
Freight Forwarding:
See Import/Export.
Future Fulfillment:
beyond
three months
Gambling: Companies
that charge a fee to participate in games or activities that offer
cash/ prizes in return
Hotel reservation
services: Companies
that reserve hotel rooms on behalf of visitors. Merchant does not own or
work for the respective hotel.
Illegal products: Merchants
that sell any product that is illegal to sell or provide in the United
States.
Import/Export: Engage
in the purchase or sale of goods between different countries.
Incentive Programs:
Companies
selling incentive programs to other companies, so that incentives
may be used to enhance sales. For example, a company may sell a bundle
of discounted trips to a car dealership. The dealership can then offer
a "free" trip to Hawaii with every purchase.
Illegal Products
Investment Opportunities:
Offer the
promise of financial gain in exchange for money in-vested.
Lotteries or raffles:
Sell tickets
that are drawn randomly, the winners receiving cash or prizes in return.
Metals, Precious
Mortgage Brokers/Reduction
Services: Merchants
who charge a fee to place your loan with the lowest-cost provider
on the market; OR offer to lower existing mortgage payments; OR offer
information on reducing mortgage payments.
Outbound telemarketing:
Sell products
or solicit donations by phoning the public.
Phone Cards: Phone
card amount is paid up front for a service and used over a period of
time.
Precious metal/stamp
collections: Sell
rare coins, metals, or stamps.
Pre-paid Services:
Cards that
store a pre-programmed dollar amount.
Prescription Drugs
Online
Principals residing
outside US: Principals
who do not reside in the US will be immediately declined.
Principals with open
bankruptcies: Principals
with open bankruptcies will be declined.
Pyramid sales
programs: Companies
that use a "pyramid" of distributors who pay to participate
and are promised commissions on their sales and the sales of anyone
they recruit to sell "under" them. aka multi-level.
Raffles/Lotteries: All
raffles and lotteries are unacceptable.
Recruiters: Provide
job placement for employers; employee pays the fee.
Sales: Outbound
telemarketing
Stamp Collections: Sells
rare stamps
Telemarketing: Outbound
Telephone: Consultation
services
Third-party services:
Any service
that involves a third-party who collects money on behalf of the
organization that provides the goods or services.
Timeshare
organizations: Sell
"shares" in vacation property that allow "owners" to
stay for short, defined periods of time each year.
Travel Packages,
Coupons or Certificates/Clubs
VideoText
VISA Chargeback
Monitoring Program
Warranty Programs/Warranty
Sales
