The Benefits of Working With a CBD Payment Provider

Finding a payment provider for a CBD business can be especially tedious. Setting up a standard merchant account can already be a tall order, but merchants who sell CBD run the risk of being shut down by major payment providers due to their risk.

Kicked to the curb

When a payment provider shuts down your account, try not to take it entirely the wrong way. Service providers are always looking to accept more business types and expand their portfolios. When you are denied a merchant account, it’s not necessarily that the payment provider doesn't want to work with you. The decision ultimately depends on the provider’s banking partners and what guidelines they must abide by.

The bright side is there are plenty of merchant service providers who support CBD. These providers strategically partner with banks who have a more diverse portfolio which allows them to be able to process CBD by issuing merchants a high risk merchant account. Being a high risk merchant doesn’t mean that you are selling products that are bad. It just means that you need to find the right payment partner who can serve your business type.

What are high-risk payment processors?

Products that are cannabis-derived, like CBD, are easily becoming more widely accepted across the globe. Even though CBD is becoming more popular, it is still associated as “high-risk”, no matter which plant they have been derived from. This means that some of the most popular payment providers don’t accept CBD transactions, such as PayPal.

The result? Many CBD businesses are left searching for payment solutions in order to keep their online stores open. Other high-risk verticals include: online gambling/dating, online tobacco, MLMs and travel.

How does working with a CBD payment processor benefit my business?

When you think about the key elements to a successful business, you might think about customer service and accepting payments. The reality, though, is that you can’t have one without the other. If you are looking to either increase your sales or reach your goal without going through the difficulties of CBD transactions - keep on reading.

1. CBD payment processors accept both debit and credit cards

According to a survey conducted by Harris Poll in August 2017, it was found that 44% of people preferred to pay using a debit card. Over 2,000 individuals participated in the survey. If you can’t accept debit cards, you can easily miss out on nearly half of your potential sales. A CBD payment provider will help merchants gain and retain more customers by allowing them to accept these types of payments.

2. Payment integrations that work

When working with a CBD payment provider, you can count on easy integrations that allow you to continue using the same services you love with a provider you can trust. Most of these high risk providers allow their payment integrations to connect to a merchant’s current customer relationship management (CRM) tools to help keep track of customer profiles, billing information and more.

3. A better customer service experience

Depending on which CBD payment provider you use, they will offer you 24/7 customer support that can help you troubleshoot any problems or hardware malfunctions. The best payment providers will give you the tools you need to protect you from fraud for your business and customers.

What to consider for CBD payment processing?

CBD is considered high risk due to regulations brought on by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) and the federal government. Therefore, merchants must use a payment provider that can handle CBD business types in order to successfully scale their business.

A merchant should consider what payment providers have the right integration to pair with their site. There is nothing worse than getting through the onboarding process and finding out the payment provider doesn’t connect to your site.

You should also look for a payment provider that has simple processing and eliminates unnecessary fees. The CBD industry is high risk, therefore it's necessary for payment providers to charge more due to the risk exposure your account may pose to their establishment. However, that being said, different providers may overcharge their merchants because of the category of their business.

How Redde Payments Factors Into the Mix

Each payment provider has their strengths and, for Redde Payments, processing for high risk merchants is one of ours. We have strategic partnerships that allow us to process payments for merchants who are typically turned away due to their risk level. This allows us to service merchants in a variety of industries and backgrounds. Our partners have a high understanding of these special business types, which is why we don’t shy away from risk. Join a payment provider who is willing to help your business the right way.

Become a merchant today.