how tough is it going to be to get a merchant account with zero credit?

prepay. if you cant do that, then give them any references you can and ask for a small amount of credit to work with. once you show that you actually pay, you're good to go. maybe a combo of the two: "if i pay down 2k, can you give me 15k limit?"

it depends on the network. small to medium size networks will probably be alright with anything as long as they know they are going direct with your offer.
 


adammcd said:
prepay. if you cant do that, then give them any references you can and ask for a small amount of credit to work with. once you show that you actually pay, you're good to go. maybe a combo of the two: "if i pay down 2k, can you give me 15k limit?"

it depends on the network. small to medium size networks will probably be alright with anything as long as they know they are going direct with your offer.
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huh ?
 
Sonny Forelli said:
I found buying a house significantly easier if that gives you any perspective...
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oh jesus, i have insanely amazing credit and a 20% down payment and proof of employment and i couldnt believe how much bs was involved with buying a house.
 
You would probably be able to get a small MID to start with a reserve. If you can show an established business that isn't 1 week old, you can demonstrate how you will be getting sales, provide a business plan, etc. you will have an easier time.

Sometimes if you can show that you are actually putting some thought and effort behind the product it can make a world of difference to the underwriters. Supplements get a lot of scrutiny now (straight sale or not), just please don't say it is Acai :P

Also, if you are just wanting to get started and test a little bit, Paypal might be your best bet. Once you start producing some volume you would at least have a bit of paypal history to show if necessary.
 
Well first you need to get a business license to open a business account.... but then you can go and open a merchant account with the bank. Create a general business name like Fitness corp then you can open multiple sites etc and process them all with the same merchant account.
 
CCarter said:
I would get paypal and call it a day, or hook up with someone that already has established credit, and get a merchant account through them. Or ask an established e-commerce site to put your products on their site, or do a joint venture if credit is the problem. There are lots of ways to get the money in, just get it in.

But indeed, you are going to be denied, since one what your selling is very high risk, and your age, and you have no credit. All of those are individually are red flags, 3 put together, you're in some trouble. Most merchants, look at your last 3 months income, actually further back. So if you can get in good with top level, you might be able to get around some of their flags.
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it seems like paypal would not be very nice to supplements, but i'd like to have it. i'm just scared about what happens if tens and then hundreds of orders start pouring in and they stop our ability to accept payments. that would be bad. if they just stop our ability to withdraw (fast), that wouldn't be that big of a deal. being able to accept orders is what i'm now worried about.

by the way -- could i just use my parents for the merchant account? they have good credit. how exactly would that process work?
 
TFLNetwork said:
Be prepared to prepay if you want to get on networks.
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is prepaying just putting down the fees they are going to make on commissions upfront? that won't be a problem...as long as i can get back the money if the product doesn't sell.

so what do i say to these guys in an email...hey....i have no credit...since i have no credit, i'm willing to prepay in order to get an account to accept payments?

what would be a standard amount to prepay if i'm going to sell the product for $100 a bottle?
 
glacierpayments said:
You would probably be able to get a small MID to start with a reserve. If you can show an established business that isn't 1 week old, you can demonstrate how you will be getting sales, provide a business plan, etc. you will have an easier time.

Sometimes if you can show that you are actually putting some thought and effort behind the product it can make a world of difference to the underwriters. Supplements get a lot of scrutiny now (straight sale or not), just please don't say it is Acai :P

Also, if you are just wanting to get started and test a little bit, Paypal might be your best bet. Once you start producing some volume you would at least have a bit of paypal history to show if necessary.
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thanks. what does your first sentence mean:

"You would probably be able to get a small MID to start with a reserve."

i'm planning to use paypal...but definitely need a backup (or something better) by the sound of it.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TFLNetwork
Be prepared to prepay if you want to get on networks.


davidle said:
is prepaying just putting down the fees they are going to make on commissions upfront? that won't be a problem...as long as i can get back the money if the product doesn't sell.

so what do i say to these guys in an email...hey....i have no credit...since i have no credit, i'm willing to prepay in order to get an account to accept payments?

what would be a standard amount to prepay if i'm going to sell the product for $100 a bottle?
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I think this guy is confusing a merchant account with a network. Probably hasn't read the OP right.
 
conv3rsion said:
oh jesus, i have insanely amazing credit and a 20% down payment and proof of employment and i couldnt believe how much bs was involved with buying a house.
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Fucking This! I just closed on my new house Monday. 819 / 807 / 803 credit scores and 20 % down and you'd think I was running for president or some shit. The banks are tight across the board but it can be done.
 
okay, so we're still considering our options.

i still have no credit. i really would like to get accepted for PayPal's Website Payments Pro, which is a merchant/payment gateway in one. i've heard many of the problems associated with normal PayPal (stopping processing payments, slow withdrawal) don't apply if you have Website Payments Pro...where they check your credit. what i want to do is this:

let my dad sign up for PayPal Website Payments Pro for us...he actually has credit so i would think we'd be approved. is this a terrible idea? he is not part of our LLC.

another thing, we are selling a supplement (not dietary) but it's just straight sale...does that still make us high-risk? we are offering a very generous return guarantee and also have correspondences from some of the best lawyers in the industry saying that 1) our product is perfectly legal/legit, and 2) all of our claims are legally permissible and compliant with the FDA. maybe we could show these to PayPal?
 
also, do payment gateways care if we're selling supplements (making us "high risk") or do we only have to worry about merchant accounts?
 
glacierpayments said:
Also, if you are just wanting to get started and test a little bit, Paypal might be your best bet. Once you start producing some volume you would at least have a bit of paypal history to show if necessary.
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are you talking about regular paypal (payments standard, i think) or paypal website payments pro? we want to do the latter, but they do a credit check!

also, what are they scared of? why do you need credit to accept payments? payments are like the opposite of debt and i thought credit was for people who want debt.

what if i merchant processors how rich i am?
 
Getting back to the original question - it's very simple:

If you want to take someone else's money you have to play by their rules.

If you can find someone who will give out what you are looking for without a credit history - best of luck to you. If not - that's life.
 
Sharksfan said:
Getting back to the original question - it's very simple:

If you want to take someone else's money you have to play by their rules.

If you can find someone who will give out what you are looking for without a credit history - best of luck to you. If not - that's life.
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well duh brah.
 
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