I recently read a blog post, one of those “ask the expert” type articles. This one was about a marketing couple who apparently were not from the USA and so could not use the usual US payment processor. Furthermore the woman and her husband weren’t sure they had the credit rating to use the traditional shopping cart services either. Their question was, what are the advantages and disadvantages of high risk merchant accounts?

The first advantage is fewer restrictions. That is also the first disadvantage, since fewer restrictions can lead to abuses of the system. Another advantage is that approval for an account can happen in as little as 72 hours instead of in three to four weeks, as is the case with some merchant accounts. Again, this can be a disadvantage, too, because a shorter approval time might mean the company does not do thorough background and credit checks.

The “expert” blogger did not offer advice. Instead he laid out the pro’s and the con’s, leaving the decision totally up to the couple asking the question.