Gone are the days when you’d have to stare deeply into a crystal ball to reveal your future. Today, you might as well stare at your computer screen. Astrology and numerology services abound online, and these merchants deliver the same fortune-telling perks as in-person providers.
For astrology and numerology services, however, the future may look uncertain. With merchant acquirers not wanting to take on the perceived risk, high-risk astrology merchant accounts have become a serious struggle to obtain.
Conducting business today means meeting customers and clients where they’re most comfortable. And that covers every area of the transaction — from your marketing funnel to your payments.
According to studies, buyers often have strongly held payment preferences. That means if you can’t accept payments through their preferred method, they’re likely to walk out the door and find a merchant that will.
Astrology and numerology service providers — whether conducting business online or face to face — would benefit from an expansion of payment methods. This can be made possible by setting up a merchant account.
Developed by financial institutions to allow businesses to take digital payments (like credit and debit cards), merchant accounts provide the key for ventures to go cashless.
The only problem however is that banks and acquirers perceive astrology merchants as high risk. But why?
Banks and merchant acquirers perform their own form of fortune-telling to determine possible risks. But they don’t just rely on constellations and dreams. Instead, they use more measurable factors to identify how risky a venture might be.
These factors include:
| FACTOR | LOW RISK | HIGH RISK |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Within the US, EU, Canada, Japan, or Australia | Everywhere else |
| Average transaction cost | Under $500 | More than $500 |
| Average monthly revenue | Under $20,000 | Over $20,000 |
| Transaction type | Card present | Card not present |
| Currency | Domestic | International |
| Customers | Domestic | International |
| Payment scheme | One-time | Subscription or recurring |
| Credit rating | Poor | High |
| Industry | Low risk industries include furniture, apparel, groceries, food, etc. | High risk industries include cannabis, hemp, online casinos, adult products and services, etc. |
Generally, astrology and numerology get lumped together with other high-risk industries because of, ironically, the uncertainty of their services.
There are countless astrology merchants out there that provide authentic services. But for every well-meaning fortune-teller, there are about a dozen wannabes. And when these unscrupulous providers offer their services to their clients, what are the odds of their readings becoming reality? Probably next to none.
When clients pay for services that attempt to predict their future, and tomorrow just doesn’t work out as they were told, they’re likely going to want their money back. And when you pay with a credit or debit card, you can bypass all the red tape by initiating a chargeback.
Chargebacks cost money for everyone involved in processing the digital payment — from merchants to acquirers, to card issuers. And since no one wants to lose money, merchant acquirers simply avoid partnering up with high-risk clients that could increase their chances of having to contend with chargebacks.
So you’ve probably tried your stars to see whether you could set up an astrology merchant account with a traditional merchant acquirer. What your intuition probably didn’t pick up is all the rejection you’d have to face.
Banks are conservative by nature, and they will heartlessly turn down merchants that threaten their financial success. That’s why merchants in high-risk industries have slim chances of getting approval from these conventional merchant account providers.
Even in the rare case that you get approval at a traditional bank, there’s no guarantee that your high-risk astrology merchant account will work in your favor.
To protect their operations from the risk you present, banks will impose steep charges and fees and will trap you in unreasonable contract terms that could sap you of any profit.
In the worst scenario, you could find yourself having to work with a merchant account that restricts your business growth all in favor of assuring your merchant acquirer that your risk won’t cause them any losses.
Fortunately, traditional financial institutions aren’t the only option when it comes to opening up a high-risk astrology merchant account.
Here at Shark Processing, we see a bright future ahead for astrology merchants. We work together with hard-to-place merchants to find suitable merchant acquirers to cater to your digital payment needs.
There’s no need to consult the stars if you’re struggling to get a high-risk astrology merchant account. Here at Shark Processing, we put an end to uncertainty with our tried, tested, and trusted solutions that guarantee placement for hard-to-place high-risk merchants.
Enjoy simple application requirements, fast processing, and guaranteed approval in 24 hours or less. Contact us today to learn more about our services or get started on your high-risk astrology merchant account by filling up our pre-application form.
