The internet and other forms of modern technology have changed the world of business in a lot of different ways, opening up new opportunities for businesses across many different industries. And one of the biggest shifts we’ve seen in recent years is the rise of subscription-based services, with many businesses offering access to their products or services for regular weekly, monthly, or annual fees.
This method can be used for all kinds of products and services, from wine clubs and meal deliveries to cybersecurity programs and streaming platforms. Lots of companies are letting people enjoy the benefits and uses of their services in this way, and one common marketing tool they use to get more subscribers is the “trial offer” or “free offer” method.
The High Risk Trial Offer IndustryBefore we look at the ins and outs of trial offer merchant accounts and how they work, it’s important to know the basics of trial offers and why they’re so popular right now. So why is it that so many businesses that are relying on subscription models are starting to make use of free trials and similar offers?
Well, the main benefit of this form of marketing is that it gets people interested in whatever you have to offer. A streaming service, for example, can give people a 30-day free trial of their platform. This lets the customer see what the service is all about and enjoy it for a set amount of time. If they enjoy the service, they may continue on into a full premium subscription when the trial ends.
Usually, in order to sign up for free trials, users have to create accounts, provide some personal information, and input their card details too. So, from a business perspective, trial offers are a great way to gather more customer data and get more accounts made on your site or platform, giving you more marketing potential to transform leads into paying customers. But, as stated, you’ll need to have a trial offer merchant account to make it all happen.
In simple terms, you need a trial offer merchant account to be able to receive card payments online. With the trial offer merchant account set up, customers can visit your site, sign up for a trial offer, enter their card details, and send payments to you safely and securely. And if you don’t have a trial offer merchant account, then you won’t be able to receive these kinds of payments.
Given that most trial offers and subscriptions are bought and paid for online nowadays, with credit and debit cards being the most popular payment method for most people, it’s really important to have a merchant account for trial offers if you want to propose this kind of service. Without such an account, your trial offer might not attract many subscribers at all.
As we can see, if you want to start offering trial offers and subscriptions, you’ll need to get a trial offer merchant account set up to be able to take payments and grow your brand. However, the problem is that a lot of banks and payment processors won’t want to work with you if they find out that you’re offering this kind of service.
Why? Well, banks tend to worry when trials and free offers are involved, because they see them as quite risky. They worry that they’ll have to deal with lots of extra fees, chargebacks, and unnecessary hassle, all caused by the nature of the trial offer. And, in general, banks want to avoid those kinds of issues, so many refuse to offer trial offer merchant accounts or services of any kind.
There are a few reasons for this. The main issue is that trial offers can generate a high amount of chargebacks. A chargeback is when a cardholder disputes a payment or requests their money back for something they’ve paid for with their card. There are a few potential reasons why chargebacks are more likely to occur when it comes to trial offers and subscriptions.
The main issue is that people sign up for the free offer and then forget to cancel before the first payment gets taken or are unaware that they have signed up for an auto-renewal plan and will have money taken from their account later on. Then, when they see that the money has gone, they can get frustrated and initiate a chargeback.
They may also experience buyers remorse and regret signing up, or they might have been confused by the business offering the trial and not have known how to cancel their subscription in the first place. All of this results in more problems for banks, which is why so many of them don’t want to provide trial offer merchant accounts.
So, since there are so many risks and concerns associated with certain trial offers and businesses proposing free offer subscriptions, what can you do if you want to propose a trial offer but can’t get a bank to give you the trial offer merchant account you need to get started? Well, even though there are many banks out there who will refuse to work with you, Shark Processing can help you find the perfect payment partner to meet your needs.
At Shark Processing, we’re experts in high risk payment processing for high risk industries. We know that you can face a lot of challenges when offering free offers and trial subscriptions to market your products and services, and we’re here to help you get the trial offer merchant account you need to grow your business, generate leads, and bring in more customers.
We work together with a network of trusted banks and payment processors from around the world who aren’t afraid of working with businesses in high risk industries. So we can help you find the ideal trial offer merchant account to suit your needs, with the perfect rates and best levels of support, every time. Give us a call today to find out how we can help with all your trial offer merchant account needs.
