Gun friendly credit card processors

GUN FRIENDLY PAYMENT PROCESSOR

Holding space as a business in the gun and ammunition industry comes with a unique set of challenges. Finding a reliable gun-friendly credit card processing option is one of the most important. Like other regulated industries, firearms sellers need a credit card processor that understands their business and how to support the company’s particular needs.

Unfortunately, most credit card processors are not designed to provide the high risk merchant accounts needed to accept payments for guns and gun accessories. Creditly has helped many entrepreneurs in the firearms and ammunition industry to obtain secure, reliable processing designed for their specific business model.

WHY ARE GUN & FIREARMS DEALERS CONSIDERED HIGH-RISK?

Credit card processors determine whether a particular application is high risk based primarily on the industry’s processing history. Industry norms like restrictive laws, high chargebacks, frequent fraud, or high average prices can all play a part, even if the specific business in question has a very clean operating history.

Because of this, companies that engage in the sale of guns, ammunition, and related products are automatically considered high risk by processors. Here are some of the specific factors that affect processing risk for the firearms industry:

GUN LAWS CAN BE COMPLICATED

Due to federal and state regulations on the sale and transfer of guns and ammunition, many processors simply choose not to work with businesses in this industry. Among other things, businesses in this industry must keep up to date on strict regulations regarding the vetting of customers, registration of sales, and transfer or delivery of products. To be eligible for a firearms merchant account, the applicant must be a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) with a license that matches the types of products they sell (and/or manufacture).

LEGAL & FINANCIAL LIABILITY

Not only do laws vary by state, but there are also frequent changes to the legislation. Often, these changes are influenced by current events involving gun violence. Some processors refuse to enter the firearms space simply to avoid entangling their reputation with the polarizing “hot button” issues of gun control and Second Amendment rights activism. Those processors who are gun-friendly often limit the types of guns or related products they will permit to be sold. For instance, explosive targets or “destructive devices” may not be permitted.

FRAUD AND CHARGEBACKS

Gun-friendly credit card processors know that most businesses selling firearms and related products are diligent in verifying the identity and eligibility of their customers to legally purchase these items. Sadly, fraudsters attempt illegal purchases on stolen credit cards or with stolen identities every day.

When these crimes are successful, guns often end up in the hands of people who don’t have legal access to them otherwise. This can reflect poorly on the seller, even if they have done their proper due diligence. This fraudulent activity can also increase chargebacks when cardholders discover unauthorized purchases.

BENEFITS OF GUN-FRIENDLY CREDIT CARD PROCESSORS

Firearms business owners know that working with a gun-friendly credit card processor comes with a healthy dose of confidence that their payments won’t be interrupted. The right payment processor is aware of the risk of events like those above and is prepared for the possibility of them occurring. Because of this, they can offer processing accounts with greater stability.

REDUCED RISK OF FROZEN ACCOUNTS OR INACCESSIBLE FUNDS

Standard payment processors only have one option to prevent loss when things go sideways with a high-risk situation. They freeze or even close the processing account without warning to limit their liability. Most processors won’t even accept applications for high-risk merchant accounts. This makes the chance of getting a gun-friendly processing account very low if you’re not working with the right provider.

NO LOSS OF POTENTIAL SALES

If a processing account does get frozen, the business has no choice except to put potential credit card sales on hold while they work to get the freeze removed or a new account opened. Working with a gun-friendly processor from the beginning saves this headache from ever occurring in the first place.

WHAT Creditly PROVIDES: MERCHANT ACCOUNTS

WHAT FIREARM BUSINESSES DO WE WORK WITH?

At Creditly, we know that even gun-friendly processors have different specialties. We also know which ones are best suited to your specific business model. Whether you are exclusively a gun broker or your company also sells ammunition and accessories, military and tactical gear, or operates as a second-hand retailer like a pawn shop, we can help you get set up with a processor that’s right for you.

We can also facilitate accounts for peripheral businesses like gun training services, shooting ranges, and firearms information products. Whatever your niche, Creditly can help find a high-risk merchant account provider that wants to work with your business and provide all the resources to meet your high-risk credit card processing needs.

PAYMENT PROCESSING FEATURES AND INTEGRATIONS

At Creditly, we use processing providers who take the time to get to know the businesses they work with through underwriting. During this stage of account setup, they review documents and information about the company and its ownership to establish a baseline knowledge of the business. This ensures that the account is set up in the right way with the right features to provide a more stable credit card processing experience for your business.

Some features you can expect with Creditly include:

• An industry-leading gateway for online sales
• Quality equipment for in-person, online, and on-the-go payments
• Personal support from our team of experts
• Chargeback monitoring services
• Fraud Protection Tools
• Competitive rates

HOW TO GET A MERCHANT ACCOUNT

AFTER YOUR MERCHANT ACCOUNT IS SET UP

After we get you set up with your first merchant account, we’ll help you monitor your processing trends to ensure stable payment processing. For instance, even though Creditly takes all the precautions to prevent you from experiencing an interruption in your payment processing, once your sales volume reaches $250,000 a year, we’ll recommend getting a second account to help protect your business finances.

Having an additional merchant account that is already up, and running and processing payments gives you the freedom to pivot your payments should a problem ever occur with one of your accounts.

All of this may seem like a lot of complicated work, and it would be if you were handling it on your own. However, at Creditly, we manage all of this for you. It’s our goal to help make things easy. We’ll even assign you a Merchant Success team who will monitor your merchant accounts for you and serve as your single point of contact for all of your merchant processing needs.

THE Creditly Merchant Account EXPERIENCE

At Creditly your journey will begin with your application, which we use to collect information about you and your business to match you with the right merchant account provider.

From there you will be connected with your New Client Specialist who will help you complete this application and will be your contact to answer all of your questions.

Once we have assessed your business model, you will be classified as a Gold, Platinum, or Diamond merchant based on your unique payment processing needs.

You will be introduced to your Certified Payment Specialist who will be your point of contact throughout the account setup stage. They’ll assemble your Merchant Success team so you’ll know who to contact for all of your payment processing needs.

When you contact us, you are talking to someone that you know and who knows you and your business. Our team will monitor your accounts and perform annual merchant account reviews. They’ll be available if you have questions and will reach out to alert you if something requires your attention.