We have a Travel company in South Florida that sells Vacation packages via call center and Paper click Marketing and struggle to find a good merchant account. We are incorporated in the US and the only processors that we can find to approve us are off shore and pay us out with a two week lag. This creates a problem because we have to pay our fulfillment centers every few weeks. Can anyone provide a merchant account without the the ridiculous payout cycle? I have a brother in the restaurant business and he gets deposits every 24-36 hours. Ideally that's what I would like. Please let me know if there are any good recommendations out there. Jeff
Hi Jeff. We work directly with a US domestic acquiring bank. Our wholesale ISO takes more risk than any other wholesale ISO I know in the industry. So long as the business is legal and the industry is not on the Restricted List, we can provide a domestic solution (direct mid) where your payments will be sent via ACH directly to your bank account within 24-36 hours. Your payments will be sent to you as fast as your brother's restaurant payments! The Travel industry is approved. Can we quickly talk/email or Skype? My email is and Skype name is "gatewaypay", phone is 866-281-2116. Thank you!
Hello, Thanks for the quick reply Shawn. I will be away from Thursday until Sunday night but will reach out to you early next week and we can discuss your solution. I am interested to hear what you have to offer. Jeff
Any provider claiming to fund travel in 24 - 48 hours is either lying or insane. Find someone who is upfront about the business type and really understands what you are doing. There are very few processors in the US that can adequately handle the risk that comes with travel businesses. Even, long-term, solid travel agencies are extremely high risk accounts. As a new business, do not expect to get instant funding with this type of business and end up processing with a reputable company.
Thanks for the reply. Regarding travel-merchants, I do have a domestic US solution with a US acquiring bank and it pays like any domestic merchant account, in 24-36 hours. Not every travel merchant will be approved but if the business is stable and customer-service is managed appropriately, I can approve the account. The travel industry has a stigma because of some bad apples and the fact that we are dealing with future receivables. The future cannot be predicted so it does add a layer of risk. But, if the merchant has been successful in the industry, operates a profitable business and chargebacks are minimal, there is no reason why they should not be approved. We have many stable travel merchants in our portfolio processing domestically for many years. I assure you... it can be done.
If anyone stumbles upon this and is interested, there is a great article about travel industry credit card processing and why they are so difficult to get and what you can do about it: https://www.durangomerchantservices.com/travel-merchant-account/ The short version is that Travel is expensive Travel plans are prone to change/cancellation Your customers want their money back now Travel is a mature/competitive business environment for entrepreneurs. It is almost always possible to secure a merchant account, but you may have to do things like taking a deposit upfront and waiting to get paid until a few weeks or a month before trip. This avoids chargebacks. You can also get financial failure insurance in case you business goes under, which is common in this very competitive business environment. As a last resort you can also offer to delay payment or have a cash reserve, but that should be used as a negotiation tactic if initial application is rejected.