Payment Processing For High-Risk Ecommerce Businesses

You process $2M in 24 hours, then go quiet for 3 months. Traditional processors see this as fraud. We see it as Tuesday. Our entire approach is different: 1. We learn your business patterns before you process a single dollar Traditional processors: algorithm sees your $1M day → automatic fraud flag → 25% reserve. Us: We understand exactly how your business operates before you even start processing. 2. Your launches aren't suspicious activity - they're your entire revenue model You run a challenge, get 1,000 people, make a few hundred transactions in minutes, then fulfill for months. We built our infrastructure expecting this exact pattern. 3. Real humans who actually get digital businesses Traditional processor flags your account → automated hold → no human to call → your business dies. Our team has actually operated info businesses. We help to avoid reserves where we can because we’ve been there and we know EXACTLY what it’s like. 4. Built for the chaos, not scared of it Most processors panic when you spike from $0 to $2M overnight. We built our systems specifically for businesses that scale in waves, not steady monthly growth. 5. Your infrastructure should accelerate growth, not choke it Traditional processors create bottlenecks that hold your money when you need it most. We built payment infrastructure that helps you scale Your sporadic high-volume processing isn't a bug - it's your business model.

A few weeks ago, I was auditing a large subscription company's payment data when I discovered something that made my blood run cold. "Stop everything you're doing. Right now." I interrupted their CEO mid-sentence. Without realizing it, they were about to get flagged by every major payment processor. One more week of this and their business would have started a vicious downward spiral from processor penalizations. Even scarier? This wasn't some rookie company. They had a world-class engineering team, but they were still making this devastating mistake. Here's what I uncovered: The company was aggressively retrying failed payments in the “Do Not Retry” category. “Do Not Retry” is a category of response codes returned by networks like Visa/Mastercard for transaction failures that should never be retried under any circumstances. For Visa, these are error codes are: Hard Decline Categories (Category 1): Code 04: Pick up card (no fraud) Code 07: Pick up card, special conditions Code 12: Invalid transaction Code 15: No such issuer Code 41: Lost card - pick up Code 43: Pickup card, stolen card Code 46: Closed account Code 57: Transaction not permitted to cardholder Code 62: Restricted card Code 78: No account Code 93: Transaction cannot be completed Visa explicitly prohibits retrying these transactions. The issuing bank will reject them 100% of the time. Risks you run retrying Hard Declines: 1) Financial Impact - Highest network fees ($0.10 per retry attempt) 2) Authorization Impact - Decreased Transaction Authorization Rate (TAR) - Fewer successful transactions over time 3) Merchant Status Impact - Risk of merchant account being flagged as "High Risk" - Processor relationship damage Retrying all failed payments blindly is a recipe for disaster. But a strategic retry approach can have huge revenue lift and upside. Here’s how you should think about retrying failed payments: 1) Analyze error codes: Not all declines are created equal. Soft declines (like insufficient funds) can and should be retried. Hard declines (like stolen cards) should never be retried. 2) Monitor TAR religiously: Your Transaction Authorization Rate is the canary in the coal mine. When it starts dropping, it's a warning sign that your retry strategy needs optimization. 3) Use machine learning for optimization: The most sophisticated companies like Redux Payments use AI to analyze hundreds of data points - from error codes to timing to geography - to determine the optimal retry strategy for each individual transaction. Remember: Payment processors are watching. Failure to comply with rules can trigger a cascade of problems that could cripple your ability to process payments. The good news? With the right strategy, these issues are completely preventable. A strategic approach to payment recovery can dramatically boost revenue while protecting your merchant account.

Accepting payments in 3 minutes feels convenient... Until you wake up and don't have access to your money. If you’re in eComm, SaaS, have recurring billing or are selling high-ticket offers… Those “click here and you’re approved in minutes” merchant accounts... Are like handing your drunk friend the car keys. Sure... maybe they’ll make it home fine. But statistically, it’s a massive liability. And when things go wrong? It’s usually catastrophic. Here’s why ⬇️ Platforms like Stripe, Klarna, Adyen and others: They don't really do underwriting. They let almost anyone in... And you're all in a pool together. Then Stripe handles the risk on the backend by closing accounts and holding funds. It's not good or bad, it's just how the business model works. But here's the b*tch... YOUR business doesn't even need to do anything wrong to have an issue. When of YOUR COMPETITORS does something that causes a review; A spike in chargebacks, a fast-growth month, an aggressive marketing campaign, And your industry or business model as a whole is impacted. We get 3-5 businesses a day that are having money held by Stripe or some other provider. Business lose the ability to payments for weeks. And can be without big chunks of cash for months when this happens. How long could YOUR business survive without cash flow? To pay staff?  Fulfill orders?  Keep ads running? The frustrating part? It’s avoidable. Here’s how to protect yourself: 1. Get fully underwritten upfront ↳ Share your actual business model, marketing, and fulfillment processes. ↳ Work with a provider who understands your industry’s risk profile. 2. Diversify your processing ↳ Have multiple merchant accounts with smart routing. ↳ Avoid a single point of failure that can take you down overnight. (hint: Easy Pay Direct can set all of that up for you) 3. Know your risk triggers ↳ Track refund rates, chargebacks, and industry compliance. ↳ Stay ahead of red flags that processors use to shut accounts down. Some shortcuts in business are fine. This isn’t one of them. Ever been burned by an instant-approval platform? ♻ Share this if you know a founder who needs to hear it.  And follow me, Brad Weimert, for more.