How to Get a Bad Credit Merchant Account

Do you have bad credit and need a merchant account?

If you own a business you may already know how hard it is to get a loan or line of credit from your bank these days.

Yet, to grow your business you will need to accept credit cards.

So what can you do?

How to Get a Merchant Account with Bad Credit

Like any other type of banking product, you will need to complete an application. And meet minimum acceptance critieria.

So the first tips is this...

Don't sign up with a merchant account provider who will charge you an application fee.

For years banks have charge application fees, even when they knew in advance that you couldn't get approval. But why not make money for nothing, right?

Next, get your paperwork ready prior to filling out an application.

Some typical requirements or guidelines are:

FICO score of 400+
No open bankruptcies

You may need to show bank statements, prior year tax returns, and proof of business ID (like a sales tax form, or Article of Incorporation) as well.

Finally, you'll need to work with a company that specializes in helping business with bad credit.

I don't have to tell you that the banks are running scared these days (or maybe they're just being jerks). In any event, most merchant account providers don't want to deal with business that have bad credit.

And those companies that will work with you may take a little time to give you an approval.

So my final tip is this... start the process early enough so that you can deal with the approval process.

The last time I looked Cardaccept claimed that they can get you approved in 48 hours or less.
In any event, give yourself a few weeks time between applying for a merchant account and needing it opened and ready to accept credit cards.

Finally, you'll need to...

Choose a Merchant Account Provider

So what can you do to make sure you get the best merchant account?

Request your free rate quotes for bad credit merchant accounts from qualified providers today.

That way you can make side by side comparisons of the different merchant account providers. Then compare offers for yourself, ask questions and select the one that's right for you.

After all, the choice is yours...

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