Diet Programs & Weight Loss Supplements Merchant Accounts

 

Are you looking for payment processing for diet programs or weight loss supplements?  You’ve come to the right place.  EDataPay provides merchant accounts for diet products, weight loss supplements, fitness products, health programs, weight loss membership, and recurring billing for diet & weight loss services.

 

Merchant Accounts Drive Profits for the Booming Diet & Weight Loss Industry

Merchant accounts for the diet & weight loss industry are the primary way of accepting payments from customers.  Smoothly efficient payment processing is the lifeblood of your business and cash flow, allowing you to take advantage of the accelerating growth of the diet and weight loss market

The demand for diet and weight loss supplements is booming.  How big is the market?  Consider these statistics from the National Institute of Health.

In the US, more than two-third of adults and close to one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese . Almost 45% of overweight Americans and 67% of those who are obese are trying to lose weight. Approximately 15% of American adults have used a weight-loss dietary supplement.

When diet, fitness & weight loss programs are included with supplements, the overall market in the US is a staggering $70B a year.  Zion Market Research reports that  the global diet supplement market worldwide will reach $220B by 2021.

The huge demand for  weight loss products & services continues.  Millions of consumers eagerly embrace weight loss supplements, weight loss programs, and  diet / fitness programs  to shed pounds.  Despite multiple failures, consumers continue to jump onboard the next product or program that offers them hope of success.

 

 

 

What Types of Businesses Benefit from Diet & Weight Loss Merchant Accounts?

Ecommerce business rely on internet searches and advertising to drive customers to sites to purchase diet & weight loss products & services.  TV, radio, & online infomercials direct buyers to websites while also accepting phone and mail orders (MOTO).

In addition, dieters turn to shopping networks, personal trainers, life coaches, medical professionals and social networks to find weight loss products and services.  Millenniums are now the largest population group in the US  Dieters in this age group purchase through websites, mobile apps, and social media links based on recommendations from friends.

Multilevel marketing companies (MLM) sell weight loss & diet programs through large networks of distributors. Some of the largest growth for diet supplements & weight loss products for MLM companies are international markets, although US sales remain brisk.  Distributors personal sales of diet & weight loss products to friends & family fuel big profits for MLM companies.

 

Reasons Diet Programs & Weight Loss Supplements Businesses are High Risk

The diet program and weight loss supplement markets provide you unprecedented opportunities for extraordinary growth.  Although, acquiring banks classify the industry as high risk, there are still many good payment processing options available for process for weight loss merchants.

The reason for a high-risk classification comes down to chargebacks.  When a consumer tries a weight loss supplement or diet program and does not get fast results, blame is shifted to the product or service “not working”.  Of course, this is far easier explanation for dieters than taking responsibility for weight loss goals.

Frustrated dieters call their card issuing bank, claiming that the product or service did not perform as promised.  Since the dieters are customers of the bank, chargebacks against the merchant are often upheld, whether the consumer has been honest in disputing their transactions or not.

And let’s face it, a certain percentage of weight loss customers know how to play the system, which is known as “friendly fraud”.  Many have experience getting products or services “free” by disputing the transaction as not authorized or claiming the product or service was not the same as advertised.

Making it easy for customers to contact you if they are not happy is helpful.  Still, no matter how easy you make it, some consumers will not contact you due to embarrassment, fears of being pressured into buying more, or because it’s less stressful to call their card issuing bank than you.

 

 

 

Protecting Yourself from Chargebacks

There are many effective ways for diet and weight loss merchants to control chargebacks.  Early warning chargeback systems alert you when a dispute has been filed, giving you the opportunity to issue a refund before a chargeback occurs.  Chargeback mitigation services assist you in fighting chargebacks you can win.

The card brands offer methods such as 3DSecure to shift responsibility for fraud and chargebacks away from you.  With these add-on services, an additional layer of security is added at checkout to verify the purchase.

During the application process and implementation of your merchant account, you will receive guidance on best practices to keep chargebacks under control.  Low chargeback rates protect your weight loss & diet supplement merchant accounts.  Which ultimately saves you money on processing fees.

 

Getting Approved for a Weight Loss Supplement Merchant Account

Weight loss merchants are welcome to apply for both US and international merchant accounts.  Approval for US merchant accounts can be as fast as 1 day, although most take 3-5 days due to the high risk classification of the industry  The more complete the application file is, the faster the approvals.

International merchant accounts are approved in  5-10 business days. Offshore merchant accounts are a great option if you have a global customer base  Target the regions where your customers are located and establish a weight loss merchant account in each region.  In this way, you’ll experience a significant boost in card acceptance rates from dieters located in those regions.

Our “niche” market is high volume merchant accounts.  Obtain the processing capacity you desire to manage & grow your business. Get a single account or diversify processing with multiple accounts.

Monthly minimum processing of $50K per month is preferred.  Startups may be accepted if growth to $50K monthly is expected within the first few months.

 

 

 

How to Apply for Diet Program & Weight Loss Supplement Merchant Accounts

Applying for diet programs and weight loss supplement merchant accounts is a straight forward process.  You simply submit an application along with supporting documents.

The supporting documents provide information on the business and the signer(s) on the account.  Standard documents are:  government-issued ID; voided check from settlement account; 3 months most recent bank statements; 3-6 months of payment processing history; and business formation details.

Since a merchant account is similar to a short-term line of credit, it’s important that the signer on the account has good personal credit.  If credit is not good, adding a co-signer with excellent credit will help account approval.

Be sure that your business bank statements show positive cashflows. Confirm that bank accounts have enough money to support the processing volume being requested.

Ecommerce merchants websites need to be in good shape & working well.  Test all links. Confirm everything is displaying well, with no glitches.

Post refund and privacy policies on websites.  If products are being shipped, include shipping information.  Make it easy for customers to contact you by clearly displaying contact emails, customer service details, and hours of service.

 

Approval Process for a Weight Loss Merchant Accounts

When reviewing an application for weight loss merchant accounts, underwriters evaluate risks associated with the account.  They assess the products & services being sold and  how they are sold.  Claims made about the effectiveness of products cannot be deceptive, false or misleading.  Weight loss supplements ingredients are checked against actions or notifications by FDA, FTC, or other government agencies,

Chargeback history is examined.  If you have low chargebacks, that’s great.  If your chargebacks are edging up, include a short explanation in your application file of the reason chargebacks are on the rise.  And what is being done to reduce them.

During the application process, answer emails & phones in a timely manner.  Often underwriters will “cold-call” to see how responsive the company is.  However, you’ll never know it’s them.  If calls go to voice mail, have a message with the name of the company and when the caller can expect a call back.  For email customer service responses, include the same information.  Then be sure  to respond to all inquiries in a timely fashion.

These days, underwriters routinely check online reviews about your company.  Therefore, it’s wise for you to do the same prior to submitting your application to determine what the underwriter will see.  Do your best to respond to comments in a timely & positive manner.  In this way, you are demonstrating that you are interested in customer satisfaction.

 

Why Diet Supplement & Weight Loss Merchants Chose eDataPay

The following are reasons weight loss merchants use our payment processing services.

LET US WORK FOR YOU