CBD, scientifically known as cannabidiol, is the second-most popular active ingredient of cannabis or marijuana. CBD has been gaining a lot of popularity because of the numerous studies claiming CBD’s many benefits. CBD’s popularity ultimately skyrocketed when the 2018 Farm Bill was passed, legalizing CBD at the federal level.
Since then, there is a variety of CBD for sale that are available in the market today. From oils and edibles, the CBD market is booming with business opportunities. The CBD market is currently estimated to have a global market value of USD 24.6 billion last 2020.
Despite all these promising facts, however, CBD business owners still face many challenges, especially with federal regulations. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because all CBD products fall under categories of their jurisdiction (food, drugs, cosmetics, dietary supplements, and medical devices), has a lot of regulations and restrictions with selling CBD products.
For example, they allow CBD to be included as an ingredient in cosmetics. Still, it cannot be added as an ingredient to food or dietary supplements, making it very tricky to market and sell CBD products. This hurdle has created a ripple effect of challenges for CBD business owners.
Due to the tricky federal regulations surrounding the CBD market, CBD businesses are considered to be high-risk merchants. Because of this classification, banks and major payment processing companies like Mastercard, Visa, American Express, PayPal, Square, Stripe, and Shopify have refused to process cashless or credit card payments for CBD businesses, limiting them to only cash transactions. However, CBD businesses need not worry because there is a solution to all their payment-processing dilemmas: high-risk merchant services.
High-risk merchant services or accounts are simply accounts that process safe cashless payments to high-risk merchants. These services give high-risk merchants, like CBD business owners, the same freedom to conduct their businesses normally as low-risk merchants.
Aside from giving them a gateway to transact safely, there are other benefits of availing the services of high-risk merchant accounts. High-risk merchant accounts allow CBD businesses to expand their reach because they can offer and sell their products locally and internationally.
Another benefit of availing the services of high-risk merchant accounts would be having protection against chargebacks and the susceptibility of fraudulent activity, both of which are very common concerns of high-risk merchants.
As a business owner, you have to be responsible when looking for the best high-risk merchant service that will cater to your CBD business. Since there are already numerous high-risk merchant accounts available, you have to be meticulous when researching different high-risk merchant accounts and which one is the best for your CBD business.
Here are a few things that will help you when looking for the most suitable high-risk merchant service for your CBD business:
A very clear indicator of an effective and efficient high-risk merchant service is reputability. When other companies and businesses, especially those of your same category, recommend the high-risk merchant service, it is usually a good sign that they will benefit your business. Besides that, you also have to check if they already have prior experience handling businesses that fall under the same category as your business. Another good thing to consider is if they also have an in-house specialist about your business.
One of the most important things to consider is if the high-risk merchant service has customer service ready to assist you and is available 24/7. Federal regulations regarding CBD businesses are a bit tricky, and inquiries about how these regulations can affect your business and your customers are common with CBD businesses’ nature.
Legal and federal regulations are a big part of any CBD business, so both the CBD business owners and the high-risk merchant services must always be up-to-date about these regulations and their changes, if there are any.
High-risk merchant services are a service that specializes in high-risk merchants, so you must remember that their fees are higher than most payment processing firms. However, a good high-risk merchant service is very upfront and transparent about the fees that they will be charging your business. You must make sure that there are no hidden charges when you avail of their services.
The high-risk merchant services must also be very thorough and strict about following these regulations to ensure both the business and its customers’ safety. Another benefit to consider is if the high-risk merchant service also offers effective anti-fraud tools that can further protect your business
One of the most reputable and reliable high-risk merchant services of CBD businesses today is My Payments Solutions USA. They offer reliable and transparent high-risk merchant services at an affordable price and have prior experience handling high-risk businesses of different categories.
While there are many challenges that you will be facing when you set up your CBD business, do not lose heart. Many services can help your business prosper; as long as you do your research and take calculated risks, you will be successful.
