Best Merchant Accounts for Digital Goods | U.S. & Canada

If you’ve spent any time online, you’re aware of the large market for digital items. You will require a merchant account equipped to handle these kinds of transactions if you wish to enter the world of digital goods. A wide range of payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and recurring payments, must also be supported by your system. Here are the best merchant accounts for digital goods.

The flip side of this is that you don’t have to master every nuance of this intricate industry because your payment processor must be knowledgeable and experienced in everything.

HOW DO DIGITAL GOODS BUSINESSES OPERATE?

Online sales of products and services are a relatively common business model nowadays. You don’t need a lot of startup money to do this, but it makes a lot of money. The fact that you don’t need to invest a fortune is one of the key reasons why every organization, large or little, wants to move online.

Online retailers offer digital products that can be used on a computer, phone, tablet, or another device. When you buy digital products, you don’t buy the items that make up a physical object; instead, you buy pieces of information. These include items such as eBooks, music, movies, video games, and much more.

You don’t need to buy any inventory or hire an office space to sell goods online. All you would require is a working website that can provide customers with high-quality products and has a safe and secure digital payment capability.

The problem is right here! The primary concern is setting up a secure and fully functional digital payment processor. Nowadays, the majority of people are comfortable making payments online, therefore if your company is not prepared, there is a probability that it may fail.

Is it simple to obtain a payment gateway for digital goods?

Application and approval for a payment gateway for digital goods are simple processes. However, in other situations, such as with a high-risk e-commerce business, getting clearance can be challenging. You might even get turned down multiple times. If your company falls into the dangerous business category, you may need a trustworthy payment processor who can offer you a digital products payment gateway because many general banks might not approve you for it.

What is a payment processor for digital goods?

Customers of online stores have access to a large selection of goods. When a customer has finished shopping, payment must be made to confirm the order. Here is where a reliable digital products payment processor that allows your customers to make payments in your merchant account should be present on your website or mobile application.

Now, you need the following steps to accept payments online:

1. Shopping cart software enables users to choose products and temporarily store them for purchases.
2. A blockchain-based payment gateway is a program that permits online credit- or debit card payments.
3. Whenever a customer makes a payment, the funds are transferred to and deposited into a merchant account.

Businesses must implement a similar-functioning digital products payment processing service and start secure payments for this procedure to go smoothly.

Best Merchant Accounts For Digital Goods

It is a business account used by retailers who offer digital goods in large quantities to collect payments. Products like games, software applications, and audiovisual media, such as books, movies, and music, are examples of digital commodities that are given via electronic technology.

However, the majority of traditional payment providers and banks frequently view businesses in this category as high risk. This makes it challenging to meet the requirements for reasonable payment processing rates, assuming any supplier will cooperate with you at all.

Why Are Online Retailers of Digital Goods Considered High Risk?

Since these companies are high-risk, payment processors are the main obstacle for the merchants. Digital products businesses fall under this high-risk category due to a few related variables.

1. Copyright and Fraud: Information is simpler to copy than physical objects are to replicate. It’s quite simple to copy an eBook or other electronic file for another user once it’s out there in the world. The merchant may suffer losses if they use different IP addresses or select different phone numbers from the same address.
2. Subscription Billing Features: When a cardholder forgets they’ve purchased an online subscription and realizes after seeing the amount on their bill, chargebacks, and disputes become prevalent.
3. Large Payment Quantity: Scammers frequently create phoney accounts and use stolen cards to make purchases. They close the account after a specific period, leaving banks to handle chargebacks and other consequences.
4. Card Not Present (CNP): When there is no actual payment card to validate, such as during online purchases, fraud is far more common. Any type of CNP transaction is typically seen by banks as having a high-risk component.

If you can locate a supplier willing to deal with you, the abovementioned issues make it challenging for large digital goods retailers to qualify for excellent payment processing rates. Banks frequently don’t want to deal with the issues brought on by high-risk firms.

You may have had some trouble finding a reasonable merchant account that suits your needs if you offer digital products. Fortunately, as e-commerce becomes more prevalent, more credit card processors are emerging that provide services like online shop builders, marketing tools, and accounting software integration at affordable prices.

The finest merchant accounts for digital goods are listed here to assist you to pick a service that suits your needs. The businesses on this list include software integration, e-commerce solutions, marketing tools, and other practical resources for running a digital goods company.

Additionally, they are recognized for proposing low-commitment contracts with clear pricing and exceptional customer service. Do your homework on the items and features of each processor, as well as price and term comparisons, to choose the best seller for your digital goods.

Host Merchant Services

Host Merchant Services is situated in Newark, Delaware. Most digital goods businesses can benefit from Host Merchant Services’ merchant account offerings. Online marketing tools, an online payment gateway, and virtual terminal, mobile credit card processing, gift and loyalty programs, merchant cash advances, and offshore merchant accounts are just a few of the company’s goods and services. A free website and email address are offered to interested merchants by Host Merchant Services, which specializes in e-commerce firms. Except for a few high-risk business models, Host is a wonderful fit for all standard-risk digital product sellers.

On public forums, Host Merchant Services has only encountered favorable reviews. The majority of commenters singled out the business’s customer service for appreciation. The interchange-plus price, which has no early termination fees, is available to all of Host’s merchants. Customers have access to the most transparent pricing structure and are free to terminate service at any time without paying any fees.

Key features:

• most industries get approval quickly
• No contract fees or termination costs
• Excellent client service

PaymentCloud

PaymentCloud is a merchant account service with a base in Woodland Hills, California. It focuses on working with standard to high-risk company models. Point-of-sale solutions, swipers for mobile devices, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, EMV-compatible terminals, and merchant cash advances are just a few of the company’s goods and services. PaymentCloud is a wonderful option for selling digital items because of its wide range of payment options.

For the duration of the account, PaymentCloud assigns each new merchant a dedicated account representative. The company tailors its price to each merchant’s business kind and processing history, and it has not received any unfavorable complaints on consumer forums.

Key features:

• Numerous “high-risk” sectors can receive approval quickly.
• wide range of goods and services
• Excellent client service

CDG Commerce

CDG Commerce is situated in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is a fantastic choice for American-based vendors of standard-risk digital goods. Since 1998, CDG has operated under private ownership.

It provides a virtual terminal, QuickBooks connection, sales reporting, security breach protection, and vulnerability screening in addition to its payment gateway and a discount on Authorize.Net. Selling e-books, music, movies, and software online is made simple, affordable, and seamless with CDG Commerce.

No yearly fees, monthly minimums, or termination costs are included in CDG Commerce’s competitive contractual terms, which only include a small, flat price per transaction. Additionally, CDG provides same-day finance to most businesses kinds.

Key features:

• solutions that are customized for most industries
• simple and clear pricing
• Quickbooks is among the 350+ technology connections.

National Processing

National Processing provides a variety of small company processing alternatives, and it can help online merchants choose the best POS system or virtual terminal for their requirements. The company has two pricing options, both of which have competitive pricing: one is the interchange-plus program and the other is the “zero-fee” program.

With only one complaint made in the previous three years, National Processing maintains an impeccable reputation. According to our unbiased evaluation, National Processing is a good choice for the majority of online businesses.

Key features:

• The best option for companies looking to use Clover POS
• Quick approval and deposits the next day
• 24-hour support and rapid gadget delivery

Shopify

The company’s main product is an e-commerce platform for online retailers. It also provides point-of-sale software for iPad and iPhone users. The Shopify POS software comes with the feature of inventory syncing with an online store, emailed receipts, automatic tax calculations, useful email marketing function, and an easy in-store refund process. It can process payments via a headphone jack card swiper or a $129 EMV reader. People making digital transactions will benefit greatly from these online payment choices. Furthermore, they will feel secure and at ease utilizing the service since Shopify’s well-known brand.

A Shopify online store offers a variety of customization choices. It can also be used in conjunction with the Shopify payment service. Digital vendors who want to accept payments both in-person and online through their phones may consider Shopify POS.

Key features:

• Serving practically every demand from small to large
• Serving practically every demand from small to large
• A large selection of plug-ins for almost any business necessity

Added Alternatives:

Easy Pay Direct

Accounts for Easy Pay Direct merchants are simple to use. Both signing up and getting started are simple processes. There will be no need for you to waste time looking around for the best deals, the best customer service, or the best reviews. Your application for a digital products merchant account may be granted based on the following factors:

• Credit – confirm that at least one account signatory has good credit.
• Website: Underwriters will examine to see if your website is safe and works properly.
• Contact: Make sure you prominently show your customer service contact details. It should be simple to find the company’s refund, privacy, and other policies.
• Autoresponders: Be sure to reply to consumer emails right away and let them know when to expect a human answer.

Key features:

• Connection with almost all online shopping carts
• Multiple currency support
• Mobile payment compliance with EPD’s transaction routing system, which is pending patent (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc)
• PCI Security Compliance at Level One
• Emulator for Authorize.net
• Easy to Use and Simple API
• Wide-ranging Reporting

Signature Payments

For a variety of digital goods firms, Signature Payments offers merchant accounts. For more than 20 years, businesses have been able to use merchant accounts from Signature Payments to purchase digital items. It specializes in assisting high-risk industry businesses obtain authorization for secure payment processing. Digital downloads, streaming media, site design, gaming services, and telecom are just a few of the industries that accept payments through Signature Payments. As leaders in the field, Signature Payments has a team of internal experts prepared to assist you in obtaining approval for your digital products merchant account so you can start taking online payments right away.

Given the particular requirements of sellers of digital goods and Signature Payments’ experience in the high-risk market, it is ideally placed to give you the solutions and assistance you require to expand your business.

Key features:

• Simple Sign-Up
• Quick approvals No additional costs
• Most significant payment gateways are compatible with Flexible Solutions (including Authorize.net, ePN, and NMI)
• Most software integrates with merchant accounts.