Digital Streaming

Why Digital Streaming businesses are considered High-Risk?

Digital streaming products are high-risk merchants when selling online due to the potential for chargebacks. Chargebacks can occur when customers dispute transactions and request refunds, which can lead to financial losses for merchants.
Fraud is another significant risk factor for digital streaming products when selling online. Hackers and scammers may try to gain access to content without paying, or use stolen credit card information to make purchases. Chargeback fraud is also a concern, with some customers exploiting the system to obtain free access to content.
Payment processors and banks are often hesitant to work with digital streaming product merchants due to the high risk involved. As a result, merchants may struggle to find a reliable and secure payment processing solution, leading to potential financial losses and difficulty scaling their business.

Merchants selling digital streaming products must be proactive in mitigating risks to protect their business. This includes implementing strong security measures such as two-factor authentication and fraud detection software, as well as regularly reviewing and updating security protocols to stay ahead of potential threats.
Ensuring clear terms and conditions are in place for refunds and disputes is also crucial for mitigating chargeback risks associated with digital streaming products. Merchants should also monitor customer behavior and suspicious activity to identify potential fraud or chargeback fraud early and take necessary steps to mitigate risks.

Mitigation measures for Digital Streaming merchants to reduce risks when selling online

Digital streaming products merchants face a range of risks when selling online, including chargebacks and fraud. To mitigate these risks, merchants can take several measures:

Implement strong security measures: Merchants can reduce the risk of fraud and unauthorized access by implementing two-factor authentication, encryption, and fraud detection software.
Clear terms and conditions: Merchants can reduce the risk of chargebacks by ensuring that their terms and conditions are clear, and that customers understand what they are buying and the refund policy.
Monitor customer behavior: Merchants should monitor customer behavior and suspicious activity to identify potential fraud or chargeback fraud early and take necessary steps to mitigate risks.
Regularly review security protocols: Merchants should regularly review and update their security protocols to stay ahead of potential threats.
Work with reliable payment processors: Merchants should work with reliable payment processors and banks that specialize in high-risk industries to ensure that they are protected against chargebacks and fraudulent transactions.
Use a fraud prevention service: Merchants can use fraud prevention services to help detect and prevent fraudulent transactions, including identity theft and credit card fraud.

Being a high-risk merchant vs. a regular merchant

Higher payment processing fees
Lengthier application process
Higher chargeback fees
Cash reserve requirments:
- Capped reserve
- Rolling reserve
- Upfrom reserve
Volume caps
Additional technical requirements
Being on the TMF / MATCH list

Check out our knowledge hub to learn more about what processing fees, application process, chargebacks and cash reserve requirements or TMF / MATCH list mean.

Other risk factors?

There may be other risk factors as to why you as a Digital Streaming merchant are classified as a high-risk merchant, such as:

Accepting subscription-style payments
Being on the Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants, or MATCH list — a list managed by Mastercard that monitors merchant behavior, like chargeback history
High average transaction sizes
High sales volumes
Highly regulated industries
International sales
Large number of card-not-present transactions
Little to no business experience
Long fulfillment time frames
New or poor credit scores
Past fraud or illegal activity

As high-risk Digital Streaming merchant how to find a payment provider?

It takes effort for businesses to secure a payment processing partner when they are considered high-risk but it is definetly possible to find the right payment solution if you focus on:

Maintaining healthy cash levels. Most processors would like to see a healthy cash level in your business bank account.
Try to reduce chargebacks. There could be a number of factors behind the soaring number of chargebacks in your business. Whatever the reasons may be, you can always analyze them and try to reduce your chargebacks.
Be transparent. Disclose all materials and relevant information during the application process. Payment processors may ask you for very detailed information about your business and finances. Be open, honest, and transparent.
Keep your documents ready. This could mean having six months of bank statements and a few years of tax returns. That said, each processor has its own set of requirements so make sure to check them.
Follow the guidelines of your payment processor. When you apply for a high-risk payment solution, besides your business needs, the risk the payment solutions provider takes also matters. So, be flexible and see if there are things you can do to reduce your risk by discussing with them and following their recommendations.

Our Platform will find the right payment solution for your business

Our biggest differentiator?

We provide payment solutions for merchants with a 90% Succes Rate by Algoritmic matching and pre-KYC onboarding in each industry and region globally.