By Gustaf Hult, Founder, Crosswire
Your high-risk rate is a default, not a quote
Most high-risk merchants pay what they were first offered. That number was never calculated for your business - it was the acquirer's category default.
Most high-risk merchants pay what they were first offered. That number was never calculated for your business - it was the acquirer's category default, set to protect their downside and rarely touched again. Risk explains a premium. It doesn't explain the same premium two years and a clean processing history later.
Pricing moves on leverage you already hold: real volume, a settled chargeback record, and the simple fact that someone else will quote you. Incumbents count on you not asking. The ones who ask - with numbers, not feelings - almost always land somewhere better.
You don't need a meeting to find out where. Put in your monthly volume and see where Crosswire could land it. Add what you pay today if you have it to hand and the band sharpens, but volume on its own is enough to get a number. If the first number back isn't right, add what you pay today and run it again, or ask an advisor to look at the route as well as the price. Indicative up front, confirmed after KYC - the rate is a starting point, not a verdict.
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