Offshore Merchant Account

Processing payment transactions in your own country is complicated enough, but it can be a nightmare processing international transactions. An Offshore Merchant Account is an account underwritten by a bank or other financial institution in a country other than the one where the business is situated.

There are a few reasons that you should look at opening an Offshore Merchant Account:

v If your on-line retail environment anticipates processing many transactions based on foreign financial institutions.

v Your organization has international offices, and you need accounts in each country to service the local branch office.

v Your business is considered high-risk in terms of fraud. You, therefore, have difficulty setting up a high-risk merchant account in this country.

What should you look out for in an Offshore Merchant Account?

As with any international transaction, the first thing is, can this service provider open an account in the countries in which you need accounts opened? This may sound like a no-brainer, but make sure that they can service the countries you are looking for before you sign up.

Thoroughly investigate the company undertaken the setting up of the Offshore Merchant Account for you and ensure they are reputable and have an excellent track record in conducting this type of work. Identify fraud is an enormous risk, and you will be divulging personal information to set up this account. Make sure you are not going to be the victim of scamsters.

Make sure you carefully review the cost structure that you are offered for your Offshore Merchant Account. These accounts are notorious for exorbitant cost structures. You should carefully compare quotes and ensure that your costs are not going to negate the benefits of using such accounts.

What will I get in an Offshore Merchant Account?

These accounts should provide you with all the same facilities that an internet merchant account offers, such as a robust and secure payment gateway, facilities for mobile transactions, and a means to monitor on-line sales in a real-time manner.

Also, you should look for:

v Support for multi-currency transactions. You will want your customers to be able to pay in their local currency. Also, the account should be able to hold multiple currencies, thus saving your conversion fees.

v Also, make sure that you do have a currency conversion function. At some stage, you will want to transfer funds from your Offshore Merchant Account to your business account. Do your homework upfront and ensure these costs are reasonable.

v Robust fraud support. An Offshore Merchant Account will inevitably hold a higher degree of risk for fraud than your home-based accounts. Double-check that the anti-fraud measures that are offered include detecting suspicious activity to prevent you from being defrauded.

It is worth sounding a warning regarding your ability to pursue legal recourse in a foreign country. It may be almost impossible for you to legally pursue a bank in a foreign country. It is good to register a business in that country, but know that it may be both prohibitively expensive and incredibly long-winded to pursue a course of legal action in a foreign cou