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What is a Forex Merchant Account?
A forex merchant account is a payment processing solution designed by banks and underwriters for the needs of companies in the forex industry, particularly those offering informational and educational services. These accounts enable businesses to accept payments for educational resources, training courses, and analysis tools related to foreign exchange trading. These types of payment processing accounts come with support for multiple currencies and secure payment gateways. It’s important to note that debit cards can be used for currency trading, but credit cards are prohibited for trading activities in the forex market due to regulatory restrictions from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Credit cards CAN be used for educational and data analysis tools. Debit cards can be used for any trading activity.
Merchant Accounts & Forex Education and Information Companies
Savvy money-changers since ancient times have understood that, within the difference between the values of two nations’ currencies, there is profit to be made. However, it hasn’t been until the Information Age that the average investor has been able to use the minute-by-minute fluctuations in exchange rates to produce a return on his starting capital. Because no nation has jurisdiction over another’s currency, the forex market has remained largely free of regulation – though individual countries can still pass legislation dictating how their citizens can interact with that global market. In the US, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) successfully implemented a ban on the use of credit cards to fund retail forex trading.
While we cannot secure merchant accounts for stock and currency trading, we love working with businesses that provide forex software and educational tools!
Does that mean that forex card processing accounts are no longer necessary? Not necessarily. The CFTC credit card ban does not apply to debit cards – the ban was first introduced to protect amateur investors from falling deep into debt as a result of poor trades, but this is not a concern with debit cards, which permit investors to draw funds directly from their checking accounts. Moreover, if an international forex broker does business with investors outside of the US, those clients still have the legal right to use their credit cards to fund their investments. Payment cards, whether debit or credit, remain the quickest way for investors to fund their accounts – and when a matter of minutes can mean the difference between a beneficial exchange rate and a losing one, clients want lightning-fast transactions.
Still – as any broker has almost certainly had to explain to their clients – the choice with the best payoff isn’t always easy. Payment card processing companies tend to regard retail forex merchant accounts as “very high risk” clients. This is partly due to unscrupulous actions on the part of some forex brokers who over-promised their clients high returns with low risk, or who crossed the line into outright fraud and gambling. In addition, the US government has already demonstrated its willingness to pass legislation regulating the way retail forex investment can be conducted, so the threat of further regulations here or similar bans abroad make offering merchant accounts to forex brokers a risky proposition for financial institutions. Generally speaking, when it comes to any kind of investment service, advice, or consulting, credit card processing companies are very skittish, because of the threat of disputed charges from dissatisfied investors and the potential for fraud.
When payment processors consider your industry “very high risk,” it becomes impossible for you to find an institution willing to accept your application – and even if they do, the rates they offer on your forex merchant account are going to be much, much, much higher than those enjoyed by even “high risk” businesses. Moreover, some of the terms and restrictions required of high risk merchant accounts, such as rolling reserves and processing limits, can hinder your ability to take advantage of beneficial market conditions that are time-sensitive.
Because of these and other legal reasons, we cannot provide merchant accounts for forex or stock trading industries. These markets are too akin to gambling and the chance or a bad decision being made on credit is just too large. We do, however, provide merchant accounts for financial and forex education of all types: Forex Software, Seminars, How to Guides. You name it, if it’s for education we have you covered!
National and International Options for Forex Education Merchant Accounts:
Durango Merchant Services works with several gateway processors and suppliers with sponsor banking relationships that provide both US based national and international credit card processing solutions. We can provide merchant accounts for the travel and tourism companies under one of the following two options:
Requirements to open a merchant account for forex education and software in the USA:
- Company entity based in the USA.
- REPRESENTATIVE of the company based in the USA.
- Bank Account is in the USA
Requirements of the European forex education and software merchant account:
- Minimum $ 50,000 USD per month in sales
- The company must be based in the EU
Merchant Service Prices and Contract Terms:
If you are looking for a forex software and education merchant services provider, contact us by email or call us today to discuss setting up a merchant account for your business. We will discuss the following:
Available prices for forex software payment processing:
- Discount rates that range between 1.95% and 4.95%
- Authorization fees ranging from: $ 0.15 to $0.25
- Monthly installments: rates ranging from $ 5.00 per month to $ 60.00 per month
Other terms of the forex education software credit card processing contract:
- Rolling reserve requirements that range from: 0% of the rolling reserve to 10% of the rolling reserve
- Variable contract lengths including availability of month to month
- Free application processing
- Direct financing with regular deposits (either daily or weekly depending on international vs. onshore)
Additional benefits of the forex education and forex software merchant account:
If you get a forex merchant account with Durango Merchant Services, then you will also be eligible for other benefits that we offer, we can set you up with electronic commerce and recurring billing via our online portal. Businesses can receive the following additional benefits:
- Competitive rates
- Acceptance of multiple currencies and deposits
- Compatibility with major gateways and shopping carts
- Accept Visa / MasterCard / American Express at your store
- Integration assistance with more than 100 shopping carts
- Chargeback prevention tools and advice
- eCheck processing
- Our gateway comes with industry leading fraud detection and prevention tools
We provide forex merchant accounts for the following:
- Startups and existing businesses – we help all types of businesses
- If you have been Previously rejected or discarded by another processor, we can help you get back on track
- High ticket merchants and merchants with bad credit
- Minimum processing: $5,000 minimum for national accounts, $50,000 for international accounts
- Forex Education and Software companies
Durango Merchant Services is here to help secure your Forex Software Merchant Account
Our dedicated team has negotiated on behalf of more than 35,000 clients. We understand the back and forth and give and take of negotiating processing accounts for high risk merchants, including hundreds of travel merchant accounts.
We know that there aren’t always easy answers. But remember, there is almost always a way forward and if you can make it through the first 3 years with a good track record, life will become much easier and your business will be better for it.
