Obtaining a Jet Charter Merchant Account
Private Air and Jet Charter transportation services are more popular than ever. Buoyed by increased corporate profits and rising per capita household income, the market for non-scheduled air transportation services grew 2.3% to $23 billion in the period between 2012 and 2017, according to IBISWorld business research. To obtain a Jet Charter Merchant Account to accept bankcard payments, Private Charter Flight Companies must get approved for a High Risk Merchant Account. SecureGlobalPay has the solution you are looking for!
Continued economic prosperity is expected to increase the demand for luxury items such as chartered flights in the next five years, according to the same report. Private Charter Merchants need a robust solution to accept payments via credit cards. SecureGlobalPay is here to help!
Despite optimistic forecasts, however, Private Charter Merchants are considered “high-risk” by traditional financial institutions due to a number of factors. Among these are last minute cancellations, the lack of previously arranged and agreed upon reservations, last minute trips with little to no planning and also and a large number of disputes resulting in occasional chargebacks, or refunds on credit card transactions due to fraudulent transactions. This makes banks and credit card processing services reluctant to approve accounts for jet charter merchant businesses.
Legitimate and responsible Private Charter Merchants companies can turn to SecureGlobalPay to obtain a jet charter merchant account.
SecureGlobalPay specializes in providing custom payment processing solutions to high-risk merchant accounts, such as those in the private airline and jet charter businesses. SecureGlobalPay customers benefit from an array of fraud filters, chargeback management tools and PCI-compliant payment gateways. Apply now for a SecureGlobalPay online merchant account and get approved within 48 hours.
Why a Business needs a Jet Charter Merchant Account
22,000 Private Charter Merchants comprise the chartered flight industry. Despite this, banks prefer not to risk approving them for online merchant accounts. The jet charter business is considered high risk by banks owing to the industry’s high volume of chargebacks, or credit card payment cancellations due to disputed or fraudulent transactions. To process credit card payments, charter flight companies that rely on online reservations and payments must obtain merchant accounts.
Jet charter businesses wishing to process online credit card payments must rely on high-risk merchant account providers like SecureGlobalPay. Fill in the online application to begin the process of review by our underwriters.
SecureGlobalPay helps high-risk businesses succeed with versatile payment solutions and lower online merchant account costs. Jet charter merchant accounts can be approved in as little as 24 hours.
Apply for a Jet Charter Online Merchant Account
SecureGlobalPay’s streamlined online application process starts the moment you fill out your application. Have the following ready:
- A valid, government-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license, state/provincial ID, etc.)
- A bank attestation or void check
- Bank statements (3 months worth)
- Processing statements (3 months worth)
- SSN (Social Security Number) or EIN (Employer Identification Number)
Please note that your history of chargeback ratios must be under 3%.
E-commerce businesses must have a secure, fully-operational website.
Application does not guarantee acceptance. But SecureGlobalPay’s streamlined application process allows qualifying merchants to get approved in as little as 24-48 hours.
The Underwriting Process
The first task of underwriters is to verify that applicants are running legitimate, responsible businesses. Underwriters evaluate businesses to ensure companies are operating according to a sound business model and not engaging in any illegal activity.
In assessing a business’ potential risk to processors, underwriters consider bank statements, credit scores, credit card processing history and websites. Negative account balances, a history of excessive chargebacks and unpaid bills are all red flags to underwriters. Websites of jet charter business are also analyzed to ensure they have a secure SSL and explicit privacy and refund policies prominently displayed.
Private jet charter businesses increase their chances of approval by:
- Paying all outstanding debts and bills
- Providing proof that they have some capital in the form of bank savings
- Ensuring a principal in the business has a sound credit history and nominate them to apply for the merchant account
Chartered jet merchants that follow these instructions are more likely to win underwriter approval with accounts unburdened by the high-volume processing caps and lower rolling reserves characteristic of high-risk merchant accounts.
Higher Processing Volumes for Jet Charter Merchant Accounts
High-risk businesses such as those in the jet charter industry are often penalized with credit card processing caps, which limit the number of credit card transactions businesses can process in a month. Once reached, no further transactions can be processed. In a high-cost industry like jet charter services, this limits the high volumes necessary to sustain operations.
Volume processing caps can be avoided. Jet charter merchants who pay their bills, maintain a level of savings and have low chargeback ratios can request new caps in as little as three months.
Excessive Chargebacks and the Jet Charter Industry
Private jet and airline merchants maintain their market niche by providing flexible transportation solutions to clients. Unfortunately, this means they maintain few or no regular routes and schedules. This combined with high ticket prices, frequent cancellations and flexible billing practices combine to place the industry in a high-risk category. Operating costs also add up: a one-way trip from Philadelphia to San Francisco costs between $13,822 and $24,608 according to the US Sky Link charter business association.
Due to these factors, clients of charter jet services frequently book and cancel services, leading to a higher volume of chargebacks for service providers.
Banks and traditional lending institutions are reluctant to issue jet charter merchant accounts due to frequent irregularities in billing schedule, online reservations and advanced scheduling.
The high costs associated with running a jet charter business also pose a risk to credit card service providers. Merchants may sell hundreds of thousands of dollars in tickets then go abruptly out of business, leaving the processor on the hook for money owed to customers.
Chargeback ratios accrue regardless of whether or not disputes are won or lost in the company’s favor. Excessive chargebacks are the leading cause of a terminated merchant account. Closed accounts make it difficult for merchants to obtain a new one.
Chargeback Ratios for Jet Charter Merchants
Chargeback ratios are calculated by dividing the number of monthly transactions by the number of disputes. A merchant processing 100 transactions with 4 chargebacks has a 4% chargeback ratio. The dollar amount is irrelevant to credit card brands and processors.
Chargebacks: The Risk to Credit Card Processors
Merchants with high chargeback ratios burden processors with the risk of financial penalties. Whenever a business exceeds a 2% ratio for chargebacks, credit card companies such as MasterCard and Visa can subject the processor to fines. These are labeled as high-risk merchants Mastercard and high risk mercants Visa by the card brands.
Maintaining such merchant accounts is a higher risk and much less profitable to credit processors. Merchant accounts with a ratio of higher than 3% are routinely terminated. Given the tight margin of error, merchants must keep their transaction volumes high and do whatever they can to avoid chargebacks.
Keep Chargebacks Under Control
To succeed, merchants must develop a strategy for handling chargebacks before they can negatively impact business.
Maintaining a record of transactions is critical. Being able to prove that a client did, in fact, reserve and pay for services by providing a paper trail of e-mails will go a long way toward controlling chargebacks.
Building a rapport of trust with customers also minimizes the likelihood of chargebacks. Trust can be built by transparency and good communication.
Customers sometimes don’t recognize or remember transactions that appear on their credit card statements. This is one example of how good communication can make a difference: sending electronic receipts for products or services that include merchant contact information serve to jog the customer’s memory and lessen the likelihood of a dispute.
Sending customer satisfaction surveys will accomplish the same thing. Forwarding surveys to customers via e-mail soon after purchase will also provide useful data for improving customer service.
Providing reliable customer service support – full 24-hour per day coverage – also lessens the likelihood of a dispute by giving customers a live representative with whom to discuss their concerns.
Jet Charter and Private Industrial Categories
A classification system known as NAICS (the Northern American Classification System) is a list of six-digit codes used by federal statistical agencies to classify business establishments. The classification system aims to gather, analyze, and publish statistical information about similar types of businesses and their impacts on the U.S. economy.
Jet charters and private airlines often use the following NAICS codes:
481211: Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation
481219: Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation
487990: Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other
Visit the United States Census Bureau to view the complete NAICS code list.
Four-digit numeric codes known as Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes are common in the United States and many other countries for identifying businesses and their primary purposes.
Private airline and jet charter businesses use the 4522: Air Transportation, Nonscheduled SIC code.
A complete SIC list is available via the US Department of Labor website.
Airlines and Jet Charters
Apply now using our secure and easy online application and let SecureGlobalPay get your business off the ground and processing online payments in as little as 48 hours.
- No Application Fees
- Competitive rates
- No VISA/MasterCard Required
- Multiple Secure Payment Gateway Options
- LOW Rates and Fees
- No extensive credit checks
