Empire builders, you already know that there is a lot to learn when it comes to starting your own ecommerce business. One of the things I had to learn the hard way was the importance of having multiple payment gateways available for a dropshipping business. Many dropshippers, myself included, have gotten their Stripe or PayPal accounts shut down and have been left with no way to accept payments from customers. Through trial and error, I have picked up some tips for how to protect payment gateways. Read on to learn how to avoid getting your payment accounts suspended, as well as what to do should you ever find yourself in this situation.
Backup Plans Are Key in Business, Especially to Protect Payment Gateways
If you’re new to dropshipping, I’m not here to scare you. What I am here to do is to prepare you for the hiccups that happen in business.
Starting your own dropshipping business comes with some risk. One risk is having your PayPal or Stripe account shutdown. This has happened to tons of dropshippers before you, all for various reasons. These things happen. However, expecting these hiccups isn’t quite enough. You also need to make a plan of action on handling these situations before they actually arise. You can’t just close up shop when things don’t go your way. Running a successful dropshipping business will require you to develop creative solutions to make things work over time. You always want a backup plan in place.
When I started out dropshipping, I wish someone would have told me the importance of having a backup plan to protect payment gateways when it came to accepting payments from customers. When I first started using Stripe, I thought I would never get shut down or banned. I played by the rules and had no worries. But if you think something could never happen to you, think again.
One too many chargeback or refunds, and then poof, there goes your account. Just imagine that you’re finally making $100,000 a month, and then your payment processing account gets shut down. You never set up a backup account, so you’re instantly losing thousands of dollars for your business. This would be devastating. Don’t let this happen to your business. Always have backup plans in place to protect payment gateways for your payment processing.
Every Dropshipper Needs a Stripe and a PayPal Account
Even though we’ve all heard the horror stories of Stripe and PayPal accounts being shut down or suspended, I still recommend that every dropshipper have a Stripe and PayPal account set up for their business. Stripe is simply the best payment processor for any dropshipper to get started with. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we use Stripe for every funnel we set up. While any Stripe account can get suspended, the platform still provides many perks.
The Benefits of Stripe
Stripe is incredibly easy to set up, and you can start accepting payments from customers in just a few minutes. When I first got started in ecommerce, setting up a payment processor was not this easy. You used to have to go through large amounts of paperwork and legal work to simply get your ecommerce store off the ground. When Stripe came into the picture, the ecommerce world was made a lot simpler.
However, Stripe will always have its brand and its best interest in mind. So when your account starts getting too high of a refund or chargeback rate, your account will be shut down. If you play by the rules, your account will most likely remain secure. However, things come up even when you play by their rules. So having a second payment processor setup is key.
The Benefits of PayPal
After you have your Stripe account setup, go ahead and make a PayPal account as your first backup method. Stripe and PayPal are simply the best payment gateways for any beginner in the dropshipping industry to get started with. Both platforms are incredibly simple and quick to set up. Just like Stripe, PayPal has rules you must adhere to. When your dispute percentages reach a high rate, your PayPal account will most likely have a hold placed on it.
When this occurs, you’re going to want to have another payment processor readily available to your business. This is when knowing about alternative merchant accounts becomes important.
Great Alternative Merchant Accounts for Dropshippers
While you could simply bypass Stripe and PayPal and go straight to the alternative merchant accounts, that wouldn’t be my first suggestion. Both Stripe and PayPal are extremely user-friendly and quick to set up. They allow every new dropshipper to start accepting payments almost instantly. For these reasons, I would always set up a Stripe and PayPal account and then look into setting up alternative merchant accounts. The two alternative payment gateways that I have found success with are Easy Pay Direct and Gateway Funnel Pros.
Easy Pay Direct
Easy Pay Direct is a great alternative payment gateway for established dropshippers who want more options to protect payment gateways for their businesses. Think of a payment gateway as a dashboard. Within this dashboard, there are a number of different merchant accounts available for you to use. Essentially, when you sign up with Easy Pay Direct or any other payment gateway, they can help you open multiple merchant accounts that will allow you to accept payment from customers. So, if one account gets shut down, you can easily and efficiently open another one without slowing down your sales.
Keep in mind that with Easy Pay Direct, you will need to be making a decent amount of money with your business and have some sales history before they approve your account. But once your business is built up and you’re generating a fair amount of income, having merchant accounts through Easy Pay Direct is a must.
Gateway Funnel Pros
For those of you just starting out but who still wanting to set up alternative merchant accounts, Gateway Funnel Pros is the way to go. Gateway Funnel Pros will work with new dropshippers and will help with setting up an NMI account. Just like any payment gateway, Gateway Funnel Pros will be able to help you set up multiple merchant accounts for your business under a single gateway.
Regardless of which route you choose, I can’t stress to you enough the importance of having multiple backup plans in place to protect payment gateways for your overall business.
Consult With the Pros
I hope this information will help you in efficiently setting up payment methods and backup plans for your dropshipping business. If you feel like you need a little more guidance in setting up your own profitable ecommerce business, feel free to reach out to us today. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we can help you build, launch, and scale your own profitable dropshipping business. To get the ball rolling, sign up for access to our exclusive free webinar today. Be sure to check our YouTube channel for even more free resources and insights into the dropshipping and sales funnel industries. Remember, your empire starts now!