Getting swift approval for a merchant account is uncommon, particularly for high-risk merchants. Accordingly, there are a number of merchant services providers promising high-risk merchant account instant approvals. In this post, we’ll explain what “instant approval” really means and why it’s a bad idea, no matter how desperate you are to get a merchant account.

The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) provides financial assistance to both small businesses and private, nonprofit organizations that are located in a declared disaster area. Coverage depends on the amount of economic injury sustained. That includes things that don’t cause property damage, such as COVID-19, but still result in a massive loss of demand due to circumstances beyond your control or that interrupt your ability to conduct business.

We hope you’re reading this article before you’ve been placed on the MATCH list, but if not, we’ll do our best to explain what it is, how it might affect the way you run your business, and whether there’s anything you can do to get yourself off the list. We’ll also look at alternative payment processing methods.

SMB Global is set up to work exclusively with high-risk merchants and those who need an offshore merchant account. Although it’s a relatively new company, we’re pretty excited about what we’ve seen so far, and it’s one of the few reputable high-risk specialists we’ve found in the payments processing industry.

National Business Capital (NBC) is a lending-advisory service that links small business applicants to one of its 75+ lending affiliates. It is suitable for startups, new, and mature-but-credit-challenged businesses. Be cautious that you’re unlikely to get the absolute best rates.

Stripe and Braintree are both powerhouse gateways and online payment processors. They even have many similar features. But the overall experience with these two companies is very different, and here’s what you need to know.

U.S. Bank offers business term loans, lines of credit, and SBA loans to small businesses. They have stringent borrower qualifications but their interest rates are usually lower. U.S. Bank Business Loans are suited for small to large businesses.

Wells Fargo offers unsecured business loans, lines of credit, and SBA loans to its business customers. Wells Fargo’s rates, terms, and fees are significantly better than you’ll find in most of the alternative market. But they have strict borrower qualifications and businesses with revenue problems will probably have a hard time meeting them.

A merchant cash advance is a sales agreement where the merchant (the “seller”) is selling their future revenue at a discount to the merchant cash advance company (the “buyer”). Because merchant cash advances are sales agreements, they generally aren’t covered by usury laws that govern loans. This is where they get their dubious reputation. The effective APRs of merchant cash advances can easily crawl into the triple digits.

Bankruptcy is probably one of the last things you want to think about. But as unpleasant a prospect as it can be, businesses regularly fail. If that happens, don’t be afraid to look into bankruptcy and give yourself a fresh start.