Electronic Merchant Services

10/15/2026

Some of your members are leaving this month without meaning to. They did not cancel. Their card expired, or their bank sent them a new one, and the charge failed.

Most of that is fixable, and it usually starts with one question to your processor: is account updater turned on? Here is what it does and the simple routine that recovers most failed payments:

https://f.mtr.cool/o1ecratadx

10/14/2026

I love hearing the whole story. I really do.

But the bank needs three things before I can do anything with it: your name, your date of birth, and what you sell.

Business owners get on the phone ready to explain why the last processor was wrong about them.

That is a reasonable instinct, and the story matters later. It just cannot go on the application until the basics are in.

So next time you call a processor, lead with the three things. Then tell me everything. I will be taking notes.

10/14/2026

Your customer bought from you, forgot about it, and then saw a name on their bank statement they had never heard of. So they called their bank.

That name is your billing descriptor. Plenty of businesses still have their LLC name sitting there instead of the store name customers actually know, and processors rarely bring it up.

Run a small test transaction on your own card this week and look at what shows up once it posts. It takes a few minutes and can save you disputes you never should have had.

Link in bio for more on preventing chargebacks.

10/13/2026

If you know someone who runs a gym, a studio, a membership, or anything billed monthly, this one is for them.

Some of their customers are leaving every month without meaning to. The card expired or got replaced, the charge failed, and the reminder email got buried.

Most of that is fixable, and it usually starts with one question to their processor. I wrote it all out here:

Most failed recurring payments are not customers leaving. Here is why cards on file fail, what account updater does, and a simple routine to fix it.

10/12/2026

Your customer didn’t cancel. Their card did.

Most failed recurring payments aren’t people leaving. Cards expire, cards get replaced, and bank fraud filters block charges they don’t recognize. The customer still wants to pay you. The card just isn’t working anymore.

Before your team starts retrying every failed charge, know that some declines mean “stop trying,” and retrying those can cost you a fee every time.

Today’s post explains what account updater does and the simple routine I give merchants to recover those payments:
https://emspayments.com/recurring-payments-failing/

10/08/2026

Most high-risk declines I see are not about the business. They are about the file.

Underwriters are looking for four things: documents that are complete, bank statements that match the volume on your application, a website with a real refund policy, and your history, told up front instead of found later.

Get those right and the answer usually changes. Here is the full checklist:

https://f.mtr.cool/jlg6fm2jud

10/07/2026

"No chargebacks." Then halfway through the application: well, the old processor did close us, and there is a balance.

That is a loan, ma'am. Nobody is hiding anything. Most business owners just do not know what counts.

An old processor that shut you down, chargebacks that came in after the account closed, a balance you still owe them: the bank finds it, and I would much rather hear it from you first.

Tell your rep everything on the first call. The messy version is fixable. The surprise version is what gets applications declined.

10/06/2026

If you know a business owner who just got declined for a merchant account, send them this.

Most high-risk declines are not about the business. They are about the file. A missing document, a website with no refund policy, a past problem nobody mentioned.

I wrote out exactly what underwriters look at and what to have ready before applying again.

What underwriters actually look at on a high-risk application, the documents to have ready, and how to get approved even after a decline.

10/06/2026

Most of what gets a high risk account approved happens before the application goes in.

Pull your documents together first so the underwriter is not waiting on you for a week.

Then look at your website the way they will, because they will look.
The step people skip is telling them everything.

The chargeback problem from two years ago, the account a processor closed on you. Underwriters find it anyway, and finding it on their own looks a lot worse than hearing it from you.

The full walkthrough is on the blog. Link in bio.

10/06/2026

Before you apply for LegitScript, call your pharmacy. The application fee is not refundable, and LegitScript expects your partners to meet the same standards you do. That generally means your pharmacy needs its own certification.

Ask them one question: "Are you LegitScript certified?" If they say no or aren't sure, you want to know that before you pay.

If your office manager or business partner handles the pharmacy side, send this to them.

The rest of the checklist is on the blog, link in bio.