Who would be considered a High Risk Merchant?

A merchant whether traditional brick and mortar or online is considered high risk when an acquiring bank believes there is a higher risk of financial loss when underwriting a particular business. 

For example, a Card Holder Not Present transaction would be considered a high risk transaction for the simple fact that the order is either being taken over a telephone, mail order or via the internet. These types of business generate large volumes of money and also carry a huge risk of potential fraud given there is no card holder present.

High Risk Merchants must constantly be exploring new processing options and are being forced to diversify accounts in multiple jurisdictions to protect their financial investment. This is not an easy task as diversifying is much harder than it sounds.