Paytriot assists high-risk companies in the UK/EU supplements market in receiving payments.

The UK/EU supplements market continues to grow. Today, vitamins, sports nutrition, herbal mixes, collagen, probiotics, and CBD-related wellness items have become daily consumer goods. However, supplement companies face one common challenge at the early stages securing a reliable card payment system.

To banks and acquiring services, “high-risk” means not necessarily an unprofitable activity but a type of business that statistically faces higher risks of chargebacks, regulatory issues, or reputational problems. And there are several reasons why supplements may be considered as such:

Chargeback risks. Because subscription or “auto-ship” programs are quite widespread among supplement companies, disputes may arise because customers simply forgot about the subscriptions.

Claims. In the UK, claims are regulated by retained EU law, ASA, and MHRA. In the European Union, Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 regulates nutrition and health claims. This means that aggressive promotion can lead to complaints and regulation from the authority.

Cross-border trading. Cross-border transactions mean additional difficulties related to labelling, ingredients, VAT, and consumer law.

The standard merchant account is tailored to the low-risk retail environment. The high-risk merchant account is created based on the knowledge of the acquiring company or payment processor of your sector. Underwriting focuses on your business model, product claims, refund policy, and fulfillment processes, and does not reject you just because you belong to the high-risk sector.

This is what companies such as Paytriot can offer you. Paytriot collaborates with UK and EU merchants that are rejected by conventional financial services, offering them:

To become eligible. Onboarding that takes into consideration the specifics of your business model and supplements industry will enable you to obtain an account managed by people who know your sector.

To accept cards. Visa, Mastercard, and other major cards can be processed via a merchant account that will take into account your unique trading pattern, whether it is single orders or subscription-based.

Prevent chargebacks. Top providers provide you with features and instructions on how to decrease disputes, such as proper billing descriptions, clear cancellation process and dispute evidence support.

Comply with regulations. The importance of SCA per PSD2, PCI DSS and card scheme monitoring programs is undeniable. A good payment service provider that understands those requirements prevents unexpected expenses for you.

Expand internationally. Being able to sell in GBP and EUR and target consumers in the UK and EU markets requires an infrastructure that deals with various currencies and card behaviour.

Supplements in the UK and Europe is a big, dynamic and complex space. Online vitamins, sports nutrition, adaptogens, collagen, probiotics and cannabinoid-related products perform very well and are purchased cross-border with a few clicks of the mouse. However, behind each successful payment is a multi-layered legal framework. It covers food laws, marketing rules, consumer protection, and card scheme guidelines. For brands, the payments question ("Who will accept my cards?") is intertwined with the compliance question ("Are you playing by the rules?").

Regulation and "high risk"

While the payment processors assess your chargeback ratio, they also assess the risk of your business model exposing them to regulatory risk, reputational risk, or monetary risk. For supplements, the primary concerns include:

Health and nutritional claims. Claims of implied disease treatments, unauthorized claims ("boosts immunity" without authorization), or misleading before-and-after photos may trigger ASA rulings, Trading Standards interventions, or delisting from their platforms. If an acquirer sees a risk of enforcement action, they will cancel your merchant account quickly.

Novel foods and borderline products. CBD, certain mushrooms, nootropics, and botanics fall into a gray area that varies across the UK and individual European countries.

Consumer rights across borders. There are differences with regard to withdrawal periods, return policies, and delivery arrangements; this leads to many disputes in the form of chargebacks.

Customs & VAT. Post-Brexit, UK traders that are shipping goods to consumers in the EU have customs and VAT compliance issues, among which is the EU Import One-Stop Shop for low-value shipments.