Kitchens and Bathrooms Merchant Account

Do you have a kitchen or Bathroom installation business that is struggling with obtaining a merchant account, it’s frustrating right? You keep getting declined and none of the high street banks are telling you why!

You have a well-established business, yet your existing merchant account provider either wants to terminate your contract or you just can’t seem to find a solution for you to take card payments for your business.

Well on this page we will go about our business to explain from the bank’s eyes just WHY a kitchen or bathroom company is high risk when merchant banks are considering approval of a merchant account.

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Bathroom and kitchen retailers are known as selling high ticket items, this means that the ATV (average transaction value) is likely to be reasonably high. Under normal circumstances this alone would not be enough to consider a business to fall within the high-risk sector. However, kitchens and bathrooms are usually subject to a deposit payment and a delayed delivery or fitting day.

For example, Mrs Smith might decide she likes a bathroom in a showroom so she places down a £500.00 deposit. However, the lead time for this installation is 12 weeks.

Now the acquiring bank has to run the risk for 12 weeks that Mrs Smith will receive her bathroom and nothing happens to the business within that period. This is one element to why kitchens and bathrooms are high risk for credit card machines.

BUT there’s more…

Just imagine If Mrs Smith got delivery of her job, fully installed and then there was a dispute about the taps that have been installed. They are not the right ones; The bathroom company thinks they are correct and there is a stand-off. So the consumer (Mrs Smith) instigates what is called a Chargeback. This is a complaint to Mastercard and Visa that will reverse the payment made if the merchant can not provide suitable evidence that they have acted within the terms and conditions. Unfortunately, the delayed delivery sector sees quite a high level of this type of chargeback which is a major factor as to why Bathroom and Kitchen retailers are considered high risk when applying for a merchant account.

So – now you know why the banks might either Terminate your merchant account for your bathroom and Kitchen business and you also know why some acquiring banks will not approve this sector. However, all is not lost! Modern World have several options that can help you obtain a merchant account for your Kitchen or bathroom business.

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But before we start – here are some tips to ensure you have everything in place before we start the journey of getting you approved to start accepting card payments for your bathroom business:

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It might take a little longer than average to get approved for a bathroom or kitchen merchant account, please allow 10/14 days for approval as the acquirers underwrite your application.

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With some bathroom or kitchen merchant accounts the bank will apply a rolling reserve, this means that the acquirer will hold back a percentage of your transactions for up to 180 days and then release them to you, this is to protect them against chargebacks, If your business is a start-up then this will likely 100% be the case.

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The rates for Bathroom or kitchen businesses are usually a little higher than the average high street store to reflect the risk, also acquirers like to price based on Interchange ++ for these merchant accounts. This protects the acquirer’s margin. These rates can be negotiated if you are a merchant with trading history.

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Documents that you will need to get together for your Bathroom or kitchen retail business merchant account are as below:

  • Proof of ID for Directors
  • Proof of Trading address
  • Proof of director’s address
  • Proof of Stock purchases
  • Images of Shop or store (not if online)
  • Proof of business bank account – we can help with this here
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Internet presence helps! If your shop or website has great reviews and is easily accessible online then you have a better chance to be accepted for a merchant account. Acquirers like to support good furniture businesses in accepting Visa and Mastercard.

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There is NO high risk set up fees with Mastercard for Furniture retailers.

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If you are an online business selling kitchens or bathrooms, then please ensure that the chosen gateway that you select is compatible with the website build that you have.

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If you have a start-up business you will need to provide the following extra documents to be accepted for a merchant account:

  • Business plan
  • Cash flow forecast
  • Proof of Stock
  • Proof of funds
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We can only support businesses in the EU with EU residing directors.

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You will need to show the acquirer of choice that you have all of your legal documentation in place to be accepted for a merchant account for kitchens and bathrooms, this means you will need the following in place:

  • Terms and conditions
  • Refund policy
  • Cancellation policy
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