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Dash Process

Financial services

Debt collection merchant accounts

Collections agencies are underwritten on licensing and consumer-communication compliance, because the regulatory exposure travels to the acquirer.

Commonly assigned MCC

7322

The category actually assigned is set by the acquirer at boarding and can differ from these.

The short version

Debt collection is restricted for a reason that has little to do with card risk. The FDCPA and its state analogues create a well-litigated liability, and an agency that runs afoul of it becomes a problem for the bank behind its merchant account as well as for itself.

The offsetting fact is that a collections payment is about as clean as a card transaction gets: the consumer knows what they are paying and there is a documented obligation behind it. Ratios in well-run agencies are low.

What is actually being priced

What underwriting is looking at.

Licensing is per state

Collection licensing and bonding requirements differ by state, and underwriting checks them against where you actually collect.

Communication compliance

Call recording, disclosure scripts and validation notices form part of the file.

Descriptor sensitivity

A descriptor that reveals the nature of a debt on a shared statement is a compliance problem, not just a support ticket.

What we put in place

  • Placement with acquirers who write collections as stated policy
  • ACH and eCheck alongside cards, which is how most collections volume settles
  • Virtual terminal and secure payment links for agent-taken payments
  • Descriptor configuration built for consumer-statement privacy

What underwriting will ask you for

Assemble these before you apply anywhere. The list does not get shorter by waiting, and having it ready is the single biggest thing you control about how long this takes.

  • State licences and bonds
  • Your consumer communication and validation process
  • Portfolio composition and average balance
  • Existing processing statements and chargeback ratio
Why each document is on the list

On this account

What a boarded account in this vertical usually carries.

Next

Credit repair

Tell us about your debt collection business.

We will tell you whether a route exists right now, which acquirers are writing the category, and what your file needs before it goes anywhere.

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