Advice? - Belize Company + Bank Account + Payment Processor

[Thesingh]

Hello! Long time reader on this community, first time posting!

So a little backstory, I've always gotten screwed over by payment processors. No matter what I tried, or how high risk the accounts were, I always got closed down for some reason or the other. I think it was a combination of the industry I was in or the amount of chargebacks. No matter what. So one day I said whatever, and decided to open up a completely different setup to begin my escape from all the frustrations.

I've been reading on here for quite some time and decided to use Turner Little, to open up a Company, Bank Account and Payment Processor. This was a impulsive move. Again, fueled by my frustrations. The main reason was so I wouldn't have to deal with my payments getting held or my accounts getting banned. I just want to do my business in piece.

The industry I'm in is SaaS, website design, maintenance & ad management. I'm pretty much everywhere in terms of I.T based stuff. So you can imagine, when a disgruntled customer chargebacks almost 1k+ payments for services already rendered. And these are all intangible services, so it's even harder to dispute and win. Sometimes people pay with prepaid gift card or crypto cards, which for some reason, processors don't like too much as well.

I would simply like to open the discussion to you all; what's' the next course of action should I take? Opening a Company and Bank account is easy enough, but any advice on the payment processor portion? I'm paying to get all these services opened for me, however how good are they in Belize? How robust are these services for Belize? Have you heard of any Belize based business shutting down due to account closures? What places would have better services/setups? What are your setups like?

Your advice and opinions would be great. Thank you.

 

[Sols]

Belize is a garbage jurisdiction, so you will have a selection of garbage payment processors to chose from. You might have to set up an EU company to act as a payment agent although that doesn't come with any guarantees of success.

It sounds like the problem which can be solved by making changes to the business itself, rather than running from country to country, from PSP to PSP, when it all comes back to excessive chargebacks.

What industry are you in? What's your chargeback ratio? What causes the chargebacks? Why are there so many disgruntled customers?

 

[Thesingh]

Belize is a garbage jurisdiction, so you will have a selection of garbage payment processors to chose from. You might have to set up an EU company to act as a payment agent although that doesn't come with any guarantees of success.

It sounds like the problem which can be solved by making changes to the business itself, rather than running from country to country, from PSP to PSP, when it all comes back to excessive chargebacks.

What industry are you in? What's your chargeback ratio? What causes the chargebacks? Why are there so many disgruntled customers?

Thanks for your input.

Why is it a garbage jurisdiction? I read that there are many companies which offer similar I.T services are incorporated there, so that's why i chose it. I'm getting the first PSP through Turner Little, so I'm hoping it's good enough to begin business again. Are there any threads about Belize PSP's? I checked the High Risk Payment processor thread and it looks like they support Belize as well, so i'm unsure.

As i said, I'm in SaaS, website design, maintenance & ad management. I offer multiple services through my business, which are all i.t related. Sometimes people are not satisfied with what they got, or they see someone else offering similar services for cheaper, so they chargeback the payment and say I've scammed them or something. Also, I offer consultations, which are low cost, but if people don't like the quote i gave them, they chargeback that consultation call fee which leads to high chargebacks for little amounts as well. This destroys my percentage. I have around 2-3% chargeback ratio because of this some months, but on average in a year I'm around 1-2%. But that's far too much for most processor to be comfortable with.

 

[CaptK]

Why can't you tell clients to pay by transfer instead of card.
You should put a contract in place that they e-sign and stating that the work is non refundable. That they sought your services you did not solicit them.

 

[JohnLocke]

It is going to very difficult to setup any banking and merchant account up for your business alone because of the reason that you have incorporated your business in Belize. As already explained here, it is a garbage jurisdiction and as such you will find your self lost pretty fast.

Next thing to consider is your business area, you will see it is considered high risk in some eyes.

I can't tell you what will work or not nor can any company service provider do since it is the merchant account provider in the end that make the decision.

We have published a huge guide inside Mentor Group Gold with a possible setup that will work in 99% in all cases even for high risk business, even with this setup there are no guarantees, but it will lead you in a direction much closer to what you seek.

 

[Sols]

Why is it a garbage jurisdiction? I read that there are many companies which offer similar I.T services are incorporated there, so that's why i chose it. I'm getting the first PSP through Turner Little, so I'm hoping it's good enough to begin business again. Are there any threads about Belize PSP's? I checked the High Risk Payment processor thread and it looks like they support Belize as well, so i'm unsure.

It's garbage because it's a secretive jurisdiction notorious for being disproportionately popular with criminals, which in part stems from low costs and CSPs not being required to do much KYC. Very few banks and PSPs want to touch it.

There are no PSPs in Belize anymore (aside from a few that are just reselling solutions from Europe/Asia anyway). Some of the local banks used to offer card processing, but nowadays they have stopped processing for IBCs.

As i said, I'm in SaaS, website design, maintenance & ad management. I offer multiple services through my business, which are all i.t related. Sometimes people are not satisfied with what they got, or they see someone else offering similar services for cheaper, so they chargeback the payment and say I've scammed them or something.

I understand some clients are knuckle draggers but maybe there are ways you can mitigate this.

You can also fight chargebacks, even when it's for digital services. As long as you can prove that you delivered what was promised and agreed upon, disputes can be won.

Also, I offer consultations, which are low cost, but if people don't like the quote i gave them, they chargeback that consultation call fee which leads to high chargebacks for little amounts as well. This destroys my percentage. I have around 2-3% chargeback ratio because of this some months, but on average in a year I'm around 1-2%. But that's far too much for most processor to be comfortable with.

If you're over 1% chargebacks, you are going to draw attention from Visa and Mastercard. You'd need to be on an aggregate merchant account so that your volume doesn't stick out, but even they aren't going to tolerate 2-3% in most cases.

The best thing you can do is finding ways to lower your chargebacks. There are many ways you can do this. Accept payment by bank transfer, crypto, and other non-disputable payment methods. Filter out bad clients before they turn bad. Communicate your pricing and services clearly, so that the buyer knows exactly what they are paying for. Make it easy for customers to cancel subscriptions or withdraw from your services.

 

[Thesingh]

Why can't you tell clients to pay by transfer instead of card.
You should put a contract in place that they e-sign and stating that the work is non refundable. That they sought your services you did not solicit them.

Thank you for your input.

Many don't trust wire transfers, or their banks don't allow such transfers to foreign entities. I can understand their frustrations, as there are many scammers out there. Some others don't even know how to make such transfers or don't like the wire fees. I have recently begun to take crypto, but that's a whole different ballgame.

Oh, the e-sign is a great idea. I will surely begin to implement that, thank you! Does that really prevent most cases for chargebacks? Do you have any experience with such arrangements?

It is going to very difficult to setup any banking and merchant account up for your business alone because of the reason that you have incorporated your business in Belize. As already explained here, it is a garbage jurisdiction and as such you will find your self lost pretty fast.

Next thing to consider is your business area, you will see it is considered high risk in some eyes.

I can't tell you what will work or not nor can any company service provider do since it is the merchant account provider in the end that make the decision.

We have published a huge guide inside Mentor Group Gold with a possible setup that will work in 99% in all cases even for high risk business, even with this setup there are no guarantees, but it will lead you in a direction much closer to what you seek.

Thank you for your input.

I never knew it was a garbage jurisdiction until recently, I assume people regard it that way because of his secretive nature and it's protections on privacy as well as bank accounts? I hear it they can prevent seizing of accounts from foreign entities? Is there any thread on there which highlights the pros and cons for a Belize company?

Some have reached out to me on here, saying they have solutions for Belize merchant providers, however they are quite costly, so i assume that's the norm.

I will definitely get to reading the thread in the mentor group about this as well if my current setup falls through. Will keep you all posted!

It's garbage because it's a secretive jurisdiction notorious for being disproportionately popular with criminals, which in part stems from low costs and CSPs not being required to do much KYC. Very few banks and PSPs want to touch it.

There are no PSPs in Belize anymore (aside from a few that are just reselling solutions from Europe/Asia anyway). Some of the local banks used to offer card processing, but nowadays they have stopped processing for IBCs.


I understand some clients are knuckle draggers but maybe there are ways you can mitigate this.

You can also fight chargebacks, even when it's for digital services. As long as you can prove that you delivered what was promised and agreed upon, disputes can be won.


If you're over 1% chargebacks, you are going to draw attention from Visa and Mastercard. You'd need to be on an aggregate merchant account so that your volume doesn't stick out, but even they aren't going to tolerate 2-3% in most cases.

The best thing you can do is finding ways to lower your chargebacks. There are many ways you can do this. Accept payment by bank transfer, crypto, and other non-disputable payment methods. Filter out bad clients before they turn bad. Communicate your pricing and services clearly, so that the buyer knows exactly what they are paying for. Make it easy for customers to cancel subscriptions or withdraw from your services.

Thank you for your input.

I see, I had no idea! I'm currently using Turner Little to get a merchant solution over there, they have yet to propose any providers as we've just done getting the company and bank account setup. I have a Canadian company as well, what other merchant providers would you suggest for my line of work? Ones that won't easily ban me or close my accounts?

I've never heard of an aggregate merchant account, which providers specialize in such a thing? And what makes it different from a normal High Risk Merchant Account? Thank you for your suggestions. I've tried most of those to reduce my chargebacks. Many unfortunately, simply chargeback their card instead of communicating to me for a refund. It's exhausting. I will try the e-signing contracts before services are rendered, as one user on here suggested.

Will keep you all posted!

 

[CaptK]

Thank you for your input.

Many don't trust wire transfers, or their banks don't allow such transfers to foreign entities. I can understand their frustrations, as there are many scammers out there. Some others don't even know how to make such transfers or don't like the wire fees. I have recently begun to take crypto, but that's a whole different ballgame.

Oh, the e-sign is a great idea. I will surely begin to implement that, thank you! Does that really prevent most cases for chargebacks? Do you have any experience with such arrangements?




Thank you for your input.

I never knew it was a garbage jurisdiction until recently, I assume people regard it that way because of his secretive nature and it's protections on privacy as well as bank accounts? I hear it they can prevent seizing of accounts from foreign entities? Is there any thread on there which highlights the pros and cons for a Belize company?

Some have reached out to me on here, saying they have solutions for Belize merchant providers, however they are quite costly, so i assume that's the norm.

I will definitely get to reading the thread in the mentor group about this as well if my current setup falls through. Will keep you all posted!



Thank you for your input.

I see, I had no idea! I'm currently using Turner Little to get a merchant solution over there, they have yet to propose any providers as we've just done getting the company and bank account setup. I have a Canadian company as well, what other merchant providers would you suggest for my line of work? Ones that won't easily ban me or close my accounts?

I've never heard of an aggregate merchant account, which providers specialize in such a thing? And what makes it different from a normal High Risk Merchant Account? Thank you for your suggestions. I've tried most of those to reduce my chargebacks. Many unfortunately, simply chargeback their card instead of communicating to me for a refund. It's exhausting. I will try the e-signing contracts before services are rendered, as one user on here suggested.

Will keep you all posted!

By having the contract in place you can fight the charge back. So long as you have provided what you said you would contractually it's a start

 

[uplana]

I would look at alternatives. the UK LTD with some solid payment processing and EMI will work long term. I'm not aware of what payment processor Turner Little is making use of for a Belize company.

Inside mentor group gold you will find tons of great low- and high risk payment processors including a complete guide on how to set it all up!

 

[Silvio]

I never knew it was a garbage jurisdiction until recently, I assume people regard it that way because of his secretive nature and it's protections on privacy as well as bank accounts? I hear it they can prevent seizing of accounts from foreign entities? Is there any thread on there which highlights the pros and cons for a Belize company?

This is 2021, there are no cons for having a Belize company. You don't want to bank in Belize. Normal bank\PSP won't touch you if you have a company in Belize.

In fact Belize's international banks don't allow locals to bank there, and non-residents (you) are not allowed to bank in local banks. De facto this means that Belize don't care about any foreigner having his money stuck in Belize and the bank collapsing, and there were plenty of such banks in the last few years (e.g. Choice Bank, and several others).

For more info, just google "Jurisdiction Spotlight: Belize" and read the first result. Overall it's the worst jurisdiction you can choose.

It seems you read some promotional material and believed it, but reality is very different. Your info was unfortunately 5-10 years outdated.

 

[boomy]

Can only agree with @maxmmm

You want to leasson to some of the more experienced users around here like @maxmmm , @uplana , @CaptK and many more!

 

[erni]

Can only agree with @maxmmm

You want to leasson to some of the more experienced users around here like @maxmmm , @uplana , @CaptK and many more!

I agree, and if you want to find the right solution then have a look here
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/quick-guide-to-get-your-offshore-business-up-running.33525/
take the 15 minutes it takes to read the entire thing including the comments below. It's free and only require a little of your time!