High-risk merchant account for nutraceutical and supplement brands with a Georgian company

Our process begins with a detailed review of your Georgian business. We analyse your product range, marketing materials, and billing model, whether one-off sales or continuity subscriptions. We assess your previous processing statements to understand your transaction history, chargeback rates, and refund patterns. This allows us to identify potential risks from the acquirer's perspective.

Next, we build a complete underwriting file. This includes compiling your corporate documents (Georgian registry extracts, charter), UBO/director KYC, and evidence of any required product registrations. We work with you to ensure your website is fully compliant, with clear terms, a robust refund policy, and an unambiguous billing descriptor to minimise chargeback risks. The file presents your business transparently, addressing the specific risks associated with the supplement industry.

Once the file is complete, we identify and introduce you to appropriate acquiring partners. These are typically EEA-licensed or other international acquirers with an appetite for MCC 5499 (Miscellaneous Food Stores) and experience with Georgian-domiciled entities. We manage the application process and communication, handling underwriting queries on your behalf to ensure a smooth review. Post-approval, we help you manage the terms, including understanding reserve requirements and monitoring your processing volumes to maintain a healthy account.

Underwriters and compliance teams at acquiring institutions conduct detailed checks on supplement businesses. Their primary goal is to assess the risk of chargebacks and regulatory scrutiny. They will always request at least six months of recent processing statements to verify your sales volume, chargeback ratio (ideally below 0.75%), and refund rate. A history of high chargebacks is a major red flag.

They scrutinise your website and marketing content for any unsupported health claims. Claims that a product can cure or treat a disease are strictly prohibited and will lead to an instant decline. They examine your checkout process, especially if you use a subscription or free-trial model, to ensure the billing terms are transparent and cancellation is straightforward. Underwriters will ask for your product ingredient lists to check for any prohibited substances.

For a Georgian LLC, they require a full set of corporate documents, including the registry extract and charter, to verify the company's legal standing. They perform KYC (Know Your Customer) checks on all ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and directors. This involves verifying their identity, address, and source of wealth. A clean, well-documented file that anticipates these checks is critical for a successful application.

Using a Georgian company for your supplement business has specific implications. The entity is typically a Limited Liability Company (LLC), which can be established quickly. While Georgia's corporate framework is business-friendly, the banking and payments landscape requires careful navigation. The National Bank of Georgia oversees financial institutions but does not directly regulate card acquiring for international sales in the same way an EU central bank might. As a result, most acquiring solutions for a Georgian LLC are provided by institutions licensed in other jurisdictions.

This means that while your company is Georgian, your merchant account will likely be held with an acquirer in Europe or another major financial centre. These acquirers will require your Georgian corporate documents to be in English or professionally translated. They will also expect to see evidence of substance in Georgia, such as a local director or a clear operational footprint, which can strengthen an application. While Georgian LLCs can hold accounts in GEL, USD, and EUR, your settlement currency will be determined by your acquirer.

Compared to an entity in a jurisdiction like the UK, a Georgian company may face greater scrutiny from underwriters due to its classification as a higher-risk jurisdiction by some providers. Our role is to bridge that gap by preparing a file that meets the standards of top-tier international acquirers, demonstrating that your operation is transparent and compliant regardless of its base.

The most common reason for decline is a high-risk billing model combined with non-compliant marketing. Free-trial and continuity billing models are a major source of chargebacks if not managed with extreme transparency. Customers who feel tricked into a subscription are quick to dispute the charge. We help you structure your checkout flow and terms to be crystal clear, which reduces this risk. Another primary reason for rejection is making explicit or implied health claims that cannot be substantiated or that classify the product as a medicine. Xavion will not work with businesses that make disease-cure claims.

A poor processing history is another deal-breaker. If your previous merchant accounts were terminated for excessive chargebacks (above 1%), it becomes significantly harder to find a new provider. We analyse your past processing to explain any chargeback spikes and demonstrate the remedial actions you have taken. Incomplete or inconsistent KYB/KYC documentation also leads to rejection. Underwriters need a clear picture of who owns and controls the business. We ensure your file is complete, with all Georgian corporate documents, UBO information, and supporting evidence presented professionally.

Finally, some businesses are declined simply for applying to the wrong type of acquirer. Mainstream PSPs and payment aggregators generally do not accept high-risk supplement merchants. By targeting only specialist acquirers with a known appetite for this sector and jurisdiction, we avoid automatic rejections and focus your application where it has the highest chance of success. We decline to work with any business that we believe is not operating lawfully or does not have a genuine, compliant product.

For a well-prepared Georgian supplement business, the typical timeline from submitting a complete underwriting file to receiving approval for a live merchant account is between two and six weeks. This timeframe is dependent on the acquirer's current pipeline and the complexity of your file. The initial stage, where we work with you to gather documentation and refine your website compliance, can take one to two weeks, depending on your responsiveness.

Once the application is with the acquirer, their underwriting team will conduct their review. They may come back with further questions (RFIs), which we handle promptly on your behalf to keep the process moving. Any delays in providing requested information, such as detailed explanations for past chargebacks or evidence of product fulfilment, can extend the timeline.

After your account is approved and live, the focus shifts to long-term stability. This involves careful monitoring of your transaction volumes and chargeback ratios. Acquirers often impose initial processing limits that can be increased over time as you build a record of stable, low-chargeback processing. Adhering to the terms of your merchant agreement, maintaining website compliance, and keeping chargebacks consistently low are the keys to a long-lasting acquiring relationship. We remain available to provide guidance on best practices to ensure your account stays in good standing.