Welcome to BKW Servicing
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Welcome to BKW Servicing
As a gun shop owner, you have likely had your fair share of challenges when it comes to finding a financial services provider that fits your business needs. One of the most difficult hurdles you can encounter is your account being frozen unexpectedly. Unfortunately, when it comes to the firearms business, this problem is all too common. When financial institutions halt transactions, it can cut into your bottom line, damage your reputation, and severely impact the customer’s experience.
If this sounds like a situation you’d like to avoid, you must prioritize firearm account maintenance as part of your regular Audits and business strategy. In this article, we will dive into the causes behind account freezes, various steps you can take to avoid this, and how partnering with BKW Servicing can help make sure this doesn’t happen to you.
If your account is suddenly frozen your first question will be, why? Account freezes are more common for businesses operating in high-risk industries, such as gun shops. Here are a few reasons why your financial partner might freeze your business account:
Firearm sales must abide by federal, state, and local laws. If your business has had even a minor violation of these compliance guidelines, your financial partner might close down your accounts. Even if there is a misunderstanding, this can happen to you, which is why it is so important to keep detailed records of each transaction and regularly audit all of your compliance documents.
Another part of operating as a high-risk business is being more prone to chargebacks. These high rates can trigger the financial institution to close down your account as it perceives there is a new threat to your transactions.
Gun shops are typically more susceptible to reputation concerns when it comes to politics, social stigma, and personal beliefs regarding the sale of firearms. Banks may decide to halt their partnership with gun shops in order to protect their reputation. Unfortunately, these closures can come without warning.
The impact of a frozen account can be detrimental to your business. Along with operational destructions and the inability to process transactions, your customers may choose competitors if they aren’t able to use a preferred payment method to do business with your shop. This can result in financial losses and instability if your shop is reliant on making sales to operate.
Luckily, there are a few steps that you can take in order to avoid an account freeze. First and foremost is choosing the right financial partners to do business with. Working with banks and payment processors that have a history of working with businesses in the high-risk industry can better your chances of them understanding firearm regulations.
Maintaining compliance is another key component to avoiding an account freeze. Be sure that you are staying up to date on all federal, state, and local laws while using reliable sources to ensure that your business remains operating within compliance. Keeping a detailed record of all transactions, customer sales, and inventory can also help prepare you for sudden audits.
Monitoring chargeback rates by clearly communicating your refund policies and displaying transparent pricing throughout your store will also help to combat unauthorized transactions and fraud disputes. To truly make sure that your business is operating within compliance and providing the best safeguards, working with a payment processor that specializes in the firearms industry is your best bet.
Investing in modern technology to help you maintain compliance and reduce the risk of account freezes can be a great way to ensure your business is able to operate as normal. Choosing a system such as BKW Servicing will help you track sales, inventory, and compliance all in one place. With digital record-keeping software, you will spend less time maintaining your back-office practices and more time providing excellent customer service to your clients. With built-in fraud protection tools, you will also be notified by the system of any unauthorized transactions or fraudulent activity.
At BKW Servicing, we are well-versed in the unique challenges faced by firearm merchants. This is why our specialized software is designed to help you avoid sudden account freezes and closures so that you can maintain financial stability.
Our software allows you to securely accept payments both in-store and online, with fraud prevention built in to add another layer of protection to your high-risk business. Our team will help you ensure that all of your transactions comply with legal and regulatory compliance, as we have a proactive support approach to monitor your account identity and address any potential issues before they become problems.
Account freezes are a significant threat to firearm merchants, which is why it is so important to not leave your financial future to chance. Contact BKW Servicing today to ensure reliable payment processing, expert underwriting, and customized support that is specified to your needs. We can’t wait to work with you!