Billing Issue: Is anyone else seeing their decline rates soar?
 

I just had to send my IPSP an email asking why my decline rates were so high. Usually they run at about 35% with my business, but for the past 4 months they have progressively increased to over a 50% decline rate on Visa and MasterCard alike.

I heard a rumor that a number of banks are increasing their denial rates for high risk processing, but of course they are only rumors.

When I first saw my rates go up I thought it was probably just a momentary bump. Now I know it isnt a bump and at this rate I am in real trouble.

The paranoid voice in the back of my head tells me that this is a great new tactic to get rid of high risk merchants by stealth

Any thoughts?

Credit cards are not allowing some people to charge more on the card. They are capped at what is currently owed so it is increasing your declines.

I've been hearing this sort of talk for a long time. Even Rick Latona said:

"On the audience front, we’ve learned over the weekend that the adult business is in worse shape than we thought. We had already known that they were reeling in pain from so many free tube sights out there but apparently in the last couple of months (I’m told since October) revenue has fallen off a cliff for most of them. The reason, I’m told, is that the IPSPs or Internet Payment Service Providers, whom process credit cards for adult sites, have doubled the amount of credit card transactions they aren’t accepting. I suppose due to bank pressures and non-paying card holders suffering from the economy that charge back ratios are at an all time high."

Source: http://domainnamewire.com/2009/04/05...omain-auction/

I see it with some processors more than others. As well as signups there also seems to be some sort of algorithm in place for declining rebills from certain banks or for certain circumstances. I can see sizable differences in the probability of rebilling amongst the IPSP's we use. The thing that has been worrying me most is these declined rebills. We are getting more and more support emails from surfers wondering why their accounts no longer work.

No one really knows what's going on, and I doubt you will ever find out.

small increase in declines on new sales from last year to this year - very small increase in declines on rebills.

pulled directly from CCBILL:

January 1 2009 - Today

New Declines 16.27%

Rebill Declines 12.73%

January 1 2008 - June 15 2008

New Declines 14.21%

Rebill Declines 12.15%

I just got advised by my IPSP of the following


We do not see that overall. The overall decline is normal, so I cannot confirm it.

We use (deleted) directly. We monitor this also on low level and investigate discrepancies.

For example live sites (webcams) are doing very well. This content cannot be free or copied etc.

We see traffic source changes to member sites. More traffic from ?tube? sites for example. This traffic coverts worse as other traffic overall.

I think because these users are already getting used to the free stuff out there. The group that choose to pay in the end might have a lower credit rating.


I cant see how this applies to me, as I buy only high quality search traffic... hmmmm

bump for more new about this.

I'm glad I use CCBill, they'd never say something like that. Always 100% honest. :winkwink: