7 Best CBD Merchant Accounts In 2023

Why We Chose PaymentCloud For CBD Payment Processing

PaymentCloud has been providing high-risk merchant accounts since 2010 and accepts CBD businesses as well. The company uses a process called "scrubbing" to review your documents during the application process, improving your chances of getting approved for a merchant account with one of its partner banks.

Unlike most high-risk providers, it doesn’t charge an application or account setup fee. As with most high-risk specialists, PaymentCloud utilizes a quote-based pricing system and doesn’t disclose any standardized processing rates or account fees. Retail merchants are eligible for a “free” EMV-compliant terminal with each account. In this case, “free” means you can use it for as long as you maintain your account, not that you can keep it even if you later close your account or switch providers.

PaymentCloud offers online merchants a choice of several popular payment gateways, although its system can also be integrated with other third-party gateways. Additionally, it provides a free virtual terminal with each account.

Customer service is a particularly strong point of PaymentCloud. Not only is this handled in-house, but the company assigns a dedicated account representative to each new merchant, giving you a single point of contact when you need help or encounter a problem.

Why We Chose National Processing For CBD Payment Processing

National Processing is mainly known for its excellent low-risk payment processing services, which feature competitive rates and transparent terms. However, it also works with a variety of high-risk industries, including CBD products. CBD merchants will have access to most of the same features National Processing offers to lower-risk merchants, including terminals, mobile payment processing, eCommerce support, and chargeback prevention tools. However, be prepared to pay higher transaction fees than those listed on the company's website.

As a Fiserv reseller, National Processing offers the full line of Clover terminals, card readers, and POS systems. Note that most Clover products require a monthly software subscription fee in addition to the cost of the equipment.

National Processing enjoys a great reputation among users and can be a good choice for your CBD business. As with many of our top choices, the company provides excellent customer service that's well ahead of the industry average.

Why We Chose Square For CBD Payment Processing

Square has been offering CBD processing services since 2019. Transaction processing rates are notably higher than the company’s low-risk rates, but the lack of account fees makes it a great alternative to getting a traditional high-risk merchant account.

As with Square’s extremely popular services for low-risk businesses, the company fully discloses all prices for its CBD program on its website. This transparency allows you to make a reasonably accurate estimate of what it will cost you on a monthly basis to use its services. Processing rates are quite reasonable, although they’re naturally higher than what low-risk merchants are charged.

One word of caution: Square charges the same rate for credit and debit cards, which means that you’ll be paying a much higher rate for PIN debit transactions than you would under an interchange-plus rate plan. At low volumes, this is a reasonable tradeoff to avoid all of the numerous monthly and annual fees that come with a traditional merchant account.

Square operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, eliminating virtually all of the onerous “hidden” fees that most other providers add to your bill. At the same time, you need to be aware that Square does have its limitations. As a payment service provider (PSP), Square aggregates your payment account with those of other merchants rather than providing you with a true full-service merchant account. Because of this limitation, the risk that your account will suddenly suffer a freeze, hold, or termination is higher than it is with a traditional merchant account. Also, Square’s reputation for customer service and support isn’t that great, although it has improved significantly in this area within the past few years.

Why We Chose Corepay For CBD Payment Processing

We chose Corepay as one of the relatively few high-risk specialists that not only accepts merchants selling most CBD products, but also provides extensive information about the unique factors that go into getting this type of merchant account. Corepay can usually place most CBD merchants, provided they comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and haven’t had a previous account terminated by another provider.

Corepay offers a full range of products and services, with a particular emphasis on online and mail order/telephone order (MOTO) sales. Credit card and ACH processing are available, with rates for credit card transactions starting at 2.95%. Note that Corepay fully discloses that most high-risk merchants will pay processing rates that are significantly higher than what a comparable low-risk business would pay. The company is also mum about its contracts, so you can expect to have a long-term contract with an early termination fee and a rolling reserve when the account is first established.

Why We Chose Easy Pay Direct For CBD Payment Processing

Easy Pay Direct has been providing high-risk merchant accounts for over nine years. It now accepts CBD merchants, although it doesn’t take startups unless they’re either very well-funded or have previous operating experience.

Easy Pay Direct's flagship product is its proprietary EPD Gateway. While you’ll have to pay a premium in terms of processing rates and account fees, you’ll be set up with a domestic bank or credit card processor. It’s also one of the very few CBD providers to offer some pricing disclosures on its website. US and Canadian merchants who qualify can get approved for an account in about 7-14 days.

The company’s processing rates start at 2.50% + $0.25 per transaction, although these are volume-based rates, meaning that only the largest businesses will qualify. One very positive feature of Easy Pay Direct’s contracts is that they do not have an early termination fee, even for high-risk businesses. While this isn’t quite the same as true month-to-month billing, it makes it much easier to close your account without penalty if you have to. Also, there’s no monthly minimum.

One helpful feature Easy Pay Direct offers is load balancing, where a business can divide its incoming funds among multiple merchant accounts. It’s particularly beneficial for high-risk businesses that often exceed the monthly processing volume limits imposed by the processor underwriting their accounts.

Just be aware that you’ll usually have to pay separate monthly fees for each account, so it might not be cost-effective for some merchants. You might not need this feature if you opt for an offshore account. Underwriting guidelines in some (but by no means all) foreign countries are more relaxed than they are in the United States, and you might not have a monthly processing limit imposed on your account at all.

Why We Chose PayKings For CBD Payment Processing

PayKings specifically advertises to CBD merchants, particularly those who’ve had their accounts with more traditional providers shut down. The company works with a network of over two dozen backend processors (including several offshore banks) to get you approved for an account  -- and does it without charging you any application or account setup fees.

While you'll probably have to accept a long-term contract with an early termination fee (ETF), such conditions are all but unavoidable for most high-risk enterprises.

PayKings also offers both tiered and interchange-plus pricing, but neither option is cheap. Again, very high processing rates are a standard feature in the world of high-risk credit card processing. Luckily, you can offset some (or all) of these costs by implementing PayKings' credit card surcharging or cash discounting programs. PayKings provides a very broad array of products and services, including numerous third-party integrations. The company enjoys a mostly positive reputation among merchants, although complaints about early termination fees and rolling reserves have come up. These two requirements are actually imposed by the backend processor, not PayKings, making it more difficult to negotiate a waiver of either item.

Why We Chose SMB Global For CBD Payment Processing

SMB Global is a high-risk specialist that spun off from one of our favorite providers, Payline Data, in 2016. The company accepts high-volume CBD merchants, using offshore accounts exclusively for this industry. Using a variety of back-end processors, it can approve a merchant account for almost any high-risk business, including those selling CBD oils.

The company primarily focuses on serving eCommerce merchants but also supports traditional retail businesses, as well.

Because it works with so many banks and processors to get you approved for an account, the company doesn’t offer any specific pricing information. Processing rates, account fees, and contract terms vary widely depending on which back-end processor handles your account. While we highly recommend that you request an interchange-plus pricing plan, be prepared to have to accept a tiered plan instead, particularly if you haven’t been in business for very long. Likewise, you can also expect to have a standard three-year contract with an automatic renewal clause and an early termination fee. As a CBD merchant, you should be prepared to have a rolling reserve included in your account agreement.

SMB Global requires a minimum processing volume of $50,000 per month for an offshore merchant account, which can present a formidable barrier to a newly established CBD business. The company occasionally waives this requirement if your business has a strong financial history. Offshore accounts support multicurrency processing, allowing you to avoid cross-border fees. It also features dynamic currency conversion, letting your customers pay in either their local currency or the currency in which you bill them. SMB Global appears to accept CBD merchants only through offshore accounts at this time.