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When looking for a high-risk payment processors, you can expect different pricing and contract terms, but our recommended providers are fair, honest, and transparent.
Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law, and currently resides in Paso Robles, California.
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Frank KehlFrank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law, and currently resides in Paso Robles, California.
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Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
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Shannon VissersShannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
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High-risk merchant accounts are designed to serve businesses that cannot obtain a standard, low-risk account for credit card processing. Although expensive, high-risk accounts allow companies that would otherwise have to operate on a cash-only basis to accept credit and debit cards, ACH transfers, and other payment methods.
This article highlights seven of the best high-risk merchant account providers and provides tips for selecting the one that is best for your business.
The best high-risk merchant account providers offer honest sales practices, a transparent onboarding process, personalized customer service, fair contract terms, and reasonable rates and fees. With these criteria in mind, let’s look at our top seven high-risk merchant account providers:
Why Host Merchant Services Is The Best Choice For High-Risk eCommerce Merchants
As a former web hosting company, HMS is ideally suited for eCommerce merchants. The company offers users a choice between Authorize.Net and its own proprietary Transaction Express gateway. Each account also comes with free web hosting for your business website.
Host Merchant Services accepts some high-risk industries through a partnership with Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS). Because high-risk accounts are underwritten by a different back-end processor, you'll have to obtain a customized pricing quote that will be quite different from the low-risk rates found on the HMS website.
Host provides 24/7 customer service and has an excellent reputation in this area. If you have an eCommerce business and/or your business falls into one of the categories of high-risk activities that Host can accommodate, such as debt collection, HMS is a top-notch merchant account provider.
Host Merchant Services Features
Host Merchant Services primarily serves low-risk businesses but also accepts merchants in many high-risk industries. Available features include the following:
High-risk merchant accounts
Full line of countertop and mobile credit card terminals
Free terminal available to merchants processing over $20,000/month
Vital and SwipeSimple mobile processing solutions
Choice of Vital or Bonsai (proprietary) POS system
Choice of Authorize.Net or Transaction Express (proprietary) payment gateway
Virtual terminal included
Web hosting service included with each account
Cash discounting program available
Host Merchant Services Pricing
No application or setup fees
Variable account fees per customized quote
Variable processing rates per customized quote
$5-$10/month gateway fee
$15 chargeback fee
No PCI compliance fee
When To Use Host Merchant Services
You run a high-risk eCommerce business
You want to use a credit card processor that offers high-quality customer support
Get a free Clover Go card reader from National Processing when you sign up. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Flat-rate & customized pricing offered
Excellent online reputation
Low-cost ACH & echeck payment processing
Cons
“Free” equipment may require a long-term contract
Early termination fee charged for “free” equipment
Why National Processing Is The Best Choice For Clover Processing Hardware
National Processing uses Fiserv (formerly First Data) and several other back-end processors for both low-risk and high-risk accounts, making it one of the few providers that can offer Clover processing devices to high-risk merchants.
High-risk categories served include dropshipping, firearms and ammunition, credit repair and debt consolidation services, nonprofits, subscription services, high-volume sales, tobacco/vape sales, and bad credit merchants. High-risk 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.
While the company offers flat-rate pricing to low-risk merchants, you'll be offered a customized pricing quote (with higher rates) if you're in a high-risk category. You should, however, be able to obtain a "free" credit card terminal for use with your account if you're willing to accept a long-term contract.
National Processing Features
National Processing primarily caters to low-risk small businesses but also serves several high-risk categories. Key features include the following:
No long-term contract if processing hardware is purchased outright (may not apply to some high-risk businesses)
Accounts include extensive antifraud & chargeback protection features
Cons
Very few pricing disclosures
Why Corepay Is The Best Choice For Mail Order/Telephone Order Businesses
We chose Corepay as one of the relatively few high-risk specialists that provide unique mail order/telephone order-only accounts to businesses that don't have a website, but still need to accept remote payments.
The company accepts a wide variety of high-risk industries and is one of the best payment processors for adult businesses, among other high-risk business types, such as online dating and firearms. Corepay can usually place merchants in most high-risk industries, provided they only sell legal products and haven’t had a previous account terminated by another provider.
Corepay offers a full range of products and services, including credit card processing, eCommerce, and ACH transfers, with a particular emphasis on online and mail order/telephone order (MOTO) sales. 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.
Corepay Features
Corepay offers a variety of products and services for retail and online high-risk merchants, including the following:
High-risk merchant accounts
Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO)-only accounts
Multiple options for processing hardware
Proprietary NetValve payment gateway
Authorize.Net and NMI gateways are also available
ACH processing
Ethoca and Verifi chargeback protection services
Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) service
Corepay Pricing
No application or account setup fees
No annual fees
Variable monthly fees
Variable processing rates (starting at 2.95% for high-risk merchants)
When To Use Corepay
Your business primarily accepts payments through the mail or over the telephone
You’re in an industry that Corepay specializes in working with, such as adult entertainment
Exclusive Promo: PaymentCloud will give you $200 if they can't beat your current rate. Get Your Quote
Pros
Excellent customer support
No account setup fee
Free credit card terminal
Few public complaints
Cons
No publicly disclosed pricing
Why PaymentCloud Is The Best Choice For A "Free" Credit Card Terminal
PaymentCloud specializes in placing high-risk businesses, relying on a network of third-party processors, and acquiring banks to get you approved for an account. You'll need to obtain a pricing quote from the company to find out what it can offer you, but merchants' feedback indicates that its fees and rates are reasonable.
For retail merchants, the company can provide you with a free EMV-compliant credit card terminal -- that is, it's free so long as you return it if you close your account or switch providers. PaymentCloud also offers eCommerce merchants access to either Authorize.Net or one of several alternative third-party payment gateways. A free virtual terminal is also available with each account.
PaymentCloud enjoys a great online reputation, with our readers and merchants on other sites giving the company a positive endorsement. In fact, low-risk providers such as Dharma Merchant Services and Stripe routinely refer high-risk applicants to PaymentCloud.
PaymentCloud offers services to businesses with low, medium, and high levels of risk, but specializes in getting merchant accounts approved for a wide variety of high-risk industries. The company offers the following primary features:
“Free” credit card terminal available with each account
Mobile processing solution available
Virtual terminal included
Authorize.Net, NMI, or USAePay payment gateways are available
Offers offshore accounts for international merchants
Fair pricing & contract terms
Offers an EMV-compliant mobile card reader
Dedicated account manager for customer service
Cons
Early termination fee in some cases
Why Durango Merchant Services Is The Best Choice For Offshore Merchants
Personalized customer service and the ability to work with various domestic and offshore payment processors set Durango Merchant Services ahead of most of its competitors.
Durango Merchant Services is one of the oldest and best high-risk merchant service providers, serving industries such as travel agencies, fantasy sports, and live animal sales. The company has an excellent reputation for honesty, fair rates, and great customer service. Like almost all high-risk providers, Durango uses a quote-based pricing system and doesn’t disclose fees or rates on its website.
In addition to working with US-based processors and banks, the company can also set you up with an offshore merchant account if you need one.
All merchants will be assigned a dedicated account manager for all customer service-related issues.
Durango Merchant Services Features
One of our favorite high-risk providers, Durango Merchant Services offers a full range of products and services for eCommerce and retail businesses. Primary features include the following:
Why Soar Payments Is The Best Choice For Rapid Account Approval
Soar Payments works with about a dozen banks and processors to place high-risk merchants, such as cannabis dispensaries. Soar is one of the fastest providers on our list, offering same-day high-risk merchant account approvals---your account can be preapproved in less than 24 hours (though full approval can take 3-5 business days).
Focusing mainly on eCommerce Soar offers the Authorize.Net and USAePay gateways, as well as the NMI payment gateway, which can integrate with most of the more popular online shopping carts. NMI also integrates with Chargeback Armor, an automated chargeback prevention and response program.
As for pricing and contracts, Soar uses an automated quote-based pricing system. You should expect a rolling reserve and a monthly minimum to be part of your high-risk account. The company's standard contracts include an initial two-year term, which will automatically renew for one-year periods after that. There's also an early termination fee, but this only applies during the first two years of your contract. Overall, Soar Payments offers very competitive terms for high-risk merchants.
Soar Payments Features
Soar Payments offers a variety of products and services to enable credit card payments and help your business grow. The following key features are available:
High-risk merchant accounts
Offers PAX A920 “smart” credit card terminal
Authorize.Net, NMI, or USAePay payment gateways are available
ACH and eCheck processing are available
ChargebackArmor anti-fraud and chargeback protection package available
Soar Payments Pricing
Variable processing rates for high-risk accounts (tiered pricing usually used)
Variable account fees for high-risk merchants
Usually includes a monthly minimum
A long-term contract and an early termination fee may apply
When To Use Soar Payments
You need a merchant account for your high-risk business that can be approved right away
Why Easy Pay Direct Is The Best Choice For Load Balancing
High-risk specialist Easy Pay Direct offers its proprietary EPD Gateway as its primary product. It also provides full-service merchant accounts to high-risk businesses in industries such as CBD sales.
To get started with Easy Pay Direct, you’ll have to pay a one-time account setup fee of $99. However, the company doesn’t charge an early termination fee if you close your account early. We don’t normally like account setup fees, but the extra effort required to underwrite your account justifies the expense for a high-risk business.
Easy Pay Direct offers load balancing, which helps you get around the monthly processing limits that often come with high-risk merchant 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. Its load-balancing option and robust payment gateway features make Easy Pay Direct an excellent choice for high-volume businesses with an online sales channel.
Easy Pay Direct Features
Easy Pay Direct enjoys a strong reputation among users. Although its focus is primarily on the eCommerce sector, the company also offers support for retail businesses. Key highlights include the following products and services:
High-risk merchant accounts
Load-balancing feature available
Proprietary Easy Pay Direct (EPD) Gateway
Virtual terminal available with EPD Gateway
Countertop credit card terminals are available
Proprietary QuickClick shopping cart (plus support for 250+ third-party carts)
APIs and SDKs available for site customization
Easy Pay Direct Pricing
$99 account setup fee
$24.95 monthly account maintenance fee
Variable processing rates (tiered and interchange-plus pricing used)
Variable additional monthly and annual fees
A long-term contract may apply
No early termination fee (except for offshore accounts)
When To Use Easy Pay Direct
You need load balancing to get around monthly processing limits
Merchant Maverick has been researching the payment processing industry since 2009. Our writers have reviewed hundreds of credit card processors, merchant account services, and mobile payment apps, evaluating each provider carefully on several different metrics.
Weighted Rating Breakdown
Fees & Rates 25%
Products & Services 25%
Contract 20%
Sales & Advertising Transparency 15%
Customer Service 10%
User Reviews 5%
When comparing different payment processing companies and applications to one another, we consider numerous data points. Our experts start by comparing credit card processing rates, the presence of additional fees, contract length, sales practices, and the presence or absence of additional features and services, like point of sale software. Each provider is judged on its own merits and how well it stacks up to industry standards; then it is weighed against the other providers on the list.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure every company or application included meets our internal standards for quality and reputation. Any list of recommended payment processors on our site might contain a mix of standard merchant accounts, third-party payment processors, mobile payment devices, and high-risk payment processors, depending on what our expert feels is the best fit for certain scenarios or business types.
For additional details about Merchant Maverick’s review and rating processes, please refer to any or all of the following methodology pages:
A high-risk merchant account is an account designed specifically for businesses classified as being in a high-risk category. While each provider has its own criteria for determining whether a business is high-risk, an elevated rate of chargebacks or a higher risk of fraudulent transactions are the most common factors.
Why High-Risk Merchant Services Are Different Than Traditional Merchant Accounts
Naturally, having your businesses labeled “high-risk” is frustrating. While certain business types (adult entertainment, gambling, bankruptcy law firms, etc.) nearly always get the designation, having poor personal credit or high average ticket sales can also do it. See our article on running a high-risk business for a full list of the business types typically considered high-risk, along with other factors that might get your business that designation.
A high-risk merchant account has the same features and functionality as a traditional, low-risk one. The primary differences include the following:
Additional payment security and fraud protection features
Fewer restrictions on international transactions
By necessity, high-risk processors are experts in risk mitigation. While this comes at a cost, your businesses will enjoy these benefits with a quality, high-risk provider.
How To Choose A Reputable High-Risk Payment Processor
If you’ve been identified as a high-risk merchant, or if you suspect you might be one, following these tips should help you find a merchant account that accepts your business and meets your needs:
Check The Processor’s Accepted Business Types: Even high-risk specialists usually don’t take all types of high-risk businesses. Check your provider’s website or contact its sales department to confirm that it can accept your particular business type.
Look For A Processor That Offers Load Balancing: With load balancing, you can spread your transactions across multiple merchant accounts, which are integrated into a single payment gateway. If one of the accounts drops you, you’ll still have the others to rely on. You’ll also be able to process more every month with multiple accounts.
Read Your Contract Carefully: As most high-risk merchant account providers work with multiple banks and backend processors, they usually don’t list their rates and fees online. These costs can vary depending on the bank or processor that underwrites your account. Pay close attention to the rates you’ll be charged, and ensure you understand any extra fees.
Get Quotes From Multiple Providers: Due to the variability in pricing among providers, we recommend obtaining quotes from at least three providers before choosing which one to do business with.
Other Considerations For Choosing High-Risk Payment Processors
What if the high-risk payment processor you’re considering isn’t on our list? It doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not a good choice. In fact, it might be perfect for your business’s particular needs.
Having already discussed some general guidelines on pricing, contracts, and customer support to think through when deciding on a processor, there are some additional factors you might want to consider.
Hardware For High-Risk Processing
If you’re going to accept in-person payments, you’ll need the appropriate processing hardware to do so. Your choices include a standard countertop credit card terminal, a wireless terminal, a POS system and hardware, or a mobile app-based system that uses a card reader connected to your smartphone or tablet.
In most cases, you should buy your equipment outright. We strongly recommend against terminal leases, which are noncancelable and usually come with four-year contracts. If you close your account, you will have to buy out all the remaining months of your lease.
Due to the unpopularity of terminal leases, many providers now offer a “free” terminal with your account. Be wary of this and read the fine print. While this offer might work out if you only need one terminal, you’ll often pay a higher monthly account fee. You could also be locked into a long-term contract with a hefty early termination fee.
Accepting Alternative Payment Methods
In today’s payments environment, accepting credit and debit cards is merely a good first step toward maximizing the number of ways your customers can pay you. Your merchant service provider will often offer additional alternative payment methods to make it more convenient for your customers to make a purchase. Depending on your business’s needs, you might consider adding ACH transfers, eCheck payments, QR code payments, cryptocurrency payments, or support for digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
High-Risk Payment Gateway & eCommerce Support
If your business has an online presence, you’ll need a payment gateway to process your eCommerce transactions. For mail or telephone orders, a virtual terminal (available as a gateway feature or as a separate product) will allow you to input card-not-present transactions from any internet-connected device with a web browser. Card readers that connect to your computer via USB or Bluetooth expand the usefulness of a virtual terminal by allowing you to process card-present transactions as well.
These services aren’t fundamentally different from what a low-risk business would use. Most high-risk providers typically offer a choice between the popular Authorize.Net gateway and a proprietary product designed to be compatible with all the banks and processors they work with to underwrite your account.
Regardless of your provider, you should expect your gateway to come with solid security features, including credit card tokenization and SSL encryption. High-risk providers also tend to emphasize chargeback prevention features that attempt to prevent — or at least flag — potential chargebacks before they occur. Services such as Chargeback Armor help detect potential chargebacks. Consider adding them to your account if your provider offers them.
Over the past several years, payment gateways have evolved into cloud-based integrated payments platforms that consolidate payment transaction data from online and in-person sales, allowing you to run your business from any internet-connected device. While they offer tremendous power and convenience, these platforms are proprietary and can create compatibility issues if you switch to a different merchant services provider.
Why You Shouldn’t Choose A Payment Service Provider For High-Risk Merchant Services
Payment service providers (PSPs) allow you to accept credit cards without a dedicated merchant account. PSPs usually come with simple, flat-rate pricing for credit card processing, no monthly fees, and no long-term commitment. Soe popular PSPs include Square, PayPal, Stripe, and Shopify.
However, all PSPs have strict policies against servicing most high-risk businesses. To evade these policies, some merchants fudge the truth about their business’s nature. Don’t do this! Lying to your processor about your business will get your account shut down immediately. You’ll also probably be placed on the MATCH list, making it far more difficult to get approved by any merchant account provider.
One notable exception is Square’s program for CBD merchants. While the processing rates are higher than those for low-risk merchants, they’re still reasonable compared to what other high-risk providers typically charge. If you’re running a CBD business, consider this option.
Which High-Risk Credit Card Processor Is Right For My Business?
While we confidently recommend all seven high-risk merchant account providers profiled in this article to businesses needing high-risk credit card processing, determining which one is best for your particular business will depend on several factors. These include, among other things, your personal and business credit history, your existing credit card processing history (if any), and which high-risk business category you fall under.
In narrowing down your search for the best provider for your business, be sure to follow these best practices, which should help you make an informed decision — and avoid any costly mistakes:
Don’t provide false or misleading information about the nature of your business or any other aspect of your business history.
Don’t simply choose the provider that offers you the lowest rates without considering contract terms and customer support.
Don’t enter into an equipment leasing contract.
By following these guidelines and carefully negotiating with your chosen provider’s sales team, you should be able to secure an affordable high-risk merchant account that will pay for itself over time with increased sales and enhanced analytical capabilities. Good luck!
Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law, and currently resides in Paso Robles, California.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
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