These reputable payment services providers offer merchant accounts with reasonable rates to high-risk industries like credit repair.
Chris has been writing about small business topics since 2003. In 2015, he joined Merchant Maverick, where he writes about business financing, payment processing, and demographic trends in entrepreneurship. Chris has been featured in Fox Business, ABC News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates, Newsweek, BizJournals, and other publications. He has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego, and a Masters of Science in Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida. He currently resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
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Chris MotolaChris has been writing about small business topics since 2003. In 2015, he joined Merchant Maverick, where he writes about business financing, payment processing, and demographic trends in entrepreneurship. Chris has been featured in Fox Business, ABC News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates, Newsweek, BizJournals, and other publications. He has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego, and a Masters of Science in Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida. He currently resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
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If you’ve visited our business loans section, you know that credit scores still play a huge role in a merchant’s ability to get funding.
Business owners with poor credit may find themselves locked out of some of the better sources of funding. And more people than ever are relying on their credit in the midst of a rising trend in fraud and identity theft.
Maybe you’ve decided to make helping business owners repair their credit your business. More specifically, you may want to help people who’ve experienced glitches in their aid, assistance, or forbearance systems and, consequently, have been unable to report their late payments to their credit bureau, dinging their credit.
So, now you’re looking for a merchant account for credit repair companies. However, getting a credit repair merchant account can, itself, be a bit of a challenge. You’ll probably need to get a high-risk merchant account.
Why Do You Need A High-Risk Merchant Account For Credit Repair Businesses?
Customers with poor credit, at face value and in the eyes of banks, are risky customers who have recently had trouble paying their debts on time. As a credit repair business, those same customers are your clients, a fact that makes your credit repair industry a high-risk one.
Banks, conservative lenders that they are, view the credit repair industry as one prone to chargebacks and fraud — your business likely provides high-ticket services as well as services on recurring billing plans, factors that make your business particularly susceptible to chargeback risks.
All this to say that, for credit repair companies, this means that popular third-party processors like Square, PayPal, and Stripe are out, as are many of the best small credit card processing companies. Instead, you’ll have to look at high-risk merchant services providers to get your credit repair merchant account.
Should You Get An Offshore Merchant Account For Credit Repair?
Offshore merchant accounts can offer a way to do an end-run around the restrictions of domestic merchant account providers. This strategy works, but it can be expensive–even more so than working with a domestic high-risk merchant account provider. Offshore merchant account providers understand that if a business is trying to circumvent domestic account provider restrictions, they’re likely willing to pay a little extra along the way. Additionally, you may have a hard time resolving any legal disputes that arise if you decide to use an offshore merchant account in lieu of a domestic one.
One limiting factor for credit repair companies is that credit scores are a distinctly American phenomenon. You probably won’t have much of an international market for your services, which limits the amount of advantage you can reap from an offshore account.
The 6 Best Credit Repair Merchant Accounts
The best credit repair merchant accounts are able to accommodate high-risk transactions at a fair price with reasonable contract terms. Here are the best credit repair merchant accounts from providers like Soar Payments, Host Merchant Services, PayKings.
MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order) only accounts also available
24-48 hour account approval timeframe
Offers NetValve proprietary payment gateway. Also integrates with Authorize.Net, NMI, Inovio, etc.
Offers CB-ALERT anti-fraud software
ACH processing available
Contract Requirements/Warnings
Corepay discloses relatively little information on its contract policies, but applicants should expect to sign a long-term contract with an early termination fee (ETF).
Where Corepay Really Shines For Credit Repair Companies
Corepay’s fast approval process can be a great benefit to any high-risk merchant, including those running credit repair companies.
Corepay is geared primarily towards eCommerce with a diverse selection of payment gateways and offshore account options, which should be more than adequate for a typical credit repair company.
Key products and services for Host Merchant Services include the following:
High-risk merchant accounts
“Free” EMV-compatible terminal available
Wide selection of POS systems
Choice of Transaction Express or Authorize.Net payment gateways
$100,000 data breach insurance with all accounts
Contract Requirements/Warnings
Credit repair merchants using Host Merchant Services should expect a long-term contract and possibly an early termination fee (ETF), though the precise terms may vary depending on the backend processor you are paired with.
Where Host Merchant Services Really Shines For Credit Repair Companies
Host Merchant Services is among our list of best credit card processing companies for small business. While they don’t offer quite as great terms to high-risk customers like credit repair companies, you can still expect competitive pricing and terms from Host Merchant Services.
Host Merchant Services also offers a variety of third-party products and services, and has a remarkably low complaint volume from its users, as well as the same high level of customer support that low-risk businesses receive.
Durango Merchant Services generally requires a long-term contract for high-risk merchants. What’s different, however, is that it doesn’t charge an early terminate fee (ETF) if you switch to a different payment processor.
Where Durango Merchant Services Really Shines For Credit Repair Companies
Durango Merchant Services has just about everything you’d want to see in a high-risk payment processor, most notably reserving early termination fees for only the riskiest clients.
Durango Merchant Services can cover a variety of uses, including in-person, eCommerce, and mobile payments. Businesses looking to save money on credit card processing fees can take advantage of Durango Merchant Service’s eCheck or cryptocurrency processing capabilities.
Notably, Durango Merchant Services specializes in finding merchant accounts for business owners with poor credit or have landed on a credit card processing blacklist like the Terminated Merchant File (TMF) or MATCH list.
Authorize.Net, NMI Gateway or USAePay payment gateways are available
ACH and echeck processing are available
Chargeback management and fraud prevention
Contract Requirements/Warnings
Credit repair companies are generally looking at a two-year initial contract, which is one year less than you’ll typically see in the high-risk processing market. During those first two years, there’s a $495 early termination fee (ETF), which is removed after the initial contract. The ETF is also only charged if you cancel it, not if your account is terminated by the bank or the processor.
Where Soar Payments Really Shines For Credit Repair Companies
Being a high-risk business doesn’t mean you have to settle for second-rate service. If you’re looking for a fully functional suite of payment processing features, you should consider Soar Payments.
Soar Payments offers eCommerce integrations, a payment gateway through Authorize.Net, ACH processing, and POS hardware–which covers just about all your bases. Additionally, it offers chargeback management and fraud prevention, which will help cut down on fraudulent chargebacks and other suspicious activity. It also has substantial experience in placing credit repair companies with backend processors.
Perhaps most importantly, Soar Payments has some of the most lenient contract terms you’ll see in the high-risk processing segment.
Instabill requires the three-year contract commitment common to most high-risk payment processors. That means you’re looking at an early termination fee if you cancel the service while under contract. Rolling reserves are usually required as well, though you may be able to negotiate your way out of that.
Where Instabill Really Shines For Credit Repair Companies
Instabill is a service that specializes in overseas merchant accounts. If your business proves too risky even for most domestic high-risk payment processors, Instabill appears to be able to work with even the riskiest businesses (online gambling sites, for example). The feature suite isn’t the most complete, but you can get ACH processing and mobile EMV POS through integrations or Instabill’s partners. Credit card terminals are available through lease, which we generally recommend against.
Since Instabill is partnered with a number of banks throughout the world, there’s not much information available upfront about pricing. A big point in Instabill’s favor, however, is that there really aren’t that many customer complaints out there about them. Expect higher prices but also competent customer service and complaint resolution.
High-risk merchant accounts through 20+ acquiring banks
Choice of NMI or Authorize.Net payment gateways
Shopify integration available
ACH & eCheck processing available
Extensive developer support
Contract Requirements/Warnings
PayKings doesn’t publicly disclose contract terms, but applicants should expect the standard three-year long-term contract typical of high-risk processing. We can confirm that PayKings uses rolling reserves, which can affect your cash flow. Make sure you understand how they work before you sign-up or try to negotiate your way out of them with your backend processor.
Where PayKings Really Shines For Credit Repair Companies
PayKings is a merchant services provider that specializes in high-risk merchant accounts. To that end, they work with a network of over 20 acquiring banks to place high-risk businesses.
International processing is also available through PayKings, which can set you up with an offshore merchant account. Payment gateways such as Authorize.Net even offer currency conversion and the ability to accept payments from around the world.
Our Methodology For Choosing The Best Credit Repair Merchant Account Providers
Merchant Maverick reviews merchant account providers according to criteria that include credit card processing features and services, pricing, transparency, contract requirements, and user reviews. Each provider is then assigned an aggregate score to gauge their quality relative to similar merchant account providers.
For best credit repair merchants, we narrowed our focus to high-risk processes that can accommodate the needs of credit repair businesses. As high-risk merchant accounts tend not to have as competitive terms as low-risk, we considered factors like a breadth of features, ease and cost of sign-up, and contract terms.
5 Ways To Improve Your Chances Of Getting A High-Risk Merchant Account For Credit Repair
There’s no magic formula that guarantees approval, but there are some things you can do to increase your chances of being approved for a credit repair merchant account.
Have A Solid Business Plan
One thing you can do to ease the concerns of merchant services providers is to have a solid credit repair business plan. Demonstrate that you know what you’re doing, where your profits will come from, and the risks inherent to your business. In other words, make it look like the clients you do attract will be paying their bills regularly with little chance of chargebacks.
Be As Transparent As Possible
It’s important that you’re as upfront as possible about the nature of your business to increase the likelihood of being approved for a credit repair merchant account. Complete transparency should include your business’s history of accepting credit card and online transactions as well as any potential chargebacks that are associated with the services you provide.
Have Good Credit
You may not have a lot of control over your industry’s reputation or those of your customers, but one thing you can directly impact is your own credit rating. As is the case with most things financial in the U.S., having a good credit rating will make it easier to get services. And, if your business is credit repair, shouldn’t you have figured out how to repair your own?
Explain Previous Chargebacks
Transparency goes a long way for high-risk merchants; explanations of previous chargebacks can drastically improve that transparency. Increase your chances of getting approved for a credit repair merchant account by furnishing the complete history of chargebacks you’ve dealt with.
Have Documentation Ready
Your application process will go a lot more smoothly if you have the documents your service provider will request handy ahead of time. Typically this means valid personal identification, three months of bank statements, and three months of credit card processing statements (if any). Note that overseas merchant accounts will likely need additional information, so check with the merchant services provider you’re applying to in advance to make sure you’ve got everything you need.
How Do I Choose The Best Credit Repair Merchant Account For My Business?
Being in a high-risk industry like credit repair may narrow your merchant account options, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for just anything. Even among high-risk merchant accounts, there are good, reputable providers as well as sharks looking to take advantage of desperate businesses. With tiered pricing, the service that appears to offer the cheapest merchant account for credit repair business may not really provide the most value for your money — or even the cheapest rate, for that matter, as only certain transactions will be processed at the advertised low rate.
Need more resources to help you set up your credit repair business? We can help you get a high-risk business loan.
FAQs: Merchant Accounts For Credit Repair
Can I use Square for my credit repair business?
No, Square does not work with most high-risk industries, including credit repair businesses.
Can credit repair companies use Stripe?
No, Stripe does not offer support for most high-risk industries, including credit repair companies.
Are credit repair companies considered high risk?
Yes, due to their clientele having poor credit ratings, credit repair companies are generally considered high-risk by merchant account providers.
What is a high risk merchant account?
A high risk merchant account that can be used by high risk industries (CBD vendors, credit repair companies, travel agencies, gun sellers, etc.) to process credit card transactions. These accounts typically have higher transaction fees than low-risk merchant accounts.
In Summary: The 6 Best Credit Repair Merchant Accounts
Chris has been writing about small business topics since 2003. In 2015, he joined Merchant Maverick, where he writes about business financing, payment processing, and demographic trends in entrepreneurship. Chris has been featured in Fox Business, ABC News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates, Newsweek, BizJournals, and other publications. He has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego, and a Masters of Science in Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida. He currently resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
View Chris Motola's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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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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