Instabill Review

Pros

• High-risk and offshore merchant accounts are available
• Accepts CBD businesses
• Accepts cannabis dispensaries
• A reputable in-house sales team

Cons

• Usually requires a long-term contract
• It may be expensive for low-risk businesses
• Usually requires a rolling reserve

Instabill Overview

Instabill specializes in providing merchant account services to high-risk merchants and processing offshore payments for international merchants doing business in the United States. The company primarily focuses on eCommerce enterprises but offers robust support to retail businesses as well. Instabill accepts industries traditionally in the high-risk category and even provides innovative payment solutions to the cannabis industry. Although it doesn’t accept every type of high-risk business, Instabill’s broad network of domestic and international banking partners translates to a higher chance that your business will be accepted, even if other providers have turned you down.

As with any other high-risk processor, Instabill’s services don’t come cheap. You can expect to pay processing rates that are well above the industry average and high account maintenance fees. You’ll almost certainly have to accept a long-term contract as part of getting a high-risk merchant account.

Overall, Instabill earns 4 out of 5 stars and is a good choice if you’ve had a tough time getting approved for an account. For an overview of several other high-risk specialists, check out our article on the best high-risk processors to work with.

Instabill Products & Services

The majority of Instabill’s users are eCommerce-only merchants, so the company’s lineup of products and services skews toward the online sector. However, processing hardware and support for retail enterprises are also available. Here are the key features that Instabill offers:

• High-Risk Merchant Accounts: Instabill’s primary feature is that it supports many high-risk industries through a broad network of banks and processors. The company provides extensive information about the sectors it can work with, so check it out to confirm that yours is included before beginning the application process. You’ll also find a list of prohibited industries that the company either cannot or will not work with.
• International Merchant Accounts: If you do business with US customers, but your business is not US-based, you likely already know about the difficulties involved in overseas processing. If you do business globally and need to deal in multiple currencies, you’ve also likely encountered some headaches. Instabill specializes in these types of accounts, so it’s very familiar with the setup and maintenance obstacles and can help you navigate them.
• Low-Risk Merchant Accounts: Instabill can also support regular, low-risk industries, but it’s not the best choice for these types of businesses. High-risk specialists tend to work with banking partners that don’t offer the most competitive rates and fees, and you’ll have to go through an extensive negotiation process to get the best terms.
• Payment Gateway: The cornerstone of Instabill’s processing service is its proprietary Instabill Payment Gateway, which integrates with whichever bank or back-end processor you’re assigned to. While it’s not the most feature-rich gateway we’ve found, it does offer essential features, such as third-party shopping cart integration, a built-in virtual terminal, support for hosted payment pages, and fraud protection features.
• Credit Card Terminals: Instabill offers a variety of basic, low-cost terminals for retail merchants. While the company’s website provides a list of available model numbers, pricing is not disclosed. We strongly encourage you to buy your equipment outright rather than agree to a terminal lease, which will cost you far more than what the equipment is worth in the long run.
• Mobile EMV POS: While Instabill doesn’t have a proprietary mobile processing solution, it offers this feature through a partnership with CardFlight. You’ll need a separate account with CardFlight as well as one of its card readers and the smartphone app.
• ACH Processing: Instabill offers ACH payment processing as an integrated feature of its merchant accounts. ACH payments have recently enjoyed a resurgence as they cost much less to process than credit cards and present fewer risks. Underwriting for an ACH processing account, however, can be complex and time-consuming.
• CBD Processing: Instabill is one of a relatively small group of providers that accept CBD merchants. To get approved for a CBD merchant account, you’ll need to process at least $1,500/week and be an eCommerce-only business.
• Cannabis Processing: Even fewer traditional merchant account providers are willing to work with the cannabis industry, but Instabill is one of them. Clearly acknowledging the reality that there’s currently no legal way to accept credit cards for cannabis products, the company offers a few workaround solutions to help you avoid the risks of operating on a cash-only basis. Options include cryptocurrency payments and a card-based solution that appears to be a “cashless ATM.”

Instabill Pricing, Fees & Rates

Unlike other processors that post misleading teaser rates on their websites or simply don’t disclose any rate or fee information, Instabill is different. It provides a Merchant Account Fees page dedicated to explaining why it can’t give you a firm quote on either rates or fees without more information about the nature and size of your business as well as other factors.

Instabill partners with a vast number of different banks, both international and in the US. Our complete guide to credit card processing fees and rates explains that what you pay will depend on which bank Instabill sets you up with. Fees and rates will also vary widely depending on your business type, risk level, and overall processing volume. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just means that you will have to carefully assess your rate and fee quotes to make sure you are getting a fair deal.

High-risk accounts are always more expensive than low-risk accounts. You should expect to see rolling reserves (where a certain percentage of funds are withheld month-to-month), account setup fees, and higher rates. As you develop a processing history and relationship with Instabill, you can expect to see reductions in the reserve and rates if your account remains in good standing.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Instabill’s advertising is better than most high-risk and international/overseas payment processors we’ve seen. The company’s website includes extensive educational material to help prospective clients better understand the complexities of high-risk processing. The information presented is accurate and offers a fair, reasonable presentation of what it takes to get approved for a high-risk account.

While you won’t find the kind of specific pricing disclosures that are becoming more common among low-risk providers, Instabill goes to great lengths to explain why this approach is simply untenable with so many possible banking partners that can underwrite your account.

Instabill uses an in-house sales staff to sell and set up its merchant accounts. This is a far better practice than relying on independent sales agents, who have a well-deserved bad reputation in the industry for frequently using misleading and unethical sales tactics to sell accounts. The company does, however, have a reseller program that allows anyone — whether a sales agent or not — to refer a prospective merchant to Instabill and earn residuals. Resellers do not, however, get involved with actually establishing the contract terms or setting up the account.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

Like your account’s processing rates and fee schedule, contract terms and possible early termination fees will vary depending on your business. Most high-risk merchant accounts require a long-term contract and an early termination fee, regardless of which provider you sign up with. These accounts are more expensive for Instabill to get up and running, so it makes sense that you would be charged more.

Low-risk businesses, however, should probably look elsewhere unless offered a month-to-month contract with no early cancellation penalties.

Instabill Customer Service & Technical Support

Instabill handles customer service and support in-house, which means you’ll be dealing with more knowledgeable and experienced support staff. With such a small staff, the downside is that customer support is limited to email and phone support that’s only available during business hours (currently 8 AM-6 PM EST, Monday-Friday).

We haven’t received much feedback on the quality of Instabill’s support, but there don’t appear to be any major red flags. We’ll need to hear from more merchants directly before passing judgment. Resources on the Instabill website, such as its Knowledge Center, are certainly helpful for prospective merchants and current customers alike in terms of understanding the service and the industry at large. But since high-risk merchants vary so widely regarding needs, and since Instabill uses a bunch of different acquirers depending on the customer, some support info is just not so easily standardized.

If you have experience with Instabill’s customer service or tech support and can offer first-hand insight, please leave a comment at the end of this review.

Instabill Reviews, Complaints, & Testimonials

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Instabill is not accredited by the BBB but has an A+ rating. The company currently has zero complaints filed with the BBB in the last three years and zero complaints within the past twelve months. Although it’s a small company, this is a strong indicator of a reputable business keeping its merchants happy. We found very little recent feedback on the company on other consumer protection sites, and none of it was enough to raise concerns about the quality of Instabill’s service.

With high-risk merchant accounts, complaints regarding funding holds, rolling reserves, and higher-than-average fees are common and to be expected. Funding holds, in particular, generate a lot of complaints despite being a fairly uncommon occurrence in the processing industry. If you come across a complaint from a merchant regarding held funds, remember that in almost all cases, it’s the acquiring bank or back-end processor that is holding the funds, not the merchant services provider. Companies such as Instabill do not profit when funds from a merchant’s transaction are held.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Instabill’s website currently includes five testimonials from users. Unfortunately, they don’t have full names or complete business contact information and are very brief. We’d really like to see some more detailed case studies highlighting specific features of Instabill’s services in the future.

If you’ve had any experience with Instabill, please leave us a comment with your business name and other identifying information so that we can verify the authenticity of your review!

Final Verdict On Instabill

If you run a high-risk business or have had a hard time getting approved for a merchant account, Instabill might be your saving grace. No, you’re not going to get the transparent pricing and flexible contract terms that you’d find with some of our other favorite providers. Yes, you might have to deal with rolling reserves, application fees, and occasionally withheld funds. But, with all of that said, you will get a solid merchant account from a reputable company. That might not sound like a glowing endorsement, but it’s well above average when it comes to high-risk specialists.

With a score of 4 out of 5 stars, Instabill is a great choice for merchants who’ve been turned down repeatedly by other providers. The company stands out for its willingness to accept merchants in particularly high-risk industries, including adult entertainment, CBD, and cannabis products.

As always, be sure to leave a review below if you’ve had any personal experience with Instabill. Thanks!

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