The Best Merchant Accounts For Travel Agencies, Booking Firms, Tour Operators &amp; Other Travel Businesses

Get Started With PaymentCloud

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PaymentCloud is a merchant services provider specializing in airline credit card payments. The most important things to know about PaymentCloud are that:

They specialize in providing payment processing solutions for eCommerce, mail order/telephone order (MOTO), and other high-risk businesses.
They offer hands-on advocacy and guidance for merchants both during and after their travel merchant account onboarding process.

Most of PaymentCloud’s merchants are high-risk ones based in the US, but the company also serves lower-risk and brick-and-mortar merchants as well, for whom the biggest pros and cons of using Paymentcloud include:

Pros

Excellent customer support
No fees for merchant account setup
Free credit card terminals for payment processing

Cons

No publicly disclosed pricing
Poor website navigability

PaymentCloud offers dependable service at a reasonable price, full stop. It also boasts high praise from its customers and a strong recommendation from Dharma Merchant Services and Stripe, making it a great choice for any high-risk, travel-based business. Tour guides and booking agencies that find themselves in a high-risk classification for any reason immediately benefit from PaymentCloud’s expertise.

The biggest draw for PaymentCloud is undoubtedly the hands-on advocacy and guidance it provides merchants both during and after their account onboarding. PaymentCloud works to present high-risk businesses in the best possible light to underwriters while maintaining a sense of transparency for said underwriters. And since PaymentCloud works closely with so many banks and back-end processors, merchants have a high chance of account approval with PaymentCloud.

2. Durango Merchant Services

Durango Merchant Services

Get Started With Durango Merchant Services

Durango Merchant Services is a merchant account provider with a stellar reputation for serving high-risk merchants and international merchants. The most important things to know about Durango Merchant Services are that:

They partner with a variety of banks and processors to get merchants approved for an account, which is especially useful for high-risk travel and tourism businesses.
Durango finds accounts for merchants with poor credit or who have found themselves on the Terminated Merchant File (TMF) or MATCH List due to a long history of chargebacks.
They're a registered ISO in Europe and offer international merchant accounts with currency conversion services, support for multicurrency accounts, and fraud prevention services that are perfect for merchants who need an international travel merchant account.

For high-risk merchants, Durango makes it simple to accept payments via terminals, mobile card processing, and payment gateways, and for whom the biggest pros and cons of using Durango Merchant Services include:

Pros

Specialization in placing high-risk merchants
Offshore merchant accounts for eligible international merchants
Few fees for early account terminations

Cons

No publicly disclosed pricing on the company website
Credit card processing fees and rates may be steep for low-risk businesses

Durango Merchant Services stands out from the competition with fair pricing in a segment of the market that’s notorious for charging inflated prices. Durango offers excellent solutions to such complex merchant situations and, if they can't work with a merchant for whatever reason, the company will be straightforward and honest about it.

Durango also provides customer service and support that far exceeds the industry standard, as well as a sales team that's comprised of honest, knowledgeable staff. Additionally, Durango sets up international merchant accounts from the multiple countries out of which it operates to proactively and effectively deal with fraud and chargebacks.

3. SMB Global

SMB Global

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SMB global is a merchant account provider that primarily serves eCommerce businesses that are considered high-risk. The most important things to know about SMB Global are that:

They're set up to work exclusively with high-risk merchants and businesses that need an offshore merchant account.
They primarily serve eCommerce businesses in high-risk business segments.

Not even high-risk experts will deal with every possible kind of business, but SMB Global covers the majority of high-risk merchants, for whom the biggest pros and cons of using SMB Global include:

Pros

High-risk merchant accounts available to businesses across many industry segments
Offers offshore merchant accounts
Very transparent contractual terms

Cons

No publicly disclosed pricing
Higher rates and fees than a comparable merchant focused on low-risk industry segments

SMB Global is a reliable merchant service provider that has maintained a mostly immaculate customer complaint record in its relatively short time of existence, and it's one of the few providers willing to take on merchant types in nearly any high-risk business segment. SMB Global does a remarkable job of working with plenty of high-risk industries to get merchants matched up with a bank or processor that can handle their needs and will quickly approve them for an account.

Additionally, SMB Global offers no misleading rate quotes or unrealistic promotions on the SMB Global website. They may not provide public details about pricing, but this is likely because SMB Global focuses on high-risk businesses that need merchant accounts with custom pricing, for which it can readily offer solutions.

4. Soar Payments

Soar Payments

Get Started With Soar Payments

Soar Payments is a relatively new merchant account provider that specializes in finding card processing homes for hard-to-place businesses that most merchant account providers won’t typically work with. The most important things to know about Soar Payments are that:

They provide POS, mobile payment, terminal, and eCommerce solutions for high-risk merchants looking for an account provider.
The company serves standard-risk business types in addition to high-risk ones.
Soar partners with Chargeback.com to provide merchants with tools to handle disputed payments.

If you need a feature-rich, high-risk merchant account provider, Soar Payments may be just the right fit. For hard-to-place businesses that most merchant account providers won't typically work with, the biggest pros and cons of using Soar Payments include:

Pros

Automated custom price quoting and merchant account application process
Zero application fees
Fast underwriting process

Cons

Only available for US-based businesses
Pricing not disclosed on the company website

If you’re a high-risk merchant, it may sometimes seem like there are few trustworthy options available to you. Many high-risk credit card processors know that merchants don’t have many options and prey on a sense of desperation. From what we can tell based on our research and Soar's reputation at the BBB, though, Soar Payments subverts this trend with reasonable rates, fees, and a reputation for treating merchants well.

Although its $495 early termination fee (for some accounts) may be steep, Soar’s high-risk contract terms as a whole are very reasonable. Soar provides tiered pricing, which is fairly standard among high-risk accounts but has also increased its account approval rate and subsequent account stability by working with Chargeback.com and the NMI gateway to add additional protective features.

Get Started With PaynetSecure

5. PayNetSecure

PaynetSecure	Visit Site

PayNetSecure is a merchant account provider focusing on domestic and offshore merchant accounts for businesses in high-risk industries. The most important things to know about PayNetSecure are that:

They specialize in high-risk merchant accounts and offer exclusive access to banks not typically available through other payment processors.
They combine their international and domestic merchant accounts under a single account onboarding system.

PayNetSecure offers competitive rates and groups its international and domestic merchant accounts under its single system. It specializes in merchant accounts for high-risk businesses, for which the biggest pros and cons of using PayNetSecure include:

Pros

SaaS billing system that streamlines domestic and international payment processing
Offshore payment processing includes multichannel processing and an extensive banking network
ACH processing and Echeck merchant accounts give customers an easy alternative to paying merchants through a bank account rather than with a card

Cons

Con: No publicly disclosed pricing

PayNetSecure processes most major debit and credit cards for high-risk and high-volume businesses that deal with large-ticket sales, including those in the travel and tourism industry.

According to the company’s website, PayNet secure also offers mobile payment solutions, eCommerce solutions, virtual terminals, payment gateways, MOTO, processing for 160 currencies, fraud protection, PCI compliance, recurring payments, ACH processing, and chargeback management, all of which are invaluable for businesses operating in the modern travel industry.

Get Started With National ACH

6. National ACH

National ACH	Visit Site

National ACH is a merchant account provider focused on processing ACH payments for high-risk and traditional merchant accounts. The most important things to know about National ACH are that:

They specialize in processing ACH payments and eChecks
They provide payment gateways, virtual terminals, same-day deposits, automated recurring billing -- perfect for eCommerce type merchants

National ACH offers payment processing with a specialization in checks and ACH payments for high-risk merchants, for whom the biggest pros and cons of using National ACH include:

Pros

Custom pricing contingent on merchant business segments and processing history
Excellent support for eCheck and same-day ACH payment processing
Online payment processing options with easy integration to websites

Cons

No publically disclosed pricing

National ACH, according to our research, is a reliable and high-quality merchant services provider specializing in ACH processing for business segments that have traditionally had trouble getting account approvals. The company, while it doesn't disclose its pricing, does explicitly mention that it services high-risk merchants and provides general guidelines for pricing available to different merchant types.

National ACH offers robust eCommerce solutions such as virtual terminals with fast approvals, secure payment processing, and chargeback protection tools that are perfect for travel and tourism agencies that focus on eCommerce services. Merchants should consider National ACH if they're interested in accepting payments online with easy integration to their websites and stabilizing their cash flow with features such as automated recurring payments and same-day ACH payment processing.