High-risk merchant services are payment processing services that give high-risk companies the ability to accept credit cards from their consumers. The costs associated with high risk merchant servicesare more significant than the fees associated with standard merchant accounts. Nevertheless, the best of these accounts include transparent pricing, dedicated customer assistance, and tools to reduce chargebacks.

Why is it necessary for me to have a merchant account?

An essential financial middleman, a merchant account transfers money between your clients and your company’s bank account. A merchant account is required if you want your company to be able to take payments through credit cards, debit cards, or both. Because regular merchant accounts are often not granted to companies with a high-risk level, you will be required to use a specialized merchant account.

Which kinds of companies are categorized as “high risk” in the business world?

The high-risk category comprises several different types of industries. In this category, vendors are in the following sectors: debt collection; adult entertainment; cannabidiol (CBD), electronic cigarettes, and vaporizer shops; online dating; e-commerce; electronic stores; multi level marketing (MLM) subscription services; cannabis affiliate marketing, gambling, and merchants with ongoing payment schedules; and commuting, including airlines, cruise ships, and holiday planners.

Which Factors Are the Most Significant?

We took into consideration the following rating variables while selecting providers that are the most suitable for high-risk businesses:

Concentration on high-risk business clients alone

Companies that do business in high-risk fields will have requirements that vary from those of ordinary companies. Consequently, we were particularly interested in finding suppliers that provide their services to these businesses.

Pricing

Many customers enjoy a straightforward cost structure. Companies that made this information immediately available got a higher rating than those that needed customers to speak with a person first.

Features

Various commercial enterprises will have specific requirements of their own. Companies that provide multiple solutions to fulfill those requirements earn better marks. A reporting dashboard,  contactless payments, data exports, invoicing, chargeback tracking, fast deposits, and offshore bank account support were some of the features we checked.

Reputation

To get insight into the opinions of real consumers on the offered services, we investigated the feedback and recognition provided by customers and independent reviewers. The number of reviews and the average rating were vital while assigning a score to each company.

Assistance to the customer

When things go wrong, it is vital to have help that is dependable and easy to obtain. Companies that depend primarily on a small number of communication channels have received worse ratings than those with access to various communication channels.

The Best High Risk Merchant Services

1. SharkProcessing

This business has made a reputation in the industry as a reputable payment service for high-risk businesses. The organization maintains privileged banking links held directly with tried and true financial institutions. It offers assistance to merchants in resolving challenges that are inevitably associated with payment processing.

In addition, it uses its network to choose the most trustworthy high-risk banking partners who provide the best services in the long run.

Generally, the costs associated with high-risk merchant accounts may be up to two times as expensive as the fees related to low-risk merchant accounts. If you operate a firm that handles a high volume of transactions each day, you may be able to negotiate better rates with your payment processor.

However, if you have high-risk merchant accounts with Shark Processing, you are exempt from paying them as long as you do not receive payments from your customers. Incredible, isn’t it?

2. PaymentCloud

PaymentCloud is a payment processor that specializes in acquiring merchant account approval for firms that are difficult to place elsewhere. It takes a hands-on approach, assisting firms through the application procedure and using several different backend processors to locate the most competitive rates. After onboarding, PaymentCloud will continue to provide specialized assistance for critical services such as the administration of cardholder subscription migration and the sophisticated configuration of fraud and filtering for your payment gateway.

PaymentCloud, much like most other high-risk payment processors, does not publicly reveal its cost since it is highly customizable. For instance, it can function well with any pricing system if the merchant chooses the one with which they are most comfortable.

3. Durango Merchant Services

This service provider is among the oldest providers specializing in high-risk accounts. The company has a well-established reputation for providing dependable and cost-effective processing for merchants that are difficult to place. When it comes to assisting small companies with poor credit in securing payment processing services, it is one of the high-risk merchant services providers and one of the most flexible in terms of its requirements.

4. Host Merchant Services

Businesses eligible for Host Merchant Services’ high-risk card processing and attractive interchange-plus rates may use these services via a standard merchant account provider called Host Merchant Services. It promotes that it can assist many companies in obtaining merchant accounts, which many other processors are unwilling to do. In particular, its website states that it can help firms sell anything that borders on unlawful, which includes adult enterprises.

5. Soar Payments

This high-risk merchant service deals with many businesses in many different sectors. Compared to the other products on our list, it has the most significant number of direct interfaces with various CRM, accounting, and e-commerce systems. One thing that makes Soar Payment stand out from its competitors is that it provides immediate online quotations.

Generally, it offers trustworthy high risk merchant services with quick estimates and approvals, and no application costs are involved. The fees for high-risk merchant services typically range from $19 to $45 per month, whereas the prices for mid-risk merchants may be as low as 2.49% of each transaction.

Conclusion

The leading suppliers of high risk merchant services have a few characteristics that position them as the industry’s most reliable processors. One of the advantages of these processors is that their onboarding process is open and transparent, and they also provide individualized client support and equal contract conditions.