High risk merchant accounts: what they are and what to ask

The short answer

A high risk merchant account is a card processing account for businesses that the card networks or banks treat as higher risk, because of the industry they’re in or their history. Online pharmacies, adult content, tobacco, betting and subscription businesses are common examples.

If a mainstream processor has turned you down, specialists like the six listed below sell high risk merchant services, including a high risk processing merchant account. Expect three things: prices by quote only, a possible rolling reserve that holds back part of your sales, and a contract you need to read closely.

We don’t rank these companies, and we can’t tell you your odds of approval. Honest Fees is not a lender, bank or processor. What we can do is show what each one publishes, and what to ask.

What makes a business high risk

What Visa says

Visa’s Merchant Data Standards Manual (April 2026) lists “high integrity risk” merchant category codes. They apply to card-absent payments, meaning online, mail and phone sales. The codes cover:

• Drugs and drug store or pharmacy sales (5122, 5912)
• Outbound telemarketing (5966)
• Adult content and services (5967)
• Cigar stores and stands (5993)
• Dating and escort services (7273)
• Betting, including lottery tickets, casino chips and games of chance (7995)

For certain card-absent payments, Visa adds cyberlocker file-sharing sites (4816), high integrity risk trading platforms (6211), subscription “negative option” merchants (5968), skill game wagering such as daily fantasy sports (5816) and crypto exchanges and wallets (6051 and 6012). Visa also says a merchant that takes online gambling payments “must use MCC 7995 for all transactions, even if gambling is not the Merchant’s primary business.” (Visa manual)

Visa explains why: “Some merchants, such as adult content or gambling sites that operate legally, face an elevated risk of illegal activity.” Merchants in those categories “go through an enhanced registration process” and “are subject to closer performance monitoring.” (Visa)

What Mastercard says

Mastercard’s Security Rules and Procedures, Merchant Edition (February 2025), requires acquirers to register these merchant types: non-face-to-face adult content, gambling, pharmacy and tobacco sellers, skill games, high-risk cyberlockers, high-risk securities, cryptocurrency and negative option billing for physical products. Government lotteries are on the list too. (Mastercard manual)

What providers add

Industry isn’t the only factor, according to the providers themselves. PaymentCloud, a high risk provider, says “The larger the average transaction value, the more risk a payment processor faces,” that providers “automatically classify businesses as high-risk if they have elevated chargeback ratios,” and that “a bad personal or business credit score may prevent access to low-risk merchant accounts.” (PaymentCloud) That’s one provider’s view, not a card network rule.

The MATCH list

MATCH stands for Mastercard Alert To Control High-risk Merchants. It’s now called MATCH Pro, and you may also hear it called the Terminated Merchant File, or TMF.

Mastercard describes it as a database of “certain MATCH Merchants (and their owners) that an Acquirer has terminated.” It’s a “mandatory system for Mastercard Acquirers,” which check it before they sign up a new merchant.

Here’s how it works under Mastercard’s February 2025 rules (Mastercard manual):

• Who gets added. An acquirer that terminates a merchant for a listed reason must add it within five calendar days of deciding to terminate.
• The reasons. Account data compromise, transaction laundering, excessive chargebacks, excessive fraud, coercion, Mastercard’s Questionable Merchant Audit Program, liquidation or insolvency, violation of standards, PCI Data Security Standard noncompliance, illegal transactions and identity theft.
• Excessive chargebacks. The number of chargebacks over the previous three months was more than 1.5% of the number of Mastercard sales in that month, and those chargebacks totaled $5,000 or more.
• Excessive fraud. A fraud-to-sales ratio of 8% or more over the previous three months, with 10 or more fraudulent payments totaling $5,000 or more.
• How long it lasts. Records “remain on the MATCH Pro system for five years,” then are purged automatically.
• Getting off early. Mastercard may remove a listing if the acquirer added it in error, or if it was for PCI noncompliance and the acquirer confirms you’re now compliant. Mastercard says any merchant “may contact an Acquirer” to ask for removal, and “there is no requirement” to hire a lawyer to do it.

Mastercard has a newer edition of this manual, dated August 2026, that we couldn’t open. Ask your acquirer whether these thresholds have changed.

Some high risk providers say they work with MATCH-listed businesses. eMerchantBroker lists “TMF Merchants” as a category it serves. SoarPay’s FAQ lists MATCH-listed merchants among those it does not serve.

Rolling reserves

A rolling reserve is part of your sales that the bank holds back for a set time before paying it out. Here’s how the providers describe it:

• SoarPay: “A reserve is a cash deposit held by the acquiring bank in a non-interest bearing escrow account.” It says “Typically 5 to 10% of your processing volume is held while your account matures,” and “Not every merchant requires one.” (SoarPay FAQ)
• Durango Merchant Services: rolling reserve requirements “that range from: 0% to 10%.” It also says most high-risk agreements hold back 5 to 10% of daily sales for 90 to 180 days. (Durango)
• PaymentCloud: “Setup fees and reserve requirements vary by business type.” (PaymentCloud)
• Host Merchant Services: “The amount of your rolling reserve will vary.” (Host Merchant Services)

What that can mean in cash. Say you sell $20,000 a month, with a 10% reserve held for 180 days. That’s $2,000 held back each month. Nothing comes back until month seven, so by then about $12,000 of your money is sitting with the bank. This is our estimate, assuming steady sales and a release exactly 180 days later. Plan your cash flow for it.

High risk merchant services providers: what each one publishes

These are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked. Every figure and claim is the provider’s own, from its website on October 19, 2026. “Not published” means we couldn’t find it on the provider’s site.

Provider	Published pricing	Setup fee	Reserve	Contract	Approval time (their claim)
Corepay	Not published	“No setup fees” and “No application fee”	No terms stated. The site links a reserve estimator tool.	Not published	“Same-day decisions,” and “typically live within two business days of approval”
Durango Merchant Services	Ranges only: discount rate 1.95% to 4.95%, authorization fee $0.15 to $0.25	Application cost $0	0% to 10%	“Variable contract lengths including availability of month to month”	“Average Approval Time: 3 days”
eMerchantBroker	Not published	No figure. Says “without the hassle of upfront costs or hidden set up fees”	Not published	Not published	“many merchants get approved within 24 and 48 hours”
Host Merchant Services	Not published for high risk accounts	Not published	“will vary”	Not published for high risk accounts	“fast approvals,” no time given
PaymentCloud	Not published	“vary by business type” (the same page also says “no upfront fees”)	“vary by business type”	“There’s no commitment,” term not stated	“Most businesses get approved within 24-48 hours.”
Soar Payments (SoarPay)	Interchange plus a fixed markup. The markup isn’t published.	Not published	“Typically 5 to 10%”	Not published	Pre-approval within one business day, full underwriting in three to five business days

Sources: Corepay, Durango, eMerchantBroker, Host Merchant Services high risk, Host Merchant Services reserves, PaymentCloud, SoarPay FAQ, SoarPay.

None of the six publishes an early termination fee or an annual fee for high risk accounts. Approval times are each company’s own claim, not a promise to you.

Corepay names eCommerce, gaming, med spas, medical and healthcare, pharmacy and telemedicine as industries it serves. It says it “is a registered ISO/MSP of North American Banking Company, Roseville, MN.”

Durango Merchant Services says it serves “any industry, high risk or low risk,” and lists industries from supplements and subscription sites to firearms dealers, travel and vapes. It’s the only one of the six that publishes rate ranges. Its page also tells merchants to expect discount rates of about 1.9 to 5%, with per-item fees above the standard 10 to 15¢. A range isn’t a quote, so ask where in it you’d land.

eMerchantBroker lists CBD, adult, e-cigarettes, online gaming, collections and nutraceuticals among its high risk industries, plus bail bonds, credit repair and others. Its site says “Processing eligibility and continued processing are determined at underwriting.”

Host Merchant Services lists about 40 high risk categories, including dating, firearms, CBD, vapes, travel and subscription billing. Its homepage publishes interchange-plus pricing for its general accounts, but doesn’t say those rates apply to high risk accounts. It says funds are “deposited as soon as next business day.”

PaymentCloud says it supports “1,500+ Verticals,” including alcohol, CBD, firearms, supplements, travel and dropshipping. Its blog gives example rates, such as a flat 3.5% + $0.30 for an online supplement store doing $25,000 a month. Those are illustrations, not a price list.

Soar Payments (SoarPay) lists close to 50 industries, from CBD and firearms to gyms, legal services and travel. Its FAQ says it does not serve adult content, cannabis or THC businesses, among others. Its homepage says “Many applications are approved within 48-72 hours,” which is faster than the three to five business days its FAQ gives for full underwriting.

We also tried to check Easy Pay Direct, but its site blocked every attempt, so it isn’t listed.

What to ask before you sign

Get the answers in writing, from more than one provider, before you sign anything:

1. What is my rate for each type of payment? In person, online and keyed in, plus every per-payment fee. A range on a website isn’t your price.
2. What are all the monthly and yearly fees? Ask for the full fee schedule, including statement, PCI and chargeback fees.
3. Is there a rolling reserve? If so, what percentage, how long is each day’s money held, and when is it released?
4. How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave? None of the six providers above publishes an early termination fee.
5. Which bank is the acquirer? Some providers say up front. Corepay, for example, names North American Banking Company.
6. What happens if my chargebacks go up? Ask at what level they’d raise your reserve or close your account, since a termination can put you on the MATCH list.
7. Do “no fees” claims cover everything? PaymentCloud’s page, for example, says both “no upfront fees” and that setup fees “vary by business type.” Ask which applies to you.

Not sure you’re high risk at all? Compare mainstream credit card processing companies first. Many publish their rates, and their pricing is easier to check.

How these companies get recommended

Several of these providers pay people who refer new merchants. Durango’s affiliate program “pays partners 40% of revenue from referred accounts for the life of the account.” Corepay offers “Up to 90% lifetime revenue share.” PaymentCloud, eMerchantBroker and Host Merchant Services also run partner programs but publish no figures.

That’s worth knowing when you read “best high risk merchant account” lists elsewhere. None of the links on this page are affiliate links. Here’s how we make money.

Where to go next

• Credit card processing companies compared, with each one’s published rate.
• Credit card processing fees explained, so you can read any quote line by line.
• Interchange-plus vs flat-rate pricing, since some high risk providers quote interchange plus a markup.