What Is A High Risk Merchant Account

A high risk merchant account is a merchant account or payment processing high risk merchant processor agreement that is tailored to fit a business which is deemed high risk or is operating in an industry that has been deemed as such. These merchants usually need to pay higher fees for merchant services, which can add to their cost of business, affecting profitability and ROI, especially for companies that were re-classified as a high risk industry, and were not prepared to deal with the costs of operating as a high risk merchant. Some companies specialize in working specifically with high risk merchants by offering competitive rates, faster payouts, and/or lower reserve rates, all of which are designed to attract companies which are having difficulty finding a place to do business.

Businesses in a variety of industries are labeled as 'high risk' due to the nature of their industry, the method in which they operate, or a variety of other factors. For instance, all adult businesses are considered to be high risk operations, as are travel agencies, auto rentals, collections agencies, legal offline and online gambling, bail bonds, and a variety of other online and offline businesses. Because working with, and processing payments for, these companies can carry higher risks for banks and financial institutions they are obliged to sign up for a high risk merchant account which has a different fee schedule than regular merchant accounts.