Credit Repair Merchant Account
Card acceptance for credit repair organisations — placed with acquirers that understand the Credit Repair Organizations Act, so your billing model is reviewed against the rule that actually governs it.
No application fee. Applying does not affect your personal credit.
What you need to get approved
Have these ready and most complete applications clear underwriting the same day.
- A billing model that charges only after services have been performed, consistent with CROA
- A written contract including the required disclosures and the three-day right to cancel
- Marketing free of guaranteed score increases or promises to remove accurate information
- A clear, recognisable billing descriptor that matches the trading name clients signed up with
- A registered business and matching bank account, with a live site carrying refund and cancellation terms
- Three months of processing statements including your dispute ratio, if you have processed before
Everything you need to keep processing.
- 90%+ approval — Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay & Google Pay
- Checkout that feels like Stripe — no redirects, no pop-ups
- Same-day integration · no contract · one flat rate
- USD payouts to your U.S. bank
Based outside the United States? Canadian and international merchants settle in their own banking system and currency — everything else above is the same.
You cannot bill before you deliver. Your payment setup has to be built around that, not adapted to it.
Why credit repair businesses lose accounts
- The Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits charging for services before they are fully performed, so the advance-fee model most subscription businesses default to is unlawful here — and underwriters check for it specifically.
- The service is outcome-based, so a client whose score does not move often disputes every payment made, producing disputes that are about disappointment rather than fraud.
- CROA requires a written contract with a three-day cancellation right and specific disclosures, and a missing cancellation clause is a straightforward compliance failure during review.
- Any promise to remove accurate negative information, or to guarantee a specific score increase, will fail a compliance review and is the single most common reason a file is declined.
- Recurring monthly billing invites disputes months after signup, when the cardholder no longer recognises the descriptor — so a vague billing descriptor quietly inflates the dispute ratio.
What your account includes
Underwriting that already knows the vertical
Your application is prepared and presented by people who place croa-compliant credit repair organisations accounts regularly, so the file is framed correctly the first time instead of triggering an avoidable decline.
Multi-bank redundancy
Where volume supports it, your business is set up with more than one acquiring relationship. If one account is paused, you keep accepting payments rather than going dark — the single biggest difference between surviving a disruption and losing a month of revenue.
Compliance guidance before you apply
A review of your storefront, disclaimers, and checkout against what underwriters actually look for, so avoidable issues are corrected up front rather than surfacing as a decline.
Chargeback tooling from day one
Dispute alerts and prevention workflows are configured at boarding, because staying under network dispute thresholds is what keeps a high-risk account open long-term.
From application to first transaction
Apply
A short application with your entity details, expected monthly volume, and average ticket. It takes about ten minutes.
Pre-submission review
We check your storefront and paperwork against underwriting expectations and tell you exactly what to fix before anything is submitted.
Underwriting decision
Most complete applications receive a same-day decision. Complex or higher-volume files can take a little longer.
Integrate and go live
Gateway credentials, checkout integration, and chargeback tooling are configured so you can start accepting cards.
Credit Repair Merchant Account questions
Can I charge clients up front for credit repair?+
Not for work you have not yet performed. The Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits requesting or receiving payment before the promised services are fully performed, which rules out the advance-fee and prepaid-package models common elsewhere. Compliant billing charges after work is delivered, and underwriters review your billing structure against this rule rather than taking it on trust.
Why are disputes so high in credit repair?+
Because clients buy an outcome they cannot see immediately and you cannot guarantee. When a score does not move as hoped, some clients dispute every payment they have made rather than cancelling. Setting realistic expectations in writing and using a recognisable billing descriptor does more to protect your ratio than anything else.
How dispute ratios are calculatedWhat has to be in my client contract?+
CROA requires a written contract with specified disclosures and a three-day right to cancel without penalty. Underwriting frequently asks to see it, and a missing cancellation right is a clear failure. Treat the contract as part of your payments file, not just a legal formality.
Can I advertise a guaranteed score increase?+
No. Guaranteeing a specific increase, or offering to remove accurate negative information, is both a legal problem and a reliable decline. Describe the process and what you will dispute on the client’s behalf, not the result — this is the most common single fix between a declined file and an approved one.
What does a high-risk merchant account cost?+
High-risk pricing is quoted per business rather than from a rate card, because it depends on your monthly volume, average ticket, chargeback history, and product mix. Expect rates above standard retail processing, since the acquiring bank is pricing genuine risk. You should always receive the full fee schedule in writing before you sign anything.
Will I need a rolling reserve?+
Sometimes. A reserve is a percentage of volume the bank holds temporarily against future disputes, and it is common for newer high-risk accounts or those without processing history. A rolling reserve reaches a steady state rather than growing forever: once the holding window is full, money is released at roughly the same rate it is withheld. Reserves are frequently reduced or released after a clean chargeback record, and the terms should be disclosed up front.
Can I keep my current processor and add a second account?+
Yes, and it is often the smartest structure. Running more than one acquiring relationship means a pause on one account does not stop revenue on the other. Redundancy is the difference between an inconvenience and a shutdown.
What if I have already been terminated or placed on MATCH?+
It is still worth applying. A prior termination or a MATCH listing narrows the options and affects pricing, but it is not automatically disqualifying — the reason code and how you have operated since matter a great deal. Be upfront about it, because underwriting will find it and undisclosed history is far more damaging than the history itself.
Secure, compliant, reliable —let's get you paid.
Tell us about your business and a specialist will reach out with the payment solutions that fit — cards, ACH, eCheck, crypto, and offshore.
- No cost and no credit pull to pre-qualify.
- Your information is never shared with third parties.
- A specialist reviews every application personally.
Have your documents ready? Submit the full merchant application to go straight to underwriting.