Industry directory
High-risk merchant accounts by industry
Find your industry to see what we approve, the documents you'll need, how approval works and the card network rules that apply. Each of our 40 industry guides is written for that business's chargebacks, licensing and regulations.
Health & wellness
Care, prescriptions and wellness products, where claims, licensing and patient privacy shape every payment.
- Telehealth merchant accountsVirtual visits, memberships and prescription programs
- Pharmacy merchant accountsOnline and retail pharmacies, with Visa registration
- Nutraceuticals merchant accountsFunctional foods, wellness and subscribe-and-save
- Supplements merchant accountsVitamins, sports nutrition and autoship
- Health & Beauty merchant accountsSalons, spas and skincare brands
- Gym & Fitness merchant accountsGyms, studios and trainers on recurring billing
- Medical Billing merchant accountsPatient portals, payment plans and balances after insurance
Cannabis, vape, tobacco & regulated retail
Age-restricted and state-regulated products, where licenses, age checks and ship-to rules decide what you can sell and where.
- CBD merchant accountsHemp CBD within the federal THC limits
- Kratom merchant accountsPowders and capsules, with state ship-to checks
- Marijuana merchant accountsHemp, accessories and ACH for licensed dispensaries
- Vape & E-Cig merchant accountsVape shops and e-liquid brands under the PACT Act
- Smoke Shops merchant accountsGlass, papers and accessories in store and online
- Tobacco merchant accountsCigars, lounges, pipe tobacco and wholesale
- Alcohol merchant accountsLiquor stores, wineries, breweries and delivery
- Firearms merchant accountsGun stores, ammunition and FFL transfers
Gaming & betting
Licensed gambling and games of skill, where location checks, state licenses and card network registration come first.
- Gambling merchant accountsLicensed online and land-based gambling
- Casino merchant accountsOnline casinos and casino resorts
- Sports Betting merchant accountsLicensed sportsbooks, with location checks
- Fantasy Sports merchant accountsDaily fantasy and season-long contests
- Gaming merchant accountsVideo games, in-game purchases and esports
Financial services & high-value goods
Money, credit and high-ticket goods, where federal rules on debt, lending and anti-money laundering set the terms.
- Credit Repair merchant accountsCredit repair, billed after the work is done
- Debt Collection merchant accountsCollection agencies and payment portals
- Fintech merchant accountsPayments, lending and financial apps
- Precious Metals merchant accountsBullion dealers, coin shops and jewelry
- Pawn Shops merchant accountsRetail sales and pawn loan payments
- High Volume merchant accountsLarge merchants with high monthly volume
- International merchant accountsCross-border sales and multi-currency checkout
Travel, events & subscriptions
Payments taken today for something delivered later, where refund windows, cancellations and recurring billing drive the risk.
- Travel merchant accountsAgencies, tours and travel clubs
- Timeshare merchant accountsDevelopers, resorts and resale companies
- Events merchant accountsPromoters, venues and ticketing platforms
- Online Dating merchant accountsDating apps and memberships, with Visa registration
- Subscription merchant accountsBoxes, memberships and free trials
- Ecommerce merchant accountsOnline stores on every major cart
- MLM merchant accountsDirect selling and distributor shops
Services, software & B2B
Work delivered over time or online, where clear agreements and proof of service win disputes.
- SaaS merchant accountsSoftware subscriptions and usage billing
- Tech Support merchant accountsRemote support, MSPs and repair shops
- Coaching merchant accountsPrograms, masterminds and payment plans
- Consulting merchant accountsConsulting retainers and project invoices
- Marketing merchant accountsSEO, SEM and agency retainers
- Logistics merchant accountsFreight, moving and delivery
What makes a business high-risk?
Two things. Visa names a short list of categories it considers high-integrity risk, and banks must register those merchants before processing. Everything else is high-risk because of how it sells.
- Paid now, delivered later
- Travel, events, timeshares and presales take money long before the customer gets anything, so the bank carries the refund risk if the business can't deliver.
- Recurring billing
- Subscriptions, memberships and autoship programs draw disputes from customers who forgot to cancel or didn't expect the next charge.
- Regulation and licensing
- State licenses, age limits and federal rules decide what CBD, kratom, firearms, alcohol, credit repair and gambling businesses can sell, and where.
- Chargeback limits
- Visa's VAMP program flags merchants at a 1.5% fraud-and-dispute ratio with at least 1,500 a month. Industries with more disputes get watched more closely.
Visa's high-integrity-risk categories
Registered with Visa before card-absent processing
- 5122 · 5912Drugs and pharmacies
- 5993Cigar stores, smoke shops and vape
- 7273Dating services
- 7995Betting and gambling
- 5968Negative-option subscriptions
- 5816Skill-game wagering, like daily fantasy
- 5966Outbound telemarketing
- 5967Adult content and services
- 6051 · 6012Crypto exchanges, wallets and on-ramps
- 4816 · 6211Cyberlockers and trading platforms
Source: Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual, April 2026. Some codes apply only to the activity named, such as skill-game wagering under 5816.
Tools that come with every account
High-risk industry FAQs
What is a high-risk industry?
One that card networks, banks or payment platforms see as more likely to bring chargebacks, fraud or legal trouble. Some industries are on Visa's high-integrity-risk list and must be registered before processing. Others are high-risk because of how they sell: future delivery, recurring billing, high tickets or heavy regulation.
Which industries are considered high-risk?
Visa's list covers online pharmacies, smoke shops and vape, dating, gambling, negative-option subscriptions, skill-game wagering, outbound telemarketing, adult content, crypto, cyberlockers and trading platforms. Banks also treat travel, CBD, kratom, nutraceuticals, firearms, credit repair, debt collection and many others as high-risk. All 40 industries on this page have their own guide.
Does high-risk mean my application will be declined?
No. We approve every industry on this page. High-risk changes how the account is set up: more documents up front, sometimes a rolling reserve, and closer monitoring of chargebacks and fraud.
What is card network registration?
For Visa's high-integrity-risk categories, the acquiring bank must register the merchant with Visa before it processes card-absent sales. Mastercard has its own registration for categories like gambling, pharmacy and negative-option subscriptions. We handle registration with the bank as part of underwriting.
Why did Stripe, Square or PayPal close my account?
Those platforms pool many businesses under one account and restrict or prohibit many high-risk industries outright. When a review flags your industry, your chargebacks or a sudden jump in volume, they can freeze payouts or close the account. A merchant account in your own name is underwritten for your industry before you go live.
What if my industry isn't listed?
Apply anyway or talk to our sales team. We work with many more business types than we have pages for, and we'll tell you quickly what your account would need.
Don't see your industry?
We work with many more business types than we have pages for. Tell us about your business and we'll scope an account that fits.
Get a high-risk merchant account.
Talk to a real payments specialist — we scope accounts for the verticals generic processors won't touch.
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