Bullion, coins & jewelry
Companies that deal with precious metals have their distinct payment processing challenges, which include high value transactions, price volatility and high chargeback risks. Adaptiv offers dependable high-risk merchant accounts for gold dealers, bullion retailers and other online precious metals dealers. Our solutions provide a secure way of transaction processing, advanced fraud protection and chargeback prevention strategies for the precious metals industry.
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Bullion dealers, coin shops and online retailers
A precious metals merchant account is a specialized high-risk payment processing solution designed specifically for businesses that buy and sell gold, silver, platinum, and other valuable metals. These accounts enable bullion dealers, coin shops, gold investment firms, and online precious metals retailers to accept credit card payments despite the unique challenges associated with the industry. Due to several risk factors inherent in precious metals sales, traditional payment processors often decline these businesses, making specialized merchant accounts essential for their operation.
From local coin shops to online bullion dealers and refiners, we work with every kind of precious metals business.
Online bullion dealers
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium
MCC 5944
Coin shops
Numismatic and bullion coins
MCC 5944
Gold & silver buyers
Buybacks and scrap metal
Jewelry stores
Fine jewelry and watches
MCC 5944
Bullion wholesalers
Mint distributors and dealers
MCC 5094
Refiners & assayers
Refining and testing services
Numismatic & graded coins
Rare and certified coins
MCC 5944
Coin & bullion auctions
Online and live auctions
Vault & storage services
Secure metal storage
Collectible coin subscriptions
Monthly coin clubs
Retail bullion and coin sellers use MCC 5944 and wholesalers 5094. Neither is on Visa's high-risk list or needs network registration.
Adaptiv offers dedicated merchant accounts for the precious metals industry, designed to meet the unique needs of bullion dealers including high sales volume, market volatility, and regulatory compliance. Our payment solutions help provide consistent processing for gold dealers, silver retailers, and coin shops at competitive rates.
The precious metals industry regularly deals with sales in the tens of thousands of dollars. Our payment processing solutions are underwritten for large bullion purchases, with limits set for your average and largest orders, so significant gold, silver, and platinum sales process smoothly.
The volatile nature of precious metals prices can lead to increased chargeback risks. Our comprehensive chargeback prevention tools include real-time transaction monitoring, automated dispute resolution, detailed digital receipts, and verification systems specifically calibrated for the precious metals market to protect your business.
Our payment gateway solutions integrate effortlessly with precious metals e-commerce platforms and online bullion stores. This enables secure, convenient online payment for gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals while providing the enhanced security measures required to ensure compliance with industry regulations.
The precious metals industry faces several significant challenges that result in its classification as high-risk in the payment processing world:
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Stripe restricts precious metals and PayPal needs pre-approval. Four- and five-figure orders and price swings are what get bullion accounts reviewed and frozen.
| Stripe, Square & PayPal | Adaptiv merchant account | |
|---|---|---|
| Bullion policy | Stripe restricts it; PayPal needs pre-approval | Underwritten for precious metals |
| High tickets | Large orders trigger reviews | Limits set for your largest orders |
| Price locks | No help with remorse disputes | Evidence setup for locked prices |
| Your account | Pooled under the aggregator | Your own merchant account and MID |
| Fraud tools | Basic checks | 3D Secure, AVS and fraud screening |
| Support | A ticket queue | A dedicated account manager |
When selecting a provider, bullion businesses should prioritize these key features:
Dealers in precious metals have their own federal rules. Knowing which apply to you keeps underwriting quick.
If you bought more than $50,000 of precious metals, stones or jewels and sold more than $50,000 last year, you need a written AML program with a compliance officer, training and independent testing.
Report cash payments over $10,000 in one or related transactions. Card payments aren't cash for this rule.
Screen customers against OFAC sanctions lists, especially on international orders, before you ship.
We review your order sizes, your fraud controls and your processing history. Here's what to have ready.
Business documents & EIN
Articles and certificate of good standing
Government-issued photo ID
For every owner with 25% or more
AML program
If you meet the $50k dealer threshold
Supplier invoices
From mints, distributors or wholesalers
Price-lock & cancellation policy
Including market-loss terms
Shipping & insurance policy
Insured, signature-required delivery
Order sizes
Average and largest tickets, card vs. wire
Bank & processing statements
Your last three to six months
Apply online
Tell us about your precious metals business, your products and how customers pay. It takes about a minute.
Send your documents
We collect your statements, policies and supplier invoices, and tell you exactly what's missing.
Underwriting
We review your order sizes and fraud controls and match you with a bank that approves bullion.
Set up your payments
We connect your store, 3D Secure and price-lock checkout, with limits set for your orders.
Start processing
Go live with fraud tools in place. We raise your limits as your history builds.
Bullion prices move by the minute. Clear rules for locking prices and taking cards prevent most disputes.
Show the locked price, the time and your cancellation or market-loss terms at checkout, and record the customer's acceptance.
Offer a wire or cash discount, or a credit card surcharge of up to 3% within the card network rules. Debit cards can't be surcharged.
Visa doesn't allow full advance payment for bullion, so charge presale items when they ship.
Implement these approaches to optimize payment processing and reduce issues for your precious metals business:
Banks look at your order sizes, your fraud controls and whether your disputes stay under the card networks' limits.
Locked price, time and cancellation terms saved for every order.
Insured, signature-required delivery to an AVS-matched address.
A written program if you meet the $50k dealer threshold.
Report cash over $10,000 in one or related transactions.
Show spot, premium and card pricing before checkout.
Your store name on statements prevents "I don't recognize this" disputes.
When you work with Adaptiv, you gain access to comprehensive support based on years of experience with precious metals sales. We offer:
Adaptiv offers secure and reliable payment processing tailored to your specific needs. With robust security measures and competitive rates, we help you grow your cash flow with confidence.
See why so many people choose Adaptiv as their credit card processing company.
“After being rejected by multiple traditional processors, Adaptiv provided our gold dealership with a reliable merchant account that easily handles our high-value transactions. Their fraud protection tools have given us confidence in our online bullion sales.”
“The payment gateway integration was seamless with our precious metals e-commerce platform. We now process high-ticket transactions without delays, and their support team understands the unique challenges of our industry.”
“As an online retailer of silver coins and bars, we needed a solution that could handle both transaction volume and value securely. Adaptiv delivered exactly what we needed - reliable processing with robust security measures tailored to our business.”
This account enables you to accept payments via credit card, debit card, ACH transfer, and other payment forms. It serves as an intermediary account between the customer's bank account and your business account. After a sale is initiated, funds are held in your merchant account until the purchase is settled.
Gold and silver bullion and coin dealers are considered high-risk because the risk of fraud and theft is much higher. Additionally, regulatory scrutiny and high chargeback rates make traditional institutions hesitant to work with precious metals dealers.
Retail bullion, coin and jewelry sellers use MCC 5944 Jewelry Stores, Watches, Clocks, and Silverware Stores. Wholesale distributors use 5094 Precious Stones and Metals. Neither is on Visa's high-risk list, and Visa's rules don't require bullion sales to be coded as quasi-cash.
Only with approval. Stripe lists precious metals and stones as restricted, which means extra due diligence, and Shopify Payments follows Stripe. PayPal requires pre-approval for dealers in precious metals. A merchant account underwritten for bullion gives you limits set for your order sizes.
Yes, this is one of the greatest advantages of working with Adaptiv Payments. We offer seamless currency conversion and allow you to hold multiple currencies, which is crucial when working with international buyers. Batch transactions and real-time exchange rate monitoring keep fees low and customers satisfied.
Most importantly, we provide 24/7 support to help you stay competitive in the fast-paced precious metals sector. Contact us today to discuss your specific needs, and we can create a personalized solution that surpasses your expectations.
To start accepting payments through a merchant account, we will need the following documentation:
Contact us today to discuss your business needs and get pre-approved. In general, you can get approved in 5-10 business days.
Often, yes. Many precious metals dealers come to us after a processor closed their account. We look at why it happened and what's changed. We also work with merchants on the MATCH list.
It depends on your ticket sizes and history. New online dealers and large card-not-present orders often mean a rolling reserve or ticket limits at first. Coin shops with clean history and mostly in-person sales often start with a low reserve or none.
You can offer a cash or wire discount, or add a credit card surcharge of up to 3%, no more than your cost of acceptance, with notice to your acquirer and at checkout. Debit cards can't be surcharged, and some states limit surcharges. Show both prices clearly before the customer locks a price.
Not in full. Visa allows full advance payment only in a few categories, and bullion isn't one of them, so charge presale items when they ship. Tell customers the expected ship date at checkout.
If you're a dealer under federal rules, yes. A business that bought more than $50,000 of precious metals, stones or jewels and sold more than $50,000 in the prior year needs a written anti-money laundering program, with a compliance officer, training and independent testing. Retailers are exempt unless they bought more than $50,000 from the public.
When you receive more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions. Card payments aren't cash for Form 8300, but large amounts of cash, sequentially numbered money orders and third-party payments are red flags your AML program should cover.
Sometimes. When you buy metals back from customers, you act as a broker, and Form 1099-B applies only to metals and quantities that match CFTC-approved futures contracts, such as 25 or more of certain 1 oz gold coins. A single coin usually isn't reportable. Retail sales to customers aren't 1099-B events.
Our accounts use a PCI DSS-validated gateway with strong encryption, plus 3D Secure authentication. We use behavioral analysis and real-time fraud detection to monitor all transactions and quickly flag potential fraud, keeping both you and your buyers safe.
Mostly fraud claims on stolen cards, "not received" claims on shipped orders, and price-lock remorse when the market drops after an order. 3D Secure, insured signature-required delivery to the billing address, and the locked price and cancellation terms the customer accepted win most of them.
Visa's VAMP program flags merchants at a 1.5% fraud-and-dispute ratio with at least 1,500 disputes and fraud reports in a month, and Mastercard starts at 1.5% and 100 chargebacks. Banks act well before that, so aim to stay under 1%.
More financial services & high-value goods businesses we approve.
Complete the form below to get started with your precious metals merchant account application. Our payment specialists will review your information and contact you shortly.