Tired of Shutdowns and Frozen Funds?
Your category isn't the problem — your processor is. National Payments Consulting places hard-to-place businesses card present and card not present. In your store, on your website, over the phone, or all three.
Card Present
Smoke shops, gentlemen's clubs, dispensaries, med spas. Terminals and full POS — white-glove onboarding, configured by our team.
Card Not Present
Online checkout, phone orders, invoicing, recurring billing. Gateway and shopping-cart integrations included.
Approval and terms are decided at underwriting. We'll tell you on the first call if we don't see a path.
See If Your Business Fits
Ten minutes, and a straight answer — including when the answer is no. No cost for the call, and no cost to build your file.
We don't sell your information or share it for advertising. To pursue an application we share what you give us with processors and banks that may underwrite it — only with your go-ahead.
Built For Businesses That Don't Fit The Template.
From regulated retail counters to treatment rooms and late-night venues, we build payment setups around how the business actually takes money.
Auto-playing · 1 of 8
Processor Roulette.
Square, Stripe, PayPal and most other processors who claim to service high risk are built for businesses that fit a template. Yours doesn't. So you get onboarded in minutes by a system that never reviewed you — and offboarded the same way, usually right after a good month.
Funds frozen without warning
An automated review flags the account and settlements stop. Payroll is Friday. The money is already yours and you can't reach it.
Shut off with no appeal
One email, no phone number, no human. Depending on the reason code, a termination can land you on the MATCH list for up to five years, where every underwriter sees it.
Nobody real to call
A help center and a ticket queue — while your counter tells customers "cash only" and your checkout turns card payments away.
Insanely high fees nobody will explain
A blended rate, a monthly program fee, PCI charges, and a statement built so you can't find where the money went. You pay for the risk twice — once in the rate, once in the padding.
Bring your last statement. We'll tell you what we see in ten minutes.
Book A Call NowBoth Sides Of The Counter. And The Checkout Page.
Most high-risk shops place card-present or card-not-present — not both — and quietly decline whatever doesn't fit. Our partners underwrite both, and where your category allows it we build a backup route so one decision somewhere else can't take your revenue offline.
In-store processing
Terminals and full POS matched to how your store runs — white-glove onboarding, configured by our team, not mailed to you in a box.
Online & phone
Gateway, shopping cart, virtual terminal, invoicing and recurring billing — with the fraud controls underwriters expect to see.
A backup route
Where your category allows it, a second way to get paid so one closed account doesn't stop the business.
Real pricing, in writing
Flat rate, interchange-plus or dual pricing — whichever actually fits your store — itemized before you sign. You see the real cost instead of a blended rate that hides where the money went.
Why Merchants Switch.
| Square, Stripe, PayPal | Typical high-risk processor | National Payments Consulting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your category | Prohibited outright for most restricted categories | Accepted, priced for the risk | Reviewed on what you actually sell |
| Where you sell | Template retail or a standard checkout | Usually one or the other | In store, online, phone — or all three |
| Hardware & setup | Their app, on their terms | A terminal in the mail and a PDF | Real POS or gateway, white-glove onboarding configured by our team |
| Who answers | A help center | A ticket queue | A named consultant who knows your account |
| If your account closes | You're back on cash that day | Start the application over | A backup route, where your category allows it |
Ten minutes on the phone tells you more than an hour on this page.
Book A Call NowThree Steps. No Runaround.
A ten-minute fit check
What you sell, where you sell it, and what happened with your last processor. You get a straight read on that call — including when the answer is no.
We build and submit your file
We assemble the whole underwriting file with you — once — and put it in front of the right desk. You'll know which documents are needed up front, not mid-review.
Set up and go live
Hardware or software configured for your store — terminal, full POS, or your gateway wired into your cart — then a named person to call afterward.
What we'll tell you straight
Reserves are real
Some categories carry one. You'll see the number before you sign — and most agreements let the processor change it later if your account changes.
This costs more
Risk gets priced. Anyone quoting mainstream rates on a restricted category is guessing or not telling you everything.
Underwriting can say no
We don't make that decision and we won't pretend otherwise.
No permanent guarantees
Network rules and bank appetites change. What we build is a setup with more than one way to get paid when they do.
Your File, Built Once.
We collect your documents and build your underwriting file one time. The first application goes out from that file — and if the first bank says no, or says yes and changes its mind six months later, you don't start over from a blank form with a stranger. We still have the file. We move it to the next desk.
One set of documents
Statements, licenses, ownership, processing history — gathered once, organized the way underwriters want to read it. You don't re-upload the same paperwork every time something changes.
More than one desk
We're not tied to a single bank. If your file fits a different sponsor better — on day one or two years in — that's a resubmission on our side, not a fresh start on yours.
Nothing up front
The consultation costs nothing and the file build costs nothing. Like every broker in this industry, we're paid by the processor once you're placed — not by you, and not before.
Bring your documents once. We'll keep the file ready.
Book A Call NowFrequently Asked Questions.
Do you handle card-not-present too?
Yes. Card present and card not present both — retail counters, online checkout, phone orders, invoicing and recurring billing. Plenty of our merchants run both at once, and a single account can cover them.
Why was my business labeled high risk?
Usually nothing you did. Card networks and sponsor banks flag whole merchant category codes for regulatory uncertainty, age-restriction requirements or dispute exposure. There is no single universal list — every processor and sponsor bank keeps its own, which is why one declines you and another doesn't.
My processor shut me down with no warning. Can you help?
That's the situation this program exists for. Bring the notice, your statements and what you sell, and we'll tell you whether we see a path. Don't email statements — we'll send a secure way to share them.
What is the MATCH list, and can I get approved if I'm on it?
MATCH, also called the Terminated Merchant File, is a card-network database of businesses whose accounts were terminated. Being listed makes approval harder, not automatically impossible. Tell us up front — it's much worse when it surfaces during underwriting.
If you are listed, that's a conversation worth having. We work with counsel who handle MATCH disputes, and we can work with you on getting you removed — alongside finding you a placement in the meantime.
What chargeback rate will get me shut down?
The threshold that matters isn't the card networks' — it's your own processor's internal limit, which is tighter, and that's the one that actually ends accounts. For reference: Visa's program counts card-not-present only and tightened to 150 basis points in the US on 1 April 2026; Mastercard's counts every chargeback regardless of type. Nobody waits for the network to act.
How long does approval take and what does it cost?
Both depend on your category and how complete your documents are. We won't quote a timeline we don't control, and restricted categories price higher than mainstream processing. You get the actual numbers in writing before you sign anything. The consultation and the file build cost you nothing — there is nothing to pay up front.
Do I have to replace my POS or my gateway?
Not necessarily. We look at what you're running first. Where a change makes sense we configure it for your setup and get it working with your staff or your developer.
Are you the ones who approve me?
No. Processing eligibility and continued processing are determined at underwriting by the processor of record and its sponsor bank, under terms that can change. We're consultants: we help you prepare the application, put it in front of the right desk, and tell you honestly what we think your odds are. And so you know where we stand — like every broker in this industry, we're compensated by the processor when a merchant is placed. Ask what we earn on your account and we'll tell you.
Still have questions? No sales pitch — just a straight answer.
Book A Call NowTime To Stop Starting Over.
Tell us what you sell and how you sell it. We'll tell you what's possible — no pitch, and no runaround on the first call.
Approval and terms are decided at underwriting.