High-risk merchant services
Built for what you actually sell.
Most high-risk merchants are not on a bad processor. They are on a bank that never underwrote their category - which is fine right up until sales start working, and then it is not.
We place merchants with sponsor banks that already know the category. The account gets approved on purpose, the reserve is agreed before you process a dollar, and a backup MID is boarded before you ever need it.
- Research-use peptides
- Nutra & supplements
- Telehealth
- CBD
- Subscription billing
Who we place
Categories mainstream processors decline, defer, or quietly close.
If a bank has to discover what you sell after it has already approved you, the relationship was always going to end badly. These are the categories we board deliberately, with banks that price the risk up front.
- Research-use peptides
- Nutraceuticals
- Supplements
- Telehealth
- Prescription & pharmacy adjacent
- CBD & hemp
- Subscription & continuity
- Coaching & info products
- High-ticket services
- Free-trial offers
Placement depends on the specific products, claims and volume, not just the category label. If we cannot place you, we will say so on the call rather than waste an underwriting cycle.
Two kinds of processor
One tolerates you. One is built for you.
The difference is not the rate on the front page. It is what happens in month seven, when volume triples and someone at the bank takes a closer look at the account.
| Mainstream processor | High-risk specialist |
|---|---|
| Approves you by accident, under a category code that does not describe what you sell | Underwrites your actual products on purpose, before a dollar moves |
| Freezes funds the first time chargebacks spike | Reserve and limits agreed in writing up front, so a spike is a conversation, not a shutdown |
| Shuts the account off with an automated email | A named human on the account who picks up the phone |
| One bank, one MID, one point of failure for all of your revenue | Backup MID boarded in advance, and multiple sponsor banks matched to your products |
| Chargeback tooling you have to go find yourself | Descriptor, refund policy, alerts and dispute response set up as part of boarding |
Why accounts die
Three ways a high-risk store loses processing.
In nearly every case we review, the account was lost for one of these three reasons - and none of them are about how good the business is.
- 01The wrong bank. Boarded with a processor that never knowingly underwrote the category. It works at low volume, then a routine review surfaces what is actually being sold and the account closes.
- 02A single MID. No backup account, so one freeze stops every order in the store at once. Revenue goes to zero while a new application sits in underwriting for weeks.
- 03Chargebacks left to drift. No clear billing descriptor, no refund path, no alerts and no dispute responses. Ratios climb quietly past threshold, and then the decision is made for you.
The rate review
Thirty minutes, three statements, a straight answer.
No proposal deck and no obligation. You leave knowing what you actually pay today and whether we can do better - including when the answer is that you are already fine where you are.
Send three statements
Your last three processing statements, or a screenshot of the fee summary. That is enough to work out the real number.
Your effective rate
Every assessment, markup and fee counted, expressed as one percentage - usually the first time anyone has shown you that figure.
Where the risk sits
How the account is classified today, what is driving any reserve or hold, and what would trigger a closure.
A placement, or a no
If we can place you, you get the banks, the structure and the terms in writing. If we cannot, you get told that on the call.
Merchant accounts are subject to underwriting and approval. Rates and terms vary by category, volume, chargeback history and processing history. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit or a guarantee of approval.
Questions
The ones worth asking.
What does the rate review actually cover?
Thirty minutes on your last three processing statements: your real effective rate once every assessment and fee is counted, where any reserve or hold is coming from, how your current account is classified, and what a properly underwritten account in your category would look like. It is free and there is no obligation.
Can you guarantee approval?
No. Every merchant account is subject to underwriting, and any processor that guarantees approval before looking at your business is telling you what you want to hear. What we can do is tell you honestly, early, whether your category and volume are placeable with the banks we work with - and that answer usually takes one conversation, not a three-week application.
Why does my account keep getting shut off?
Almost always because the account was boarded under a category the sponsor bank did not knowingly underwrite. It runs fine at low volume, then the moment sales scale, a review is triggered, the real category surfaces and the account is closed. It is a boarding problem, not a performance problem - which is why moving to another mainstream processor tends to reproduce it a few months later.
What is a backup MID and why would I need one?
A second live merchant account, boarded and approved in advance, sitting idle. If your primary is frozen or closed, orders move across in hours instead of days. In categories where closures genuinely happen, a single MID means a single point of failure for all of your revenue.
Do you work with WooCommerce and Shopify?
Yes, along with recurring and subscription billing. Gateway integration is part of the placement, so you are not left to wire it up yourself.
How is this related to PeptideLaunch?
Same company. L&T Media builds and runs research-supply and telehealth brands, and payment processing is the piece that breaks most often in those categories - so we do it as a standalone service too, for merchants who need nothing else from us.
Find out what you are actually paying.
Thirty minutes, your last three statements, and a straight answer about whether your account is built to survive scale.