Structured to the underwriting requirements of regulated and specialty industries.
Each high-risk merchant account operates on a dedicated Merchant ID, underwritten by a specialist acquiring bank. Rolling reserve terms, processing rates, and settlement structure are agreed at approval based on your volume and chargeback history. Multi-bank placement means your processing is not dependent on a single acquiring relationship.
Each high-risk merchant account includes integration support for Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom checkout platforms. The acquiring bank provides a compatible gateway with 3DS2 authentication, tokenisation for recurring billing, and real-time fraud scoring. Automated retry logic is available for subscription models.
Select an industry to view merchant account requirements and processing terms.
CERF operates exclusively within high-risk and regulated verticals. Our acquiring network, underwriting expertise, and banking relationships are built specifically for the compliance requirements and risk profiles of complex industries.
Before an application is submitted to a bank, we assess your documentation, website compliance, and processing history against that institution's underwriting requirements. This improves approval rates and eliminates avoidable declines.
Each merchant is assigned a dedicated account manager who oversees onboarding, coordinates directly with the acquiring bank, and serves as your primary point of contact for the life of the account.
Distributing your processing across multiple acquiring institutions reduces exposure to single-bank policy changes. If one acquiring relationship changes terms, your operations continue through the others without interruption.
CERF remains actively involved throughout the account lifecycle - monitoring reserve schedules, responding to bank queries, and representing your interests with the acquiring institution when issues arise.
CERF evaluates and selects acquiring partners based on institutional stability and genuine approval for your vertical. This mitigates risks including MCC miscoding and acquiring relationships that appear viable at onboarding but prove unsuitable over time.
The acquiring bank monitors chargeback ratios in real time. Fraud prevention tools include 3DS2 authentication, velocity checks, BIN filtering, and IP-based screening. Pre-arbitration support is available when disputes arise.
Settlement available in major fiat currencies and in cryptocurrency. Daily and weekly payout cycles available. Settlement currency and timing are confirmed at the time of account approval.
Transaction-level reporting is available through the gateway dashboard in real time. Track settlement amounts, decline rates, chargeback ratios, and reserve balances. All data is exportable for accounting and reconciliation.
Most accounts receive a decision within 24 to 48 hours of a complete submission.
Provide company details, website URL, product description, and estimated monthly volume. No application fee. No setup fee.
Our team assesses your business and identifies the most appropriate acquiring institution. Additional documentation may be requested for regulated verticals.
Upon approval, gateway integration is configured for your platform. Most merchants are processing live transactions within 3 to 5 business days of submission.