Hey guys, just wanted to chime in with my experience dealing with a bunch of these so-called "high-risk" processors over the past few years. I've run several businesses that fall under the high-risk category, and yeah, it's been a wild ride, to say the least.
First off, I used to run a CBD dropshipping store targeting EU and UK customers. That was my intro into the high-risk world. PayPal shut us down within weeks, Stripe followed shortly after, and I quickly realized I’d need to start dealing with offshore processors. I tried a few HighRiskPay, EasyMerchant, and even some lesser-known Eastern European outfits. Initially, they︀ were happy to board me, but the second they saw chargebacks spike just a bit︁ (nothing crazy, around 1.5%), I got either frozen funds or full termination. One processor held︂ on to nearly $18K for six months, and there was nothing I could do.
After that, I pivoted to running a digital marketing agency that focused on adult traffic arbitrage,︃ basically buying and flipping adult traffic using smartlink offers. That one was even worse in︄ terms of merchant acceptance. A few providers told me upfront: "We don’t touch adult with︅ a 10-foot pole." Fair enough. But a few others accepted me, only to flag transactions︆ randomly, delay payouts, and demand insane levels of KYC, including client contracts, screenshots, ad creatives,︇ and even explanations for every payout request. Felt more like a police interrogation than a︈ business relationship.
Then there was the online supplement brand I launched last year, custom-formulated nootropics︉ shipped worldwide. Huge margins, great demand, but again, nightmare on the processing front. I tried︊ integrating a couple crypto gateways to bypass the headaches, but many customers didn’t want to︋ touch crypto. I ended up using a high-risk processor in Hong Kong - seemed solid︌ at first, but one day, poof - their domain went offline, and support stopped replying.︍ Lost around $6K in transit.
All in all, I’ve probably tested 8 or 9 different︎ high-risk processors across 3–4 business models. What I’ve learned is:
- They’ll say "yes" quick, but️ read the contract, especially about rolling reserves, settlement terms, and termination clauses.
- Always assume delays in payouts, build that into your cash flow.
- Don’t rely on a single processor. Always have a backup ready, even if it’s just crypto or manual invoices.
- And lastly, support is everything. If they don’t reply fast during onboarding, don’t expect them to reply when real trouble hits.
Right now, I’m using a mix of a crypto gateway and a semi-legit offshore provider with weekly settlements, so far, so good, but I’m always looking for more stable options.
Would love to hear if anyone’s had a solid long-term experience with︀ HighRiskPay.com or similar. I'm still on the hunt for something that doesn’t feel like walking︁ a tightrope every week.