Corporate & Banking
Merchant Accounts
Most payment processors will not tell you why they declined your application. They classify your business as “high-risk” — a label that covers everything from online casinos to subscription e-commerce — and send a form rejection. The problem is rarely the business itself. It is how the application was structured, which processor it went to, and whether the corporate entity behind it was set up in a way that the acquirer’s compliance team could approve.
That distinction matters because the acquiring landscape is fragmented. A processor that underwrites Curacao-licensed gaming operators will reject a forex brokerage. An acquirer comfortable with European e-commerce will not touch crypto. We have been placing high-risk businesses with the right processors for nearly 30 years, and the pattern is consistent: operators who apply blind get declined repeatedly, while a properly structured application to the right acquirer closes in weeks.
Why Operators Work With Us
We Match Businesses to Processors
There is no universal high-risk acquirer. Each processor has specific verticals they underwrite, jurisdictions they accept, and volume thresholds they require. We maintain relationships across the acquiring landscape and know which processors are currently onboarding gaming operators, which serve forex platforms, and which have tightened their crypto appetite this quarter. That saves months of blind applications and avoids the reputational cost of multiple declines — acquirers track rejection history.
The Structure Determines the Outcome
A merchant account application from a properly licensed Curacao or Anjouan gaming company, with certified KYC documentation and a clean corporate register, gets a fundamentally different response than one from an operator running on a Costa Rica data processing permit. We handle the full chain — company formation (from €1,000 in Seychelles to €6,500 in Curacao), licensing where the vertical requires it, and merchant account placement — as a coordinated process. When the acquirer sees a complete, compliant package, approval rates are significantly higher.
Multi-Currency Without Multiple Accounts
Offshore acquirers typically support EUR, GBP, USD, and additional currencies under a single merchant agreement. For gaming operators serving players across jurisdictions or e-commerce businesses selling internationally, this eliminates the need to maintain separate processing accounts per market — a requirement that domestic banks routinely impose.
Industries We Place
We handle merchant account placement across most high-risk verticals, subject to processor approval:
| Vertical | Examples |
|---|---|
| Online gambling | Casino, sportsbook, live betting, eSports, lottery, poker, bingo |
| E-commerce | Physical goods, digital products, subscription services |
| Forex & trading | Retail FX brokerages, CFD platforms |
| Crypto & blockchain | Exchanges, token sales, DeFi platforms |
| Other high-risk | Dating, travel, nutraceuticals, fantasy sports |
Gaming operators need a recognised license before any reputable processor will consider the application — Costa Rica data processing permits do not qualify. For e-commerce and forex, the corporate structure and compliance documentation carry more weight than the specific jurisdiction, though some acquirers have jurisdiction preferences. We advise on the optimal setup before you incorporate.
Requirements
Every processor sets its own documentation standards, but the baseline is consistent. Fast Offshore prepares the full application package, verifies everything against the target processor’s current requirements, and submits on your behalf.
Company Documentation
- Certificate of incorporation
- Memorandum and articles of association
- Register of shareholders (dated within 90 days, signed by a director)
- Register of directors (dated within 90 days, signed by a director)
- Certificate of good standing
- Certificate of incumbency or equivalent
- Gaming licence copy (gambling operators only — Curacao, Anjouan, Nevis, Malta, or equivalent)
- Transaction forecast: anticipated monthly volume, average transaction size, geographic breakdown of cardholders, processing history if available
Personal Documentation
All directors, shareholders, and ultimate beneficial owners must provide:
- Certified passport copy (apostilled if requested by the processor)
- Proof of address: utility bill or bank statement, within 90 days — mobile bills not accepted
- Bank reference letter covering a minimum two-year relationship, issued within 90 days
- Professional reference from a lawyer or accountant, minimum two-year relationship, issued within 90 days
- Signed curriculum vitae
If Fast Offshore already handles your corporate structure or licensing, most of this documentation is on file. We update what needs refreshing and prepare the rest — the overlap typically cuts application preparation time in half.
How Pricing Works
There is no cost to apply. Neither Fast Offshore nor the processors charge application fees.
Once approved, your fee schedule is quoted based on several variables. Processors do not publish standard rate cards for high-risk verticals — every deal is negotiated.
| Factor | Impact on Pricing |
|---|---|
| Monthly processing volume | Higher volume (€100K+ for gaming, €50K+ for e-commerce) generally secures lower per-transaction rates |
| Average transaction size | Smaller transactions carry higher proportional processing cost |
| Geographic mix | Payments from regions with higher fraud incidence increase rates |
| Industry vertical | Gaming and forex carry higher base rates than e-commerce |
| Chargeback history | A clean track record — below 0.5% — gives leverage to negotiate better terms over time |
| Licensing jurisdiction | Tier-1 licenses (Malta, Isle of Man) typically secure better rates than entry-level jurisdictions |
Setup or activation fees apply after approval and vary by processor. We disclose all costs before you commit to any agreement.
Keeping Your Account
Processor approval is not permanent. Exceeding a 1% chargeback ratio can trigger account termination with as little as 48 hours’ notice, and the termination itself goes on record — making it harder to place with another acquirer. The operators who keep their accounts long-term follow a consistent set of practices.
Use an unmistakable descriptor. Your billing descriptor must match your brand name exactly as customers know it. A confusing descriptor is the single most common cause of preventable chargebacks — customers dispute charges they do not recognise before checking whether they actually made the purchase.
Archive everything. IP addresses, timestamps, transaction values, customer communications. When a dispute arrives, the processor needs evidence within days, not weeks. Operators who cannot produce records lose disputes by default.
Resolve complaints before they escalate. A customer who contacts your support team with a problem is not yet a chargeback. Trained support staff accessible via email, chat, and phone — staff who can resolve disputes without defaulting to refunds — are worth more than any fraud prevention tool. Once a complaint reaches the processor, it counts against your ratio regardless of outcome.
Monitor weekly, not monthly. If your chargeback ratio is trending upward, you need to identify the cause — descriptor confusion, product quality, fraud — and address it before reaching the 1% threshold. Waiting for your monthly processor statement is too late.
When a Merchant Account Is the Right Step
The sequence matters, and getting it wrong costs time. A merchant account application requires a properly incorporated entity, any required licences already issued, and clean KYC documentation on file. Processors reject applications from entities that are still in formation or awaiting licensing — and that rejection goes on record.
For gaming operators, we would typically recommend incorporating in the jurisdiction that aligns with the licensing strategy — Anjouan for startups seeking fast turnaround, Curacao for operators who need broader market recognition, Nevis for those seeking zero-tax credibility — and placing the merchant account once the licence is in hand. For e-commerce and forex, the corporate structure comes first; the merchant account follows once the company is registered and documented.
We would not recommend applying without professional placement if your business falls into any high-risk category. The acquiring landscape shifts constantly — processors adjust risk appetite quarterly, compliance requirements change with each regulatory cycle, and fee structures evolve with market conditions. What worked six months ago may not be available today. Our role is to match you with the right processor at the right time, with documentation that closes the deal on the first submission.
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