Find answers to common questions about high-risk payment processing, our services, and the application process.
Cybin Enterprises is a United States sub-ISO and payment solutions consultancy that places high-risk merchants with specialized processors and acquiring banks. We have a strong approval history across 755+ high-risk industries with prompt response times. Founded in 2018, we serve merchants across the United States, Canada, and internationally. We are not a direct processor; our processing partners are PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant.
A high-risk merchant account is a payment processing account designed for businesses that payment processors consider to carry elevated financial or regulatory risk. This can be due to industry type, chargeback history, business model, or geographic location.
Factors include:
Yes. Specialized high-risk payment processors like Cybin Enterprises work with businesses that traditional banks and processors decline.
Approval timelines vary based on complexity. Standard high-risk approvals can take 3 to 10 business days. MATCH list merchants or businesses with complex histories may take longer.
Typically required:
Common high-risk industries include CBD and cannabinoids, nutraceuticals and supplements, research peptides, telemedicine, online gaming, forex and cryptocurrency, adult entertainment, firearms, tobacco and vape, travel and booking, debt collection, and subscription commerce.
The MATCH (Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants) list is a database maintained by Mastercard that payment processors use to flag merchants whose accounts were previously terminated for fraud, excessive chargebacks, or violations of card network rules.
Yes. Cybin Enterprises specializes in working with MATCH list merchants. While domestic options are limited, international acquiring banks often accept MATCH list merchants with the right documentation.
Cybin Enterprises helps high-risk and difficult-to-place businesses access stable payment processing solutions. Services include domestic and international merchant account placement, MATCH list merchant support, chargeback prevention, and ongoing account stability guidance.
Cybin Enterprises was co-founded by Mel Kotchey (CEO) and Shane Suehr (COO). Mel brings 28 years in medical and regulated industries. Shane specializes in logistics, cybersecurity, and health-technology systems.
Yes. Cybin Enterprises has relationships with international acquiring banks that accept merchants declined by U.S. processors, including MATCH list merchants and businesses in heavily regulated industries.
We primarily support merchants in the United States and Canada, and we can take on select international clients through our acquirer network — especially in high-risk verticals where domestic options are limited. Submit your application and we'll route you to the right processor for your jurisdiction.
The process has five steps:
Yes. Cybin Enterprises works with merchants across all legal industries, including those typically categorized as high-risk or difficult to place.
Yes. Subscription and recurring billing for high-risk industries is a core service. We help structure recurring billing models that card networks and processors accept.
A chargeback is a forced reversal of a payment transaction initiated by a cardholder bank. The funds are pulled back from the merchant while the dispute is investigated. Excessive chargebacks can cause a merchant account to be terminated.
Chargeback ratio is the percentage of transactions that result in chargebacks. Visa standard threshold is 0.9% and Mastercard threshold is 1.0%. Exceeding these thresholds can result in account termination or fines.
Key strategies include:
Friendly fraud occurs when a customer makes a legitimate purchase but then disputes the charge with their bank, claiming they did not authorize it or did not receive the product.
Ethoca is a Mastercard-owned dispute resolution network that provides near real-time alerts to merchants when a cardholder contacts their bank about a transaction. Merchants can issue a refund before a formal chargeback is filed.
Verifi is a Visa-owned dispute resolution platform that connects directly to the Visa network. It provides instant dispute alerts for Visa transactions, allowing merchants to resolve issues before they escalate to chargebacks.
Common reasons include:
First, document everything:
Then contact a specialist like Cybin Enterprises to understand your options.
A reserve account is a portion of a merchant processing volume held by the processor as a security deposit against potential chargebacks or fraud losses. Reserves typically range from 5% to 15% of monthly volume, held for 90-180 days.
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of security standards that all businesses processing card payments must follow to protect cardholder data. Compliance is required by card networks.
A billing descriptor is the text that appears on a cardholder bank statement identifying the merchant. Clear, recognizable descriptors reduce friendly fraud by helping customers identify charges they made.
High-risk merchant processing typically runs around an 8% effective rate once reserve holds, monthly fees, chargeback fees, and ancillary charges are included. Cybin targets placements as low as 3% effective on files that qualify — a 5-percentage-point cut on every transaction.
Typical 2026 high-risk pricing components:
Final rates depend on industry, volume, and chargeback history. Cybin quotes after reviewing your statements.
Yes. Rates are negotiable based on monthly volume, chargeback history, and processing time. Most merchants can renegotiate 6-12 months after placement once they have built clean history.
Most domestic placements do not charge setup fees. Offshore placements may have setup fees of $250-$750. MATCH-listed placements often include upfront underwriting fees.
A monthly minimum is the minimum amount of processing fees an acquirer will charge each month regardless of volume. Typical minimums run $10-$50 for high-risk accounts.
Reserves are released daily after the hold period. With a 180-day hold, Day 181 releases the reserve captured on Day 1, and every subsequent day releases the matching past day. As long as volume is steady, your total reserve balance stays roughly flat after Day 180.
Yes, over time. After 12-24 months of clean processing under 0.5% chargeback ratio, most merchants can negotiate their reserve down to 0% or qualify for shorter hold periods of 90 days instead of 180.
We support modern EMV-compliant terminals including PAX (A80, A920, A35), Dejavoo, and Verifone devices. Mobile readers include compatible Bluetooth MSR/EMV readers for iOS and Android.
Authorize.Net, NMI, USAePay, and direct-bank gateways. We recommend vendor-neutral gateways like NMI or Authorize.Net so you can switch underlying processors without re-integrating with your website or billing system.
Yes. We integrate with all major e-commerce platforms and custom checkout systems through approved gateways such as Authorize.Net, NMI, and direct-bank integrations.
Yes. Our processing partners support ARB (Authorize.Net), Customer Vault (NMI), and tokenization for recurring billing. We also integrate with billing platforms like Chargebee and Recharge for subscription-heavy businesses.
Yes. Many of our processing partners support ACH processing alongside card acceptance. ACH rates are typically 0.5-1.0% plus per-transaction fees and are subject to NACHA rules (including the 2026 updates to WEB debit authorization).
Yes. Some merchants use Cybin for card acceptance and layer in a crypto gateway (BitPay, Coinbase Commerce) for optional crypto payment. Crypto acceptance is separate from your merchant account and follows different compliance rules.
Our approval process is thorough for qualified applicants — merchants whose file is complete and whose business fits a placement category we support. Industry-average acceptance rates for unsolicited high-risk applications run closer to 50-60%. Pre-qualification by a sub-ISO is the main reason the gap is so wide.
Cybin Enterprises is a sub-ISO — a sub-independent sales organization that represents multiple acquiring banks and processors. We do not hold deposits or process transactions ourselves. We match merchants with the acquiring partner most likely to approve and maintain their account long-term. Our processing partners are PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant.
Underwriters evaluate:
For card-not-present (e-commerce) processing, no — a functional website with Terms, Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, contact info, and SSL is required. For card-present (retail/MOTO) accounts, a website is strongly recommended but not always required.
Sole proprietorships can qualify for certain placements, but LLC or corporation formation significantly improves approval odds and limits personal liability. Most serious high-risk applicants form an LLC before applying.
Visit our application page or call 1-412-218-3006. We start with a free consultation, pre-qualify your file, match you to the right processor, and manage the full underwriting process. Most merchants go from application to approval in 3-10 business days.
No. The application and consultation are free. We only earn compensation from our acquiring partners after placement, which means our incentive is to match you with a processor that keeps you approved and processing.
Our team is ready to help you understand your payment processing options. Reach out and we will respond within 24 hours.
