High-risk accounts
Firearms merchant accounts
Stratamize places merchant accounts for gun shops, ranges and online firearms stores, with your licenses and compliance steps ready for underwriting.
About two minutes. Our team follows up.
What we set up
- Merchant accounts for gun shops, ranges and online stores
- License and catalog details organized for underwriting
- Clover at the counter or online checkout, set up after approval
Firearms & sporting goods
Who we work with
Many processors decline firearms businesses as a category. As a registered ISO, we place merchant accounts for licensed gun shops, ranges and online firearms retailers, prepare the application with you and set up payments at the counter and online after approval.
We work with licensed firearms dealers, gun shops, ranges and training businesses, gunsmiths, and online retailers of firearms, ammunition and accessories. Many shops do several of these at once, and the application should show all of them.
Firearms is a category a number of mainstream processors decline or close without much warning. Underwriting for a firearms account looks at licensing, the product mix and how an order is completed, especially when a sale is finished through a receiving dealer.
Underwriting
What underwriting asks for
- Your federal firearms license and any state or local licenses, for each location.
- A breakdown of what you sell: firearms, ammunition, accessories, services such as gunsmithing or range time, and classes.
- For online sales, how an order is completed: the transfer through a receiving dealer, and what the customer pays at each step.
- Your website, with shipping, refund, cancellation and contact policies.
- Recent processing statements, if you take cards today, and an explanation of unusually large orders.
- Any notice from a provider that closed or restricted your account.
The ATF's quick reference for federal firearms licensees covers transfer and recordkeeping responsibilities. Those stay with your existing compliance process: a card approval is a payment event, and it does not replace any step of a transfer.
Setup
How setup works
After approval we set up how you take payment. Online sales run through an NMI or Authorize.net gateway with a hosted payment form, so card numbers go straight to the processor and never through your website or our team. At a counter, we set up Clover: the devices, your item list and your staff, tested with a live sale and a refund.
At the counter, Clover keeps firearms, ammunition, accessories and services as separate items, so your sales reports show each line of the business. Deposits on special orders and layaway-style balances are set up the way your shop handles them today.
Reserves
Reserves and chargebacks
Underwriting may set a reserve: a share of each settlement held back as a cushion against chargebacks and released on a schedule your agreement states. Whether one applies, and its terms, depend on the review. What keeps an account in good standing afterward is ordinary practice done consistently: a business name customers recognize on their statement, a refund policy they can find, and a support line that answers before a customer calls their bank.
Selling online? The gateway is set up with the account: see the high-risk payment gateway. From our blog: Firearms merchant processing: keep payment and transfer records aligned.
Can you set up both my shop and my online store?
Yes, on one application. Show us both channels and how an online order is completed, and we set up Clover in the store and a gateway for the web store.
Does the payment system handle my compliance records?
No. Your POS and payment records track the sale; your bound book, background checks and transfer records stay in the systems you use for compliance. We keep the two separate and clear.
Do I have to replace my current POS?
Not necessarily. Tell us what you use and we tell you whether it can stay on the new account, or quote a Clover setup if it is time to replace it.
High-risk accounts
Get your application ready for underwriting.
We tell you what underwriting will ask for and prepare the file with you before it goes in.
Approvals usually come back within hours, three days at most.
Book a call