The 10 Best Travel Merchant Accounts

With the travel industry showing no signs of slowing down, an estimated six million Brits flock to warmer climates every month. Since absolutely no one pays for their big-ticket items (a packaged holiday, round-trip flight) with a big wad of cash, you certainly want to make sure you find yourself a merchant account with a solid company who deeply understands this high risk business. Travel businesses have unique demands and require a way to process payments without the hassle of dealing with chargebacks. Take a look at these 10 merchant account providers who make their mark by providing value, efficiency, and safety.

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ccNetPay

With offices in London, ccNetPay was founded in 2007 and it offers tailored payment solutions for both high and low risk businesses of all sizes, including travel merchants. Their aim is to provide their merchants with excellent customer service and secure, reliable solutions.

The Pros

CCNetPay offers the following features for travel merchants: they accept all debit and credit cards for both online and MOTO businesses. It also supports over 150 currencies. CCNetPay also clearly displays all of its pricing and fees on its website. Additional features include Server2Server API Integration, Batch processing, CW, AVS, and 3D Secure, real-time reporting and management, recurring billing, a virtual terminal, no up-front fees, no transaction limits. Merchants also receive a dedicated customer service manager.

The Cons

There are little to no negative reviews available online. The only reviews found were mostly positive and spoke well of the company and its services.

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Cash Flows

Founded in 2010 and with offices in Cambridge and London, UK, Cash Flows provides payment gateways, business accounts, and merchant accounts.

The Pros

Some of the benefits of working with Cash Flows include: no minimum or maximum transaction amounts (there are exceptions),  more first time sales, fewer declines and disputed sales, PCI-compliant virtual terminal, hassle-free sign up, speedy on-boarding, acceptance of all major credit cards and currencies, online, phone & mail order, recurring billing, chargeback prevention, and real-time reporting.

They also offer Voice Pay and prepaid card services.

The Cons

The only way to get answers is to use the “self-serve” Support Knowledgebase, a customer phone number and a contact form. Although they do not offer 24/7 customer service, they can be easily contacted via their Twitter handle for any updates relating to maintenance or service issues.

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Payline Data

With offices located  in Chicago, Illinois, Payline Data is a merchant account provider that offers its services to various businesses of all sizes and industries, including high risk businesses like travel businesses. For e-commerce merchants, it provides a seamless, integrated payment gateway.

The Pros

The many perks with signing up with Payline Data include: a chargeback prevention platform, ACH platform, transparent and simple pricing, no application fees, no contracts, no cancellation fees, no “hidden, downgrade fees”. They also provide free 1099 K Reporting. Additional products and services provided are: EMV Terminals, merchant cash advances, mobile payments, payment gateway, and PCI compliant services. Funds deposited within one to two days. Its payment gateway can be integrated with 175 ecommerce platforms. Contracts are month-to-month and can be cancelled at any given time.

The Cons

The only complaints found had to do with withheld funds, products malfunctioning, and sluggish customer service.

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MerchACT

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, MerchACT specialises in Travel merchant account services. They boast secure and dependable payment portals. Their aim is to provide openness, integrity, and accountability. Serving businesses in the travel industry, some of MerchACT’s clients include: travel agencies, online travel booking sites, vacation home rentals, timeshare businesses, hotel reservations, and online airline booking.

The Pros

Some of the benefits and features include: in-house support, PCI Compliant gateway, fraud tools, chargeback management and reporting, no application or setup fees, MerchACT directly processes the merchant account, long-term partnership through life of the account, assistance with global expansion, multi-currency options, SSL Encrypted Servers, all major credit card acceptance, recurring billing, safe and simple API system, and high volume merchant account facility.

The Cons

There were no negative reviews found online about the company. The single online review that was found was positive.

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Allied Wallet

Founded in 2006, Allied Wallet is one of the leading online payment processing companies in the world. Providing payment solutions in 196 countries all over the world,

the company is headed by CEO Andy Khawaja and is headquartered in London, England.

 

With a 98% approval rate, they guarantee to get merchants up and running in less than one day.

The Pros

The features and benefits offered by Allied Wallet include a comprehensive solution for travel merchant  businesses, digital eWallet solutions, accepts over 100 currencies in 196 countries, rates starting at just 1%, settle profit directly into merchant’s bank account, secure data transfers with PCI Level 1 compliance, reduced declined payments with Fraud Scrub Technology, and track transaction with robust reporting system.

The Cons

Allied Wallet seems to have a host of fees including: monthly maintenance fees, transaction fees, refund fees, retrieval fees, chargeback fees, wire fees, a rolling reserve, and if that’s not enough, they also are known for fund holding. Merchants really should evaluate what is most important in their business as these fees will inevitably affect the bottom line.

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Vantage Payments

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Vantage Payments is a merchant account provider that provides merchant accounts for the travel and airline industry.

The Pros

Some of the company’s products and services include: credit and debit processing, E-check services, international merchant accounts, virtual terminals, MPOS and POS systems, PCI compliance/EMV certification, remote deposit capture, support for multi-currency, European direct debit, call center services, SEO assistance, and web design. It also offers ACH processing and an online payment gateway. All technical support is handled entirely in-house.

The Cons

Very little information exists detailing the terms and conditions on the standard contract. The few complaints that have been reported about Vantage Payments is that they are rude and condescending to new clients. They don’t respond to any phone calls or emails for days. When merchants call, they get passed around from rep to rep. The setup of the account is slow.

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Instabill

Based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and with an EU registered address in Lija, Malta, Instabill has been covering the high-risk merchant space since 2001. With constant change within the high risk merchant space, it has remained current with shifts and regulations within the industry.

Some of the approved business types include:airline tickets, hotel reservations, vacation home rentals, and more.

Instabill offers accounts with offshore acquiring banks, providing affordable rates.

The fees that Instabill offers depend on the merchant’s processing history, type of industry (high or low risk), and/or projected sales volume. Instabill will not charge any fees until the acquiring bank approves the merchant account.

While each merchant account is different, fees include: chargeback fees, discount rate, merchant account fees, merchant account registration fees, monthly statement fees, refund fees, and transaction fees.

The Pros

Tech support merchant benefits include the following: easy person to person transfers, no debit/credit card or PIN use, a convenient storage solution on your PC or smartphone, traceable transactions to deter fraud.

The Cons

Due to Instabill’s focus on high risk accounts, it may feature tiered pricing, early termination fees, and PCI Compliance fees. Most complaints against Instabill are about the company’s fraud prevention policies. Merchants report cancellation of their merchant accounts or withholding funds.

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iPay Total

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in London, iPay Total is a travel payment processor that also offers end-to-end high risk merchant solutions to customers around the world.

 

iPay Total approves: travel merchant accounts, travel credit card processing, vacation club merchant accounts, travel club merchant accounts, timeshare vacation membership, high risk travel merchant accounts, and online travel merchant accounts.

The Pros

Some features offered on online gambling merchant accounts include: multi-bank processing (including offshore), secure payment gateway, chargeback alerts, chargeback disputes, ACH/Check 21 processing, fraud prevention and protection, and competitive processing rates (below 6%), as well as 24/7 support online or by phone.

The Cons

High risk merchant account contract terms are not disclosed to the public. iPay Total also claims to charge a set up fee of up to £4,500, an incredibly exorbitant and prohibitive amount, especially for small businesses starting out.

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Connected.co

Situated in beautiful Santa Monica, California, Connected.co’s CEO, JW Epply is an accredited Certified Payments Professional (CPP) from the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA).

Known for developing the first payment gateway on the Internet, Connected.co services all high risk industries. Their motto is, “If it’s legal, we can get it approved!”

The Pros

Connected.co’s features include a state of the art electronic application process, creating a hassle-free experience. The application is also cloud-based, digitally capturing the merchants information and submitting it to their vast network of high risk banks both domestically and internationally

The Cons

There is no contract information available to the public at this time, but it’s to be expected that their pricing is largely attributed to business type, location and processing history. Also, the company does not provide a specific and dedicated customer support number, which is not something a merchant can do without.

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eMerchantBroker

Based in Los Angeles, California, eMerchantBroker offers high risk processing solutions, including Travel Merchant accounts.

The Pros

EMB offers custom-made paid solutions, excellent customer service, approval rates between 24 and 48 hours, chargeback management tools, PCI-compliant payment gateways, as well as fraud filters.  Another great option is that EMB offers rapidly growing merchants the opportunity to request new higher volume ceiling caps in three months.

The Cons

Very little information available about the standard contract. This could only mean that the contract terms vary widely from merchant to merchant.  There are early termination fees that are up to $295 for 1 year contracts and up to $595 for 3 year contracts.

Provider of the Month

Why ccNetPay

Whether you run a small business or a large corporation with high volumes seeking lowest fees, accepting subscriptions or MOTO based sales, or if you’re a high risk merchant in gaming or adult industry, we will arrange and place you with the most competitive and trusted acquirer. Our goal is a long lasting and secure payment solution for your business.