Durango Merchant Services

What Durango Merchant Services does

Durango Merchant Services, LLC is a privately held payment processing ISO founded in 1997 and headquartered in Durango, Colorado. The company operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization for Fifth Third Bank, N.A. (Cincinnati, OH), enabling it to broker merchant accounts across multiple sponsor banks worldwide. Durango specializes in high-risk merchant categories — including supplements, credit repair, fantasy sports, travel, nutraceuticals, alcohol, and telemedicine — that traditional processors decline or underwrite unfavorably. The firm also serves mainstream merchants through Level 2/3 B2B/B2G processing, large-ticket transactions, high-volume accounts ($100K+/month), and merchant recovery services for accounts terminated by Stripe, Shopify, Square, or PayPal.

The company's core technology is the proprietary Durango Pay Gateway, a PCI DSS compliant payment processing platform supporting ecommerce, MOTO, retail, mobile, and virtual terminal transactions. The gateway features Level 2/3 data processing, multi-currency support, integration with 150+ shopping carts (BigCommerce, Shopify, Adobe Commerce, WooCommerce, etc.), and a suite of fraud/chargeback tools including the iSpyFraud ML-based fraud scrubbing utility, Velocity Checks, 3D Secure 2.0, Customer Vault tokenization, CertifyPCI, and an Advanced Transaction Routing Interface (ATRI). An AI-powered fraud detection layer analyzes transactions in real time using machine learning, NLP-driven text scanning, and predictive risk scoring.

Durango generates revenue through a combination of transaction-based fees (interchange-plus pricing with discount rates of 1.95%-4.95% plus $0.15-$0.25 authorization), monthly gateway subscriptions ($15-$60 depending on feature tier), chargeback/fraud solution subscriptions, professional consulting for high-risk underwriting, and an affiliate referral program. Distribution is primarily sales-led via direct phone/online application with dedicated lifetime account managers, supplemented by affiliate partners and inbound flow from review platforms (Merchant Maverick, Fit Small Business, NerdWallet, BBB). The company serves merchants across the United States, Canada, EU, UK, Panama, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and British Virgin Islands, with 35,000+ cumulative clients negotiated across its history and an active workforce of 1-10 employees.

Name

Durango Merchant Services

Legal name

Durango Merchant Services, LLC

Website

https://durangomerchantservices.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Durango Merchant Services is a bootstrapped payment processing ISO specializing in high-risk merchant accounts (supplements, credit repair, fantasy sports, travel) and merchant recovery from Stripe/Shopify/Square/PayPal. Founded 1997, it operates the proprietary Durango Pay Gateway serving 35,000+ merchants globally via Fifth Third Bank sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

akta.pro primary industry

Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA), Merchant & Payment Facilitator (PayFac) Underwriting / KYB (FSAMAMAJ), Crypto Merchant Acquirers & PSPs (Payment Service Providers) (FSADAIAB)

Keywords

• High-risk merchant accounts
• Payment processing services
• Credit card processing
• Payment gateway solutions
• Merchant account brokerage

Headquarters

HQ city

Durango

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Services: Transaction-based revenue from credit card processing, ACH e-check processing, and cryptocurrency payments. Interchange-plus pricing model with transparent fees.
2. Gateway Services: Monthly fees for access to proprietary payment gateway with fraud protection and chargeback management tools.
3. Chargeback & Fraud Solutions: Additional services for fraud prevention, chargeback alerts, analytics, and dispute resolution.
4. Merchant Account Consulting: Expert guidance and account management services for securing high-risk merchant accounts.
5. Affiliate Program: Referral revenue from affiliates who bring new merchant clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Durango Merchant Services is a broker for multiple banks worldwide, placing and managing merchant accounts for high-risk, eCommerce, MoTo, and large-volume businesses. The firm operates the proprietary Durango Pay Gateway supporting omnichannel payment acceptance, Level 2/3 data processing, multi-currency settlements, and fraud/chargeback tooling, and serves as a recovery destination for merchants terminated by Stripe, Shopify, Square, or PayPal. It also offers ACH e-check and cryptocurrency processing under interchange-plus pricing.

Product overview

Durango Merchant Services operates as a unified payment processing ecosystem anchored by the proprietary Durango Pay Gateway platform. The core offering includes credit card processing for both high-risk and mainstream merchants, supplemented by specialized add-on modules for Level 2 and Level 3 processing (B2B/B2G transactions), large ticket processing (high-value single transactions), and high-volume processing ($100K+/month merchants). The platform also offers chargeback and fraud prevention tools (including velocity checks, 3D Secure 2.0, and AI-powered fraud detection), ACH e-check processing, cryptocurrency processing, and multi-currency support for international merchants. All services include dedicated account management, and the company provides merchant recovery services for businesses displaced by major processors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Durango Pay Gateway Proprietary omnichannel payment gateway supporting ecommerce, MOTO, retail, mobile, and virtual terminal payments, featuring Level 2/3 data processing, multi-currency support, fraud detection tools (iSpyFraud, Velocity Checks, Customer Vault), 3D Secure 2.0, ATRI transaction routing, and integration with 150+ shopping carts.
• Credit Card Processing Credit card payment processing services for high-risk and low-risk merchants with transparent interchange-plus pricing, dedicated account managers, and support for Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex, Diners Club, China UnionPay, and JCB.
• Level 2 Credit Card Processing

Quantifiable outcome

• Save up to 40% on interchange rates for qualifying high-volume merchants
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

AI capability6 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fifth Third Bank, N.A.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDurango Merchant Services, LLC is a registered Independent Sales Organization (ISO) for Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Cincinnati, OH. This banking partnership enables them to offer merchant account services and process credit card transactions.
• Authorize.NetcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegrated payment gateway relationship. Durango works with and supports merchants using Authorize.Net payment gateway, offering alternatives and migration support for existing Authorize.Net merchants.
• NMI Payment GatewaycoreTechnology or IntegrationGateway processor relationship providing NMI (Network Merchants Inc.) integration support for merchants who prefer or already use NMI payment gateway.
• FluidpaycoreTechnology or IntegrationGateway processor relationship providing Fluidpay integration. Fluidpay is cited alongside Durango Gateway and Velocity Checks as a supported platform for fraud prevention.
• BigCommercecoreTechnology or Integration150+ shopping cart integrations including BigCommerce for seamless e-commerce checkout with Durango's payment gateway.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor shopping cart integration. Also offers Shopify Payments alternative services for merchants shut down by Shopify.
• Adobe Commerce (Magento)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) platform for enterprise e-commerce merchants.
• 150+ Shopping Cart PlatformscoreTechnology or IntegrationTurnkey integrations with 3dcart, Zen Cart, Volusion, OpenCart, PrestaShop, Zoho, WooCommerce, Salesforce, and other shopping cart platforms enabling seamless payment processing.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Easy Pay Direct: High-risk merchant services provider focused on hard-to-place verticals with interchange-plus pricing and dedicated account management - a near-mirror of Durango's GTM and pricing model.
• PaymentCloud: High-risk merchant account specialist offering credit card processing, ACH, and chargeback tools to underserved verticals. Directly competes with Durango in supplements, credit repair, travel, and adult-adjacent categories.
• Host Merchant Services: ISO/merchant acquirer offering interchange-plus pricing, multiple gateway integrations, and high-volume merchant programs. Overlaps with Durango's core SMB and mid-market payment processing offering.
• High Risk Pay: Specialized high-risk merchant account provider serving CBD, supplements, adult, and travel verticals with chargeback mitigation - directly competitive on Durango's primary segment.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Largest digital payments platform; Durango explicitly markets to merchants whose Stripe accounts have been closed or frozen, making Stripe both the primary alternative and the top source of recovery demand.
• Fiserv (First Data / Clover): Top-tier merchant acquirer and gateway provider whose Clover and First Data platforms serve the SMB and enterprise segments Durango targets, though at much broader scale and without a high-risk specialization.
• Square (Block): Mass-market payment processor whose account terminations feed Durango's merchant-recovery funnel, and which Durango explicitly positions against as an alternative for displaced SMBs.
• Paysafe: Specialty payments platform with high-risk verticals (gaming, forex, adult), integrated processing/gateway, and chargeback tools - comparable scope and verticals to Durango's ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Stax: Subscription-based payments platform targeting SMBs with interchange-plus pricing; overlaps with Durango's transparent-pricing and high-volume merchant positioning, though without the high-risk specialization.
• Fattmerchant (Stax): SMB-focused payment processor offering interchange-plus pricing and dedicated support; positioned similarly to Durango's transparent, high-touch model for non-high-risk merchants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCbyQKwVURsU0mjmwN_pQ-bg
• Facebookfacebook.com/328553049139
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/durango-merchant-services-llc
• Pinterestpinterest.com/durangomerchantservices/_saved
• Xx.com/durangomerchant

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Durango Merchant Services