Merchant Account Providers
Merchant Account Providers is a privately held payment processing company founded in 1997 that provides merchant accounts and credit card processing to SMBs across retail, e-commerce, and high-risk verticals including cannabis, CBD, vape, and adult industries, primarily through direct phone sales and a 50% residual agent/reseller channel.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersLake Forest, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Merchant Account Providers does
Merchant Account Providers (MAP) is a privately held payment processing services company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Lake Forest, California. The company provides merchant accounts enabling businesses to accept credit cards, debit cards, ACH payments, and checks across retail card-present, e-commerce, mail order/telephone order (MOTO), and mobile channels. Its core product portfolio includes a retail merchant account tier priced at 1.09% + $0.19 per transaction with a free terminal, an online/MOTO tier at 1.99% + $0.19 routed through an Authorize.net gateway, a high-risk and bad-credit tier starting at 2.49% + $0.25, ACH and check guarantee services, and a mobile processing app with fingerprint signature. A merchant cash advance product extends $5,000–$200,000 to existing book clients.
The company's go-to-market combines direct phone sales (800-774-7597), an online self-serve application with 24-hour approval, an agent/reseller program paying 50% lifetime residuals, and an affiliate program through ShareASale and clixGalore at $50 per qualified lead. Technology integrations include Authorize.net as the primary gateway for internet merchants, Clover for POS hardware, and PCI-compliant processing across Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover networks. MAP's stated differentiation is a 99% approval rate oriented around high-risk verticals—adult, telemarketing, multi-level marketing, travel, CBD, vape, cannabis, firearms, online pharmacy, and dating—that mainstream acquirers typically decline. Named customers include SA Botanicals (cannabis retail), SmokeToLive (12 vape shop locations), and Opulent Monsters (e-commerce), all SMB operators. The company is independently owned with no disclosed parent, funding rounds, or institutional investors.
Merchant Account Providers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Merchant Account Providers
- Legal name
- Merchant Account Providers
- Website
- https://merchantaccountproviders.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Merchant Account Providers is a privately held payment processing company founded in 1997 that provides merchant accounts and credit card processing to SMBs across retail, e-commerce, and high-risk verticals including cannabis, CBD, vape, and adult industries, primarily through direct phone sales and a 50% residual agent/reseller channel.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Merchant Account Providers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing Services
- NAICS
- Sales Financing (52222)
- akta.pro primary industry
- High-Risk / Specialty Merchant Acquirers (FSAMABAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA), Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus) (FSAMABAC), Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF), Merchant Acquiring & Card Processing (PSPs) (CRAFALAB)
Keywords
Where Merchant Account Providers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lake Forest
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Merchant Account Providers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees (Interchange Plus): Percentage-based fees charged per transaction plus a flat per-transaction fee. Rates vary by merchant category: retail card-swipe at 1.09% + $0.19, mail/phone at 1.99% + $0.19, internet at 1.99% + $0.19, and high-risk starting at 2.49% + $0.25. This is the primary revenue stream.
- Monthly Account Fees: Flat monthly fee of $9.95 for retail/mail/phone and $10.00 for high-risk merchants. Applied to all active merchant accounts regardless of transaction volume.
- Payment Gateway Fees: Gateway access fee of $9.95 plus $0.10 per transaction for internet merchants using Authorize.net integration.
- Agent/Reseller Residual Payments: Partners (agents/resellers) earn 50% residual payments based on true cost pricing for the life of each merchant account they bring in. Monthly fee income and transaction fee income also shared with partners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Retail (Card Swipe) - Lowest rate tier |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Mail / Phone Order |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Internet / E-commerce |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | High Risk Merchant Account |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Mail and Phone Order (Phone page) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Merchant Account Providers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Merchant Account Providers delivers merchant account and credit card processing services across retail point-of-sale, e-commerce, mobile, and mail/phone order (MOTO) channels. The company underwrites accounts for both standard and high-risk business categories and layers PCI-compliant processing and gateway integration on top of partner platforms such as Authorize.net and Clover.
Product overview
Merchant Account Providers operates as a payment processing services company offering a comprehensive suite of merchant account products. The core offering consists of retail merchant accounts (with free card terminal), mobile processing, online/e-commerce accounts via Authorize.Net gateway, phone/mail order processing, ACH/check services, and specialized high-risk merchant accounts. The company also provides a merchant cash advance product (funding from $5,000 to $200,000) for existing merchant clients. Additional revenue streams include an Agent & Reseller Program (offering 50% residual payments) and an Affiliate Program (paying $50 per lead). The product portfolio is designed to serve businesses of all sizes including retail, restaurants, e-commerce, high-risk industries, and those with bad credit, with 99% approval rates emphasized across offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Retail Merchant Account Card-present payment processing for brick-and-mortar retailers, integrating with Clover point-of-sale hardware to accept credit and debit card transactions in-store.
- Online Merchant Account E-commerce and card-not-present payment processing for online merchants, integrated with the Authorize.net payment gateway for secure online transaction acceptance.
- Mobile Merchant Account Mobile card acceptance service enabling merchants to process credit and debit card payments via smartphones, tablets, and compatible mobile hardware.
- Mail Order / Telephone Order (MOTO) Merchant Account Card-not-present payment processing for merchants that take orders by mail or telephone, with PCI-compliant handling of manually entered card data.
- High-Risk Merchant Account Specialized merchant account underwriting and payment processing for businesses in high-risk industry categories that mainstream acquirers are reluctant to approve, including ongoing risk management and PCI-compliant processing.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% approval rate for merchant applications including high-risk merchants
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Merchant Account Providers
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Merchant Account Providers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature5 records
Merchant Account Providers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Authorize.netcoreAuthorize.net payment gateway is included with internet merchant accounts. Acts as the virtual terminal for online credit card processing, processing transactions 24/7 even on weekends.
- CloversupportingClover hardware and POS integration offered as part of the merchant services ecosystem. Clover point-of-sale terminals provided to merchants.
- ShareASale NetworksupportingAffiliate network managing the affiliate referral program. Handles affiliate account management and commission tracking and payments for affiliates promoting Merchant Account Providers.
- clixGaloresupportingAffiliate network alongside ShareASale managing the affiliate program. Ensures commission tracking and payment for affiliate partners driving qualified leads.
- PCI Security Standards CouncilcoreMerchant Account Providers is a PCI-compliant merchant services provider, adhering to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards for secure transaction processing.
- Visa / MasterCard / American Express / DiscovercoreLogo partner displayed on website indicating support for all major credit card networks: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Company facilitates card acceptance across these networks.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Merchant Account Providers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- HighRiskPay: Boutique high-risk merchant account specialist for CBD, adult, firearms, and nutraceutical verticals. Direct niche competitor to MAP with similar 99% approval marketing.
- PaymentCloud: Direct competitor specializing in high-risk merchant accounts across e-commerce, CBD, firearms, nutraceuticals, and adult verticals, with interchange-plus pricing and 99% approval positioning. Closest analog to MAP's high-risk core offering.
- Host Merchant Services: SMB and high-risk merchant account provider with interchange-plus pricing, agent/reseller residuals, and Authorize.net gateway integrations. Closely overlaps MAP's product set and channel motion.
- Durango Merchant Services: Specialty high-risk acquirer focused on adult, firearms, nutraceuticals, and travel, with an agent/reseller residual program. Directly comparable business model and customer segment.
- eMerchantBroker: High-risk merchant account provider offering retail, online, and mobile processing for rejected merchants including adult, CBD, and firearms. Competes on approval rates and residual partner programs similar to MAP.
- SMB Compass: Merchant cash advance and high-risk payment processing provider for SMBs across CBD, e-commerce, and retail. Comparable on cash advance cross-sell and underwriting flexibility.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe: Developer-first online payment processor and the dominant e-commerce gateway. Competes with MAP's internet/e-commerce tier for mainstream merchants while leaving high-risk verticals to specialists.
- Square (Block): Broad SMB payments incumbent offering retail POS, online checkout, and merchant cash advance (Square Capital). Competes with MAP's general retail and e-commerce tiers with superior technology, but does not serve most high-risk verticals.
- PayPal: Global digital payments incumbent with PayPal Working Capital (merchant cash advance) and broad merchant acceptance. Overlaps with MAP on SMB online processing and cash advance, but avoids most high-risk MCCs.
Others
- Authorize.Net (Visa subsidiary): Payment gateway provider whose rails MAP embeds for e-commerce processing. Functions as an upstream infrastructure partner — and, if MAP were de-risked, a competing acquiring pathway for merchants.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Merchant Account Providers social profiles
Digital presenceMerchant Account Providers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Merchant Account Providers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Merchant Account Providers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Merchant Account Providers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Merchant Account Providers
What does Merchant Account Providers do?
Merchant Account Providers delivers merchant account and credit card processing services across retail point-of-sale, e-commerce, mobile, and mail/phone order (MOTO) channels. The company underwrites accounts for both standard and high-risk business categories and layers PCI-compliant processing and gateway integration on top of partner platforms such as Authorize.net and Clover.
Is Merchant Account Providers a public or private company?
Merchant Account Providers is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Merchant Account Providers founded?
Merchant Account Providers was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Merchant Account Providers based?
Merchant Account Providers is headquartered in Lake Forest, United States, in the North America region.
How does Merchant Account Providers make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees (Interchange Plus) is the primary driver. The others are monthly Account Fees, payment Gateway Fees and agent/Reseller Residual Payments.
Who are Merchant Account Providers's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are HighRiskPay, PaymentCloud, Host Merchant Services, Durango Merchant Services, eMerchantBroker and SMB Compass. Broad incumbents are Stripe, Square (Block) and PayPal. Authorize.Net (Visa subsidiary) is listed as an others.
Does Merchant Account Providers have an API?
No public API is recorded for Merchant Account Providers.
What industry is Merchant Account Providers in?
Merchant Account Providers's product category is Payment Processing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMABAE, High-Risk / Specialty Merchant Acquirers, with a secondary code of FSAMACAA, Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout). Its NAICS code is 52222.