USA Payments

What USA Payments does

USA Payments is a California-based merchant services provider specializing in high-risk credit card and payment processing for industries that mainstream processors routinely decline. The company serves more than 15 vertical segments, including CBD products, firearms and ammunition, telemedicine, online pharmacies, medical spas, nutraceuticals, e-cigarettes and vapor, cigar and tobacco, cryptocurrency, multi-level marketing, travel, ticket brokers, online wine clubs, student loan document preparation, debt consolidation, adult entertainment, drop shipping, bail bonds, private jet and charter, web design services, and educational seminars and coaching. It also accepts lower-risk retail merchants seeking competitive rates. Headquartered in Newbury Park, CA (also listed as Thousand Oaks, CA), the company operates as a privately held LLC with a notably small team of 8 employees and no disclosed institutional investors.

The platform supports card-present and card-not-present transactions through multiple channels: Dejavoo QD2–QD5 PCI PTS 5.0-certified EMV terminals, a cloud-based virtual terminal, iOS and Android mobile applications with PCI-encrypted card readers, and e-commerce gateway integrations including Authorize.net, IPOSpays, and SPIn. Notable proprietary offerings include a Dual Pricing/Cash Discount Program positioned as compliant with Visa, Mastercard, and banking regulations that can reduce merchant fees by up to 100%, and an official LegitScript partnership providing discounted Healthcare Merchant Certification with complimentary expedited 2-business-day review, enabling healthcare merchants to advertise on Google, Meta, and TikTok. The company also offers a high-level CRM integration and an Acquisition Support service for merchants undergoing M&A.

The business model relies on transaction processing fees, recurring monthly service fees, chargeback fees, hardware sales, and value-added compliance services, with quote-based pricing and a stated "no hidden fees" policy. Distribution occurs through direct phone and website sales, a self-serve online application, and an ISO Agent Program that recruits independent sales agents on commission with residual income and a white-label payment gateway. Geographic coverage spans the United States with stated approval capability for Canada and the EU. PCI DSS compliance is maintained, and the company claims a 99% payment gateway uptime and approximately 98% merchant application approval rate.

Name

USA Payments

Legal name

USA Payments LLC

Website

https://usapayments.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

USA Payments is a California-based merchant services provider specializing in high-risk payment processing for over 15 industries that mainstream processors decline, including CBD, firearms, telemedicine, and adult entertainment. It offers POS, mobile, e-commerce, dual-pricing programs, and LegitScript healthcare certification, distributed via direct sales and an ISO agent channel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Merchant Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant Acquiring & Card Processing (PSPs) (CRAFALAB), EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance (FSAMADAG)

Keywords

• High-risk merchant processing
• Credit card processing
• Payment gateway services
• Cash discount program
• Merchant account services

Headquarters

HQ city

Newbury Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Transaction Processing Fees: Fees charged per transaction processed through their payment services, including credit card processing for both card-present and card-not-present transactions.
2. Monthly Service Fees: Recurring monthly fees for merchant account maintenance, including account management and support services.
3. Chargeback Fees: Fees charged when customer disputes result in chargebacks, typically for merchants maintaining chargeback rates above 3%.
4. Point-of-Sale Equipment: Sale and provisioning of EMV-enabled terminals, tablet POS options, and mobile card readers.
5. LegitScript Certification Services: Facilitates LegitScript Healthcare Merchant Certification with discounted rates and expedited review, providing value-added compliance services to healthcare merchants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

USA Payments provides credit card and payment processing services for both low-risk and high-risk merchants, with card-present and card-not-present transaction acceptance. Its core offering bundles merchant account underwriting, transparent interchange-plus pricing, chargeback management, and a portfolio of acceptance channels — retail POS terminals, a cloud virtual terminal, iOS/Android mobile app, and an e-commerce gateway. The company specializes in high-risk industries (CBD, firearms, telemedicine, nutraceuticals, adult, etc.) that mainstream processors decline, supplemented by a Dual Pricing / Cash Discount Program designed to reduce or eliminate merchant service fees.

Product overview

USA Payments is a payment processing company offering a comprehensive suite of merchant services built around its core credit card processing platform. The product portfolio includes Point of Sale (POS) Solutions with Dejavoo terminals, Virtual Terminal Solutions for cloud-based processing, Mobile Payment App for on-the-go transactions, and E-commerce/Payment Gateway Solutions supporting Authorize.net. The company differentiates through its Dual Pricing Program (Cash Discount Program) that can reduce processing fees by up to 100%, and its specialized High Risk Merchant Processing for industries like CBD, firearms, telemedicine, and nutraceuticals. Additional offerings include LegitScript Healthcare Certification Partnership for compliance, the Merchant Services ISO Agent Program for resellers, and Acquisition Support Services for business transactions. The platform integrates with QuickBooks, IPOSpays, SPIn, Authorize.net, and HighLevel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Credit Card Processing Core merchant services for processing credit and debit card transactions for low-risk and high-risk businesses, supporting online (card-not-present) and in-person (card-present) processing with transparent interchange-plus pricing, no hidden fees, and rates guaranteed never to be raised.
• Point of Sale (POS) Solutions Retail POS hardware and software including stand-alone terminals, tablet POS options, and all-in-one systems supporting EMV chip cards, Apple Pay, Android Pay, NFC, gift cards, and EBT for in-person card acceptance.
• Virtual Terminal Solutions Cloud-based online terminal that processes in-person, phone, card, or check transactions in real time, with customer management, recurring billing, reporting, and QuickBooks integration.
• Mobile Payment App iOS/Android mobile application that processes swipe, EMV chip, and NFC transactions on the go using PCI-encrypted card readers.
• E-commerce / Payment Gateway Solutions Online payment gateway for e-commerce stores supporting one-time payments and recurring subscription billing, with Authorize.net selectable as the underlying gateway.
• Dual Pricing Program (Cash Discount Program) Compliant pass-through pricing program that applies a small customer service fee to card payments while offering cash/check discounts, designed to reduce or eliminate up to 100% of the merchant's processing fees with no contract lock-in.
• High Risk Merchant Processing Specialized merchant account underwriting and payment processing for businesses classified as high-risk — including CBD, firearms, nutraceuticals, telemedicine, adult entertainment, and other regulated industries — that mainstream processors refuse to underwrite.
• Merchant Services ISO Agent Program Channel partnership program for independent sales agents (ISOs) that resell credit card processing with frictionless onboarding, white-label payment gateway, advanced reporting, automated underwriting, instant API-based onboarding, and residual commission income.
• LegitScript Healthcare Certification Partnership Service Official LegitScript partnership service that secures discounted healthcare merchant certification (discounted application fee, discounted annual fee, complimentary expedited 2-business-day review), enabling healthcare merchants to advertise on Google, Meta, and TikTok with first-year savings of $2,000–$3,000.
• Acquisition Support Services Specialized consulting service for companies undergoing acquisitions that delivers transparent financial insights, payment processing analysis, compliance guidance, and expert consultation across the acquisition lifecycle.
• Dejavoo Terminals (QD2, QD3, QD4, QD5) PCI PTS 5.0 certified EMV-enabled credit card terminals (QD2, QD3, QD4, QD5) with integrated camera/scanner, Ethernet and WiFi connectivity, paired with IPOSpays and SPIn POS software integrations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Merchants save $2,000-$3,000 on LegitScript certification in first year
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments24 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LegitScriptcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSA Payments is an official LegitScript partner, offering discounted LegitScript Healthcare Merchant Certification to qualifying healthcare merchants. This partnership enables healthcare businesses to advertise on Google, Meta, and TikTok while maintaining compliant card-not-present payment processing. Benefits include discounted application fees ($975 standard), discounted annual fees ($2,150/year), and complimentary expedited 2-business-day review that typically costs $2,500 as an add-on. First-year savings range from $2,000 to $3,000.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ECS Payments: ECS Payments (Electronic Card Systems) is a long-standing high-risk merchant account provider serving CBD, firearms, nutraceuticals, and adult verticals with an ISO partner channel. Direct competitor with overlapping verticals and similar agent-led distribution.
• Host Merchant Services: Host Merchant Services is a high-risk-focused payment processor and ISO that serves many of the same verticals as USA Payments, including CBD, firearms, and adult. Comparable pricing model (interchange-plus, transparent fees) and similar SMB/ISO-led GTM make it a near-direct competitor.
• National Processing: National Processing is a merchant services provider that serves both low-risk and high-risk SMB merchants with transparent pricing and an ISO partner channel. Directly comparable to USA Payments in pricing model, vertical coverage, and agent-led distribution.
• High Risk Pay: High Risk Pay is a merchant account provider focused exclusively on high-risk e-commerce and CNP merchants across verticals like supplements, CBD, firearms, and adult. Highly comparable specialization, customer mix, and value proposition to USA Payments.
• Maverick Processing: Maverick Processing is a high-risk merchant services provider specializing in firearms, CBD, nutraceuticals, and adult merchants, with an ISO agent program and similar transparent-pricing positioning. Directly comparable in target verticals and SMB/ISO go-to-market.
• PaymentCloud: PaymentCloud is a U.S. merchant services provider that specializes in high-risk verticals—CBD, firearms, adult, nutraceuticals, and travel—with an ISO agent program and similar application/underwriting focus. It is the closest direct competitor to USA Payments in merchant mix, GTM, and target customer.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Stripe is a global payments platform and broad incumbent that, despite de-risking many high-risk verticals, sets the benchmark for developer-friendly APIs, transparent pricing, and merchant experience against which USA Payments' high-risk SMB merchants benchmark. Comparable as a payment-processor incumbent with overlapping low-risk merchant base.
• Fiserv (Clover): Fiserv is a major payments and financial technology incumbent that, through Clover and merchant acquiring products, competes broadly for SMB merchants across POS, gateway, and processing—overlapping with USA Payments' retail and omnichannel merchant services.
• PayPal: PayPal is a broad incumbent in online and omnichannel payments serving SMBs with processing, gateway, and POS solutions comparable to USA Payments' e-commerce and low-risk retail offerings, and historically a key alternative for displaced high-risk merchants.
• Block (Square): Block operates Square, a broad incumbent in SMB payments offering POS hardware, software, and processing that overlaps with USA Payments' low-risk retail, POS, and mobile card reader offerings. Comparable as a full-stack SMB payments incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/usa-payments

Compliance1 record

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 USA Payments