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The Best High-Risk Payment Processor For Convenience Stores

Payment processors let retailers offer convenient credit card and contactless payment options to their customers — but for industries considered “high risk”, it gets a bit complicated.  

High-risk payment processing is required for certain types of businesses, including tobacco, liquor, and most convenience stores, and can have a tangible impact on your business operations and bottom line

To manage it well, you need a reliable high-risk payment processor.

In this article, we’ll give you a full overview of convenience store payment processing, including:

While payment processing might seem out of your control, it isn’t. Using the right payment processor can improve the customer experience and your profit margins. 

What Is High-Risk Payment Processing and Does Your Store Need It?

All credit card and digital payments are processed using a payment processor. Payment processors protect customer data and move funds between a customer’s bank and your business’ bank account. 

However, payment processing works a little differently if a business is considered high-risk

Examples of high-risk businesses are ones that:

  • Have a high risk of fraud or credit card chargebacks
  • Sell age-restricted or adult-only products
  • Offer products that exist in a legal gray area like THC, CBD, or vapes
  • Are highly regulated (like gun shops) 
  • Have a bad credit history
  • Have consistently high average transaction amounts

Do you need to use a high-risk payment processor at your convenience store? The answer is likely yes.

Most convenience stores require a high-risk payment processor because many of them sell age-restricted items like alcohol or cigarettes and have higher rates of crime than other retail industries

 

What’s the Difference Between a Regular and High-Risk Payment Processor?

There are important differences between standard and high-risk payment processors.

    • Better security: High-risk processors usually have higher fraud protection and data security standards.
    • Enhanced chargeback protection: Standard payment processors won’t work with businesses after a certain number of chargebacks or will increase their fees. A high-risk processor is more tolerant of credit card disputes and has established processes to deal with them.
  • Modern payment support: Most high-risk payment processors allow you to offer a wide variety of payment options such as credit and debit cards along with popular contactless payments like digital wallets, and payment apps.
  • Higher costs: Some high-risk merchant accounts charge higher credit card processing fees than a standard account.
  • Rolling reserve: A merchant account will keep a certain percentage of all transactions for a certain period before releasing it to your account. This rolling reserve is required by high-risk payment processors to handle disputes. 

C-Store High-Risk Payment Processor: 3 Top Providers

The important question may not be if you need a high-risk payment processor at all but rather which high-risk payment processor is best for your business.

Here are our three top recommendations for high-risk payment processors in 2024.

1. C-Store POS

Our comprehensive point of sale (POS) solution comes with built-in high-risk payment processing together with a suite of powerful convenience store management features.

Benefits

    • In-house payments and competitive rates: We process payments in-house, making the payment process frictionless for customers while offering highly competitive fees.
    • All-in-one system: In addition to payment processing, C-Store POS also provides features such as inventory management, customer loyalty, store performance analytics, employee management, and more. 
  • Flexible payment options: C-Store POS supports all standard payment methods, including EMV, debit, EBT Food, EBT Cash, gift cards, and checks.

Pricing: We offer flexible pricing plans starting as low as $49/month.

 

2. PaymentCloud

PaymentCloud was started in 2015 with the goal of offering merchant services to any type of business. 

Benefits

  • Integrations with POS systems: PaymentCloud can integrate with many POS systems, eliminating the need to manually reconcile transaction data.
  • Flexible payments and QR codes: In addition to credit card and contactless payments, Payment Cloud also allows customers to pay by scanning a QR code at checkout.
  • Flexible hardware options: PaymentCloud offers a variety of hardware options, letting you pick and choose only what you need for your business.

Pricing: PaymentCloud doesn’t currently list pricing on its website, so contact their sales team for a quote.

3. Soar Payments

Soar Payments specializes in high-risk payment processing, making them an ideal fit for convenience stores that offer a wide range of high-risk items.

Benefits

  • Wide range of hardware and software: Soar offers various options to accept in-person, mobile, and e-commerce payments.
  • Flexible integrations: Soar Payments offers a wide range of integrations with accounting, e-commerce, marketing, and other software platforms. 
  • After-hours tech support: Soar Payments boasts after-hour tech support for all of its customers.

Pricing: Soar Payments does not list pricing on their website, but you can fill out a form to receive an instant quote depending on your needs.

 

Simplify Payments With In-House Payment Processing

Working with a high-risk payment processor is a necessity when running a modern convenience store — but which one is right for you?

If your business is high-risk, make sure to work with a payment processor that fits your needs without complicating your day-to-day. We always recommend working with a payment processor that integrates directly with your POS system. This will keep your transaction information all in one place for use in demand forecasting, analyzing daily sales reports, and more.

C-Store POS combines a comprehensive convenience store management platform with solutions specifically built for high-risk businesses. With C-Store POS you can streamline your processes, improve customer satisfaction, and seamlessly process customer payments without complicated or expensive add-ons. 

Contact our team today to see how C-Store POS can simplify your high-risk payment processing needs.

About C-Store

C-Store POS offers the ideal solution. No complex integrations, no contracts, no waiting on hold to talk to service reps who can't help you.
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