Financial Services Merchant Accounts: Card Payments for Regulated and Specialist Firms

Financial Services Payment Processing

Financial services businesses can face very different payment-processing requirements from conventional ecommerce or retail merchants.

But the term financial services merchant account can be misleading.

Financial services is not one merchant category, and payment providers do not assess every financial business in the same way.

A financial adviser taking a card payment for a professional advice fee presents a very different payment proposition from a business using cards to fund an investment account, transfer money, repay debt or purchase a financial instrument.

The first question should therefore not be:

“Which payment providers accept financial services?”

It should be:

“What exactly is the customer paying for, how does the money move, and which providers are willing and able to support that activity?”

This guide explains how merchant accounts work for financial services businesses, why some payment providers apply additional underwriting, how FCA status can affect an application and what firms should review before selecting a provider.

Key Takeaways

• Financial services is not one payment-risk category.
• Provider appetite can depend on the precise regulated activity, product, payment flow and Merchant Category Code.
• Taking payment for a professional fee is different from using a card to fund an investment, wallet, money-transfer account or other financial product.
• FCA authorisation or registration can be relevant to underwriting, but it does not guarantee payment-provider acceptance.
• A merchant account does not give a business permission to conduct regulated financial activity.
• Providers may request evidence of FCA authorisation, registration, permissions, appointed-representative status or other regulatory position where relevant.
• Financial-services underwriting can also consider transaction values, chargebacks, customer geography, recurring payments, source of funds, marketing, refunds and previous processing history.
• Some financial activities are restricted or unsupported by individual PSPs even where the underlying business is lawful.
• High transaction values and international customers can materially change the provider shortlist.
• Businesses should establish provider eligibility before comparing transaction rates.

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What Is a Financial Services Merchant Account?

A financial services merchant account is a payment-processing arrangement used by a business operating within or alongside the financial-services sector to accept eligible card payments.

It is not necessarily a special type of bank account.

The phrase is generally used to describe merchant acquiring for businesses whose activities require additional consideration because of:

• regulation;
• the nature of the financial product or service;
• how customer money is used;
• transaction values;
• chargeback exposure;
• customer geography;
• card-scheme requirements;
• provider policy; or
• other underwriting factors.

Depending on the provider, gateway and business, the merchant may be able to accept payments:

• online;
• through payment links;
• over the telephone;
• face to face;
• through recurring card payments; or
• through a bespoke API or platform integration.

The Most Important Question: What Is the Customer Actually Paying For?

This is where financial-services payment applications often become much clearer.

Consider the difference between the following transactions.

Although every example could broadly be described as “financial services”, they create very different payment flows.

MAS View

Payment providers need to understand the purpose of the transaction, not simply the industry label.

This is particularly important where card funds are being used to fund, purchase, transfer or repay something financial rather than simply pay the merchant for a conventional service. 

Being FCA authorised or regulated does not automatically mean every acquiring bank will support the business. Payment providers still apply their own merchant-underwriting and acceptance criteria. Our Payment Provider Risk Appetite guide explains the distinction between regulatory permission and provider acceptance.

Are Financial Services Businesses Considered High Risk?

Sometimes, but not automatically.

It is too simplistic to say that every financial-services business is high risk.

A provider may be comfortable with one regulated activity and unwilling to support another.

Current payment-provider policies illustrate this clearly.

For example, Adyen's current restricted and prohibited business list distinguishes between multiple types of financial activity. Some financial-service activities are marked as restricted and can require additional documentation, while other activities are prohibited under its policy.

See Adyen's current restricted and prohibited business policy.

Stripe likewise states that many financial services require additional review or may not be supportable, with categories including investment, lending, money transmission, currency exchange and other financial products subject to its current eligibility criteria.

See Stripe's current restricted-business guidance.

These are examples of provider policy rather than recommendations or a statement that every provider takes the same approach.

Provider appetite can change.

This is why a business should not assume:

“Provider X supports financial services.”

A more useful question is:

“Does Provider X currently support our precise activity, payment flow, jurisdiction and regulatory position?”

FCA Authorisation and Merchant Account Approval Are Different Things

A merchant account does not authorise a business to conduct regulated financial activity.

Likewise, being authorised or registered with the Financial Conduct Authority does not automatically guarantee a merchant-account approval.

The FCA states that many financial-services activities require the business to be appropriately authorised or registered, and the Financial Services Register provides a public record of firms and individuals that are or have been authorised by the FCA or Prudential Regulation Authority.

Check the FCA Financial Services Register.

A payment provider may therefore ask:

• Is the business FCA authorised?
• Is it FCA registered?
• Is it an appointed representative?
• Which regulated permissions does it hold?
• Does the activity being processed sit within those permissions?
• Is another regulated principal involved?
• Is the activity exempt or outside the regulatory perimeter?
• Which jurisdictions does the business operate in?

The merchant should be able to explain its regulatory position accurately.

The payment provider's underwriting team is not a substitute for regulatory advice.

Payment Services and Financial Services Regulation Are Not the Same Thing

This distinction is particularly important for businesses moving or holding money on behalf of customers.

The FCA states that regulated payment services can include:

• execution of payment transactions;
• card acquiring;
• money remittance;
• payment initiation services;
• account information services; and
• other activities defined by the Payment Services Regulations.

Read the FCA's guidance on the Payment Services Regulations and Electronic Money Regulations.

A business can therefore create an additional regulatory issue if it is not merely collecting money for its own goods or services but receiving customer money before passing it to another party.

The FCA specifically warns businesses such as marketplaces and booking platforms that receiving customer money before passing it onwards can potentially amount to providing a regulated payment service.

See the FCA's guidance on whether a business may be providing payment services.

MAS View

Merchant acquiring and regulatory permissions should be reviewed separately.

A technically possible payment flow is not necessarily a regulatory permission to operate that flow.

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Which Financial Services Businesses May Need Specialist Card Processing?

Examples can include:

• financial advisers;
• wealth-management businesses;
• insurance brokers;
• insurance providers;
• mortgage businesses;
• credit brokers;
• lenders;
• claims-management companies;
• debt-management or debt-collection businesses;
• investment businesses;
• trading businesses;
• foreign-exchange services;
• money-transfer businesses;
• payment institutions;
• electronic-money institutions;
• financial information and research services;
• subscription financial products;
• fintech businesses; and
• other regulated or specialist financial-service firms.

These examples should not be treated as one homogeneous provider category.

Provider suitability needs to be considered at individual business-model level.

Why Can Financial Services Merchant Accounts Be Harder to Obtain?

Payment providers can have several reasons for carrying out additional underwriting.

Regulatory Risk

The provider may need to establish that the business has the appropriate authorisation, registration or permissions where required.

Transaction Purpose

The provider may distinguish between paying for a service and using a card to fund or purchase a financial product.

High Transaction Values

Financial-services transactions can sometimes involve significantly higher card values than conventional retail payments.

Chargeback Exposure

A customer may dispute a financial transaction after the underlying funds or financial benefit have already moved elsewhere.

International Customers

Customer geography, card-issuer location and regulated activity across several jurisdictions can increase complexity.

Financial Crime Controls

The provider may need confidence in how the merchant identifies customers, manages fraud and complies with relevant financial-crime obligations.

Marketing and Consumer Treatment

Marketing claims, customer communications, cancellation rights and complaint patterns can also influence underwriting.

Provider Policy

Sometimes there is no defect with the merchant at all.

The business may simply sit outside that provider's current risk appetite.

Does FCA Regulation Make Getting a Merchant Account Easier?

It can provide useful evidence about the business, but it should not be treated as automatic approval.

Where regulation applies, payment providers may view clear regulatory status positively because it helps establish:

• who regulates the business;
• what activities it is authorised to perform;
• which legal entity holds the permissions;
• the responsible individuals;
• the firm's current status; and
• whether the activity described in the payment application appears consistent with the regulatory position.

However, the acquiring provider still carries out its own underwriting.

It may separately consider:

• sector appetite;
• transaction type;
• financial performance;
• processing history;
• refunds;
• chargebacks;
• fraud;
• customer countries;
• business structure; and
• commercial exposure.

Financial Promotions Can Become Part of Payment Underwriting

For businesses marketing regulated financial products or services to consumers, the website is more than a checkout.

It may also contain regulated financial promotions.

The FCA states that financial promotions should be fair, clear and not misleading.

Read the FCA's financial promotions guidance.

A payment underwriter may therefore review:

• claims made on the website;
• returns or performance claims;
• risk warnings;
• pricing and fees;
• customer eligibility;
• the legal business name;
• regulatory disclosures;
• contact information;
• refund and cancellation terms;
• complaints procedures; and
• whether the website matches the business described in the application.

A payment provider approving a website does not mean the provider has approved the merchant's financial promotions for regulatory purposes.

Consumer Duty May Also Be Relevant to Some Financial Services Firms

Where the FCA's Consumer Duty applies, firms are expected to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.

The Duty came into force for open products and services in July 2023 and for relevant closed products and services in July 2024.

Read the FCA's Consumer Duty policy statement.

The relevance of the Duty depends on the firm, product and customer relationship.

It should not be assumed to apply identically to every financial-services merchant.

However, areas such as:

• customer understanding;
• pricing;
• cancellation;
• support;
• complaints; and
• communications

can also influence the overall quality of the merchant's payment and customer journey.

Professional Fees Are Different From Account Funding

This distinction deserves particular attention.

Professional Fee

A regulated adviser might charge £1,000 for advice that has been provided to a customer.

The card payment is payment to the merchant for its own service.

Account Funding

Another business might take £1,000 from the customer's credit card and use that amount to fund an investment, trading account, stored-value account or another financial position.

The money flow is fundamentally different.

The second transaction may create additional:

• provider restrictions;
• scheme considerations;
• regulatory questions;
• chargeback exposure;
• fraud concerns; and
• source-of-funds considerations.

MAS View

Do not submit a merchant-account application simply saying “financial services”. Explain exactly what the cardholder receives in exchange for the card transaction.

High-Value Financial Services Payments Need Specific Underwriting

Average and maximum card values can materially change provider appetite.

Consider:

Even where the sector is acceptable, a provider may have:

• maximum transaction-value limits;
• daily processing limits;
• monthly volume limits;
• additional approval requirements;
• reserve requirements; or
• enhanced monitoring for unusually large transactions.

Merchants should therefore disclose both average and maximum ticket values.

Recurring Payments for Financial Services

Recurring card payments can be useful for:

• ongoing adviser fees;
• memberships;
• insurance-related payments where appropriate;
• financial-information subscriptions;
• software or fintech services;
• account-management fees; and
• other recurring services.

However, the provider needs to understand:

• what the customer is agreeing to;
• frequency of payment;
• how cancellation works;
• whether the amount changes;
• how future charges are communicated;
• how stored payment credentials are managed;
• what happens after a failed payment; and
• whether merchant-initiated transactions are required.

For the technical side, see our Subscription Payment Processing guide.

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Should Financial Services Businesses Accept Credit Cards?

Not every financial transaction should automatically be accepted by card.

The business should consider:

• provider eligibility;
• card-scheme requirements;
• regulation;
• transaction values;
• chargeback exposure;
• credit-funded financial activity;
• fraud;
• cost;
• customer experience; and
• whether another payment method is more suitable.

Depending on the use case, alternatives can include:

• bank transfer;
• Direct Debit;
• Pay by Bank;
• payment links;
• debit-card-only arrangements; or
• another provider-approved payment flow.

The appropriate method depends on the underlying activity.

Debit Card Only Can Be Relevant for Some Financial Activities

Some businesses may want to accept debit cards while restricting or avoiding credit-card payments.

Reasons can include:

• commercial policy;
• provider underwriting;
• the nature of the financial transaction;
• consumer-credit concerns;
• scheme requirements; or
• risk management.

This needs to be designed into the payment setup rather than assumed.

The merchant should confirm whether the proposed gateway and acquirer can support the required card-type controls.

Payment Links for Financial Services

Payment links can work particularly well where a financial-services firm:

• issues invoices;
• collects professional fees;
• takes payments after a telephone conversation;
• does not require a full ecommerce checkout; or
• wants customers to enter card details themselves rather than disclose them over the telephone.

The payment provider still needs to approve the underlying business and transaction type.

A payment link does not change the merchant's regulatory or underwriting profile.

MOTO Payments Require Additional Care

Some financial-services businesses still collect payments over the telephone.

MOTO — mail order/telephone order — transactions can carry different authentication and fraud characteristics from standard ecommerce payments.

A provider may therefore want to understand:

• why MOTO is required;
• what proportion of transactions use it;
• transaction values;
• how customers are verified;
• how card details are handled;
• PCI DSS arrangements;
• fraud history; and
• chargeback levels.

Payment Gateways for Financial Services

The correct gateway depends on the payment journey.

Relevant capabilities can include:

• hosted checkout;
• payment links;
• 3D Secure;
• tokenisation;
• recurring payments;
• API integration;
• transaction controls;
• refund functionality;
• fraud tools;
• reporting;
• reconciliation;
• multi-currency;
• multiple MIDs; and
• multiple acquiring relationships where genuinely required.

However, gateway capability should follow provider eligibility.

A gateway can technically process a transaction while the acquiring provider remains unwilling to support the merchant.

For more on this distinction, see our Payment Gateways for High-Risk Merchants guide.

International Financial Services Businesses

Cross-border financial activity can create additional complexity.

The business may need to consider:

• where the legal entity is based;
• where it is regulated;
• where customers are located;
• where transactions are acquired;
• which currencies customers pay in;
• which currencies the business receives;
• local regulatory permissions;
• cross-border card costs;
• FX;
• fraud;
• chargebacks; and
• provider country restrictions.

A provider supporting a financial-services firm in the UK does not automatically mean that the same provider will support the business in every international market.

For broader cross-border payment considerations, see our International Merchant Accounts & Payments guide.

Accepting Multiple Currencies Does Not Solve the Regulatory Question

Multi-currency processing is a payment capability.

It does not determine whether a business is authorised to offer a financial product or service in another country.

A firm might technically be able to:

• charge in EUR;
• settle in EUR;
• use local European acquiring; or
• accept an overseas-issued card.

None of those capabilities automatically establishes whether the underlying financial service can legally be offered to the customer.

Payment architecture and regulatory market access should therefore be reviewed separately.

For the payment side of currency acceptance, see our Multi-Currency Merchant Accounts guide.

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What Will Payment Providers Usually Ask a Financial Services Business?

Requirements differ by provider and activity, but financial-services merchants should be prepared to explain the business in more detail than a conventional low-risk retail application.

Explain the Money Flow Clearly

This can be one of the most useful things a financial-services merchant does before approaching a provider.

The payment provider may need to understand:

Customer → Merchant → What happens next?

For example:

Model A: Advice Fee

Customer pays £1,000 → financial adviser receives £1,000 → payment settles as revenue for advice provided.

Model B: Investment Funding

Customer pays £10,000 → money is transferred into an investment structure → financial asset or position is created.

Model C: Money Transfer

Customer pays £1,000 → funds are passed onwards to another beneficiary.

Model D: Debt Collection

Customer pays £500 → funds represent repayment of an outstanding debt → money may subsequently be distributed according to the commercial arrangement.

Those are not interchangeable payment risks.

MAS View

The cleaner the money-flow explanation, the easier it is to identify which payment providers are genuinely relevant.

Why Applications Get Declined

A decline does not necessarily mean the business cannot accept cards.

Possible reasons include:

• provider does not support the sector;
• provider does not support the specific financial activity;
• regulatory status cannot be verified;
• permissions do not appear to match the activity;
• transaction values exceed provider appetite;
• customer geography is unsuitable;
• money flow is unclear;
• website information is incomplete;
• previous processing history raises concerns;
• chargeback levels are too high;
• financial information is insufficient;
• the proposed payment method is unsuitable; or
• the provider's internal policy has changed.

If a business has already been declined, it is generally more useful to understand the likely reason before submitting applications to several other providers.

Our High-Risk Merchant Account Applications guide explains how businesses can prepare more complex applications.

FCA Status Does Not Fix a Poor Application

Being regulated does not mean the merchant should submit a minimal payment application and expect automatic approval.

The provider may still need:

• a clear website;
• processing history;
• financial information;
• transaction data;
• chargeback information;
• customer geography;
• money-flow explanations;
• terms and conditions;
• refund policies;
• complaints information; and
• technical requirements.

Regulatory status is one part of underwriting, not the entire application.

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Financial Services Websites Are Part of the Underwriting Evidence

A payment provider will often review the merchant's website.

The site should make it reasonably clear:

• which legal entity customers contract with;
• what products or services are offered;
• what customers are paying for;
• pricing or how charges are determined;
• regulatory status where relevant;
• contact details;
• terms and conditions;
• refund/cancellation arrangements;
• complaints procedures; and
• relevant risk or regulatory disclosures.

If the website describes one business while the merchant-account application appears to describe another, underwriting can become unnecessarily difficult.

Should a Financial Services Business Use One PSP or Several?

One provider may be perfectly adequate.

Multiple acquiring relationships can become relevant where there is a genuine requirement such as:

• different countries;
• different legal entities;
• different financial products;
• different Merchant Category Codes;
• resilience;
• regional acquiring;
• materially different payment flows; or
• high processing volumes requiring a more sophisticated architecture.

But adding providers creates additional:

• underwriting;
• technical work;
• contracts;
• settlement;
• reconciliation;
• fraud management;
• refund processes; and
• operational complexity.

It should therefore solve a defined problem.

For businesses considering this architecture, see our Acquirer-Agnostic Payment Gateways guide.

How Should Financial Services Businesses Compare Merchant Account Pricing?

Start with providers that can genuinely support the activity.

Only then compare commercial terms.

Relevant costs may include:

• card-processing rate;
• interchange;
• scheme fees;
• provider margin;
• gateway charges;
• authorisation fees;
• 3D Secure charges where applicable;
• refund fees;
• chargeback fees;
• international-card fees;
• cross-border charges;
• FX;
• minimum monthly charges;
• reserve requirements;
• settlement timing; and
• integration costs.

A lower processing rate is not necessarily the best deal if the provider imposes materially worse settlement, reserve or operational terms.

For higher-volume businesses, see our High-Turnover Payment Fee Audit guide.

Do Financial Services Merchant Accounts Require a Rolling Reserve?

Not automatically.

A reserve is a provider-specific underwriting decision.

Potential factors include:

• business model;
• transaction values;
• chargeback history;
• financial strength;
• processing history;
• customer geography;
• refund exposure;
• time between payment and delivery of the service; and
• the provider's own risk policy.

If a reserve is proposed, compare:

• percentage retained;
• retention period;
• release schedule;
• settlement delay;
• conditions for reviewing the reserve; and
• working-capital impact.

Don't Apply to Providers Based on a Generic “Financial Services Accepted” Claim

A provider comparison should go deeper than sector labels.

Ask:

• Do you support our exact regulated activity?
• Do you support the way customers pay us?
• Do you support our MCC?
• Do you support our average and maximum ticket?
• Do you support our customer countries?
• Can we accept credit cards, debit cards or both?
• Can the payment be used for this particular purpose?
• Do you support recurring transactions?
• Can you support our gateway or integration?
• Do you require a reserve?
• What are the settlement terms?
• What documentation is required?

This should happen before the merchant makes a formal application wherever possible.

The MAS Financial Services Merchant Account Test

Before comparing payment providers, we would normally break the requirement into six areas.

1. Regulatory Fit

What is the firm's regulatory position and does the proposed payment activity fit it?

2. Transaction Fit

What exactly is the customer paying for?

3. Money-Flow Fit

Does the merchant keep the payment as revenue for its own service, or does some or all of the money move elsewhere?

4. Underwriting Fit

Which providers currently have appetite for the activity, transaction values, customer geography and merchant profile?

5. Technical Fit

Does the business need payment links, recurring billing, ecommerce checkout, MOTO, API integration or another payment structure?

6. Commercial Fit

What do processing, gateway, settlement, reserves, international charges and other terms cost in total?

MAS View

For financial services, provider selection should follow the transaction rather than the industry label.

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What Information Should You Have Ready?

How Merchant Advice Service Approaches Financial Services Merchant Accounts

Merchant Advice Service does not assume that every financial-services business requires the same payment provider.

We first try to understand:

• what the business does;
• its regulatory position;
• what the customer is paying for;
• how money moves;
• transaction values;
• processing volumes;
• customer countries;
• existing processing history;
• payment methods;
• technical integrations; and
• any previous declines or terminated facilities.

From there, the aim is to identify payment-provider routes whose stated/current appetite may be relevant to the requirement.

MAS does not provide FCA authorisation, regulatory advice or payment-provider approval.

The selected provider completes its own underwriting, Know Your Customer and Know Your Business checks, risk assessment and final pricing.

For more about our process, see How Merchant Advice Service Works and How MAS Researches and Compares Payment Providers.

Sources & Further Reading

Financial Conduct Authority — Financial Services Register

The FCA's public register of firms, individuals and other bodies that are or have been authorised or registered by the FCA or PRA.

FCA Financial Services Register

Financial Conduct Authority — Payment Services Regulations and Electronic Money Regulations

FCA guidance on regulated payment services, payment institutions and electronic-money businesses.

FCA payment-services regulation guidance

Financial Conduct Authority — Consider Whether You Provide Payment Services

FCA guidance for businesses whose activities may involve receiving customer money and passing it onwards.

FCA guidance on providing payment services

Financial Conduct Authority — Financial Promotions

FCA guidance covering promotions and advertising for regulated financial products and services.

FCA financial promotions guidance

Financial Conduct Authority — Consumer Duty

FCA policy and guidance setting higher standards for relevant retail financial-services firms.

FCA Consumer Duty

Adyen — Restricted and Prohibited Businesses

Current provider example demonstrating how individual financial-services activities can have different eligibility requirements.

Adyen restricted and prohibited products and services

Stripe — Restricted Businesses

Current provider guidance illustrating how some financial-services activities can require additional approval or be unsupported depending on the business.

Stripe restricted-business guidance

Related Merchant Advice Service Guidance

• High-Risk Merchant Accounts
• High-Risk Merchant Account Applications
• Payment Gateways for High-Risk Merchants
• International Merchant Accounts & Payments
• Multi-Currency Merchant Accounts
• Subscription Payment Processing
• Payment API Integration
• Acquirer-Agnostic Payment Gateways
• High-Turnover Payment Fee Audit
• Compare UK Payment Providers
• Payments Strategy Library

Editorial and Commercial Disclosure

Merchant Advice Service is an independent payments information, comparison and provider-matching service.

MAS may receive commission or a referral fee from some payment providers where a business chooses to proceed following an introduction. This does not determine the factual information, provider-selection principles or regulatory information included in this guide.

Merchant Advice Service is not affiliated with the Financial Conduct Authority, Adyen or Stripe. Providers referenced in this article are used as examples of current provider policies and have not paid for inclusion.

Financial-services regulation depends on the precise activity, legal entity, jurisdiction, customer and business model. Merchant Advice Service does not determine whether a business requires FCA authorisation, registration or particular regulatory permissions.

A merchant-account approval does not constitute regulatory approval and does not give a business permission to conduct regulated financial activity.

Provider sector appetite, restricted-business policies, underwriting requirements, pricing, reserves, settlement terms and technical capabilities can change.

Merchant Advice Service does not make payment-provider underwriting decisions and cannot guarantee merchant-account acceptance.

Regulatory and provider information last checked: 26 August 2026

This guide provides general payment information and should not be treated as legal, regulatory, compliance, investment, financial or technical advice.