Ellen Cibula
Written by Ellen Cibula Payments, Finance, and AI Expert: Learn More

Do you have a business that is high-risk or hard-to-place?

Durango Merchant Services are experts at helping businesses like yours. They have been in the business of securing merchant accounts for high-risk and difficult-to-place businesses for over two decades.

You can trust Durango Merchant Services to get the job done right. They know what it takes to get your business the best possible merchant account, so you can keep selling without interruptions. Plus, their team is always available to help with anything you need.

Why should you trust me? What do I know about Durango Merchant Services or payment processors?

I worked for over 15 years in the FinTech years, the last several at a large payment processor. I used my extensive experience with payments for the research for my Durango Merchant Services review. They are also one of my picks for the best ACH payment processors and best high-risk payment processors.

Durango Merchant Services Summary


Durango Merchant Services is the ultimate in convenience and reliability regarding online payments. With secure, cost-effective solutions, Durango offers a wide range of payment options, including credit card processing and ACH transactions.

Their excellent customer service team is always there to answer any questions and set up your system quickly and without hassle. With Durango’s cutting-edge technology, users know their information is safe, giving them peace of mind about their financial security.

Whether you’re an individual or a business, Durango Merchant Services makes it easy to process payments – so you can focus on what matters most.

High-Risk Businesses

Great choice for businesses in high-risk industries or other high-risk merchants.

Durango Merchant Services Gateway

Feature-packed gateway

Fast Approvals

Transparent onboarding processes

iSpyFraudTM

Real-time fraud scrubbing utility that helps to distinguish legitimate from fraudulent transactions

Customer Vault

PCI-compliant encrypted and tokenized customer credit card and ACH account data storage

CertifyPCITM

Automated and integrated web-based process to PCI-certify qualified merchants in minutes

Overall Rating:

4.8 / 5

Durango Merchant Services Pros

  • Specialize in High-Risk Merchants
  • Customized Pricing
  • Great Customer Service
  • Durango Payment Gateway

Durango Merchant Services Cons

  • Pricing Details not readily disclosed
Try Durango Merchant Services

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My Experience With Durango Merchant Services

I have not used Durango Merchant Services, but I am applying the knowledge I gained with my extensive experience working for a large payment processor in writing this review.

I also read the reviews on Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau, and Google. Here are my findings:

Trustpilot reviews

Trustpilot reviews for Durango Merchant Services

Durango Merchant Services has a solid 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot. Although there are not many reviews for Durango Merchant Services on Trustpilot, 97% are 5-star reviews; the remaining 3% are one-star reviews. This single reviewer was upset that Durango Merchant Services did not accept their business, as they didn’t qualify because of their low transaction volume and revenue.

BBB reviews

BBB reviews for Durango Merchant Services

The Better Business Bureau has accredited Durango Merchant Services, and they have an excellent A+ rating. There are no customer complaints filed with the BBB and one 5-star review.

Google reviews

Google reviews for Durango Merchant Services

The Durango Merchant Services reviews on Google are very positive, with 4.7 stars. Ninety-two percent (92%) of the reviews are 5-star; the remaining 8% are one-star reviews. All of the one-star reviews are from over five years ago; Durango Merchant Services answered all positive and negative reviews. Unfortunately, in one of the negative reviews, they do not have a record of a customer with that name; in the other negative review, Durango Merchant Services resolved the issue, but the customer did not remove his negative review.

Who Are Durango Merchant Services?

Durango Merchant Services home page
Durango Merchant Services home page

Established in 1997, Durango Merchant Services is a leading provider of high-risk and difficult-to-acquire credit card processing solutions. Based in Durango, Colorado, they are committed to delivering exceptional customer service and flexible payment solutions to businesses of all sizes. With two decades of experience, Durango Merchant Services has become an industry leader in providing reliable and secure payment processing services.

It is important to note that Durango Merchant Services is not a processing bank but rather a merchant account brokerage firm. Similar to PaymentCloud, they specialize in negotiating with payment processors to secure the best solution for your business, including a Payment Facilitator with sub-MIDS for the single gateway account.

With their expertise and dedication to providing exceptional customer service, you can rest assured that you will get the most suitable processor for your business needs. In addition, they have relationships with multiple acquiring banks, which allows you to pick the best option for your business model.

When you choose Durango Merchant Services for your merchant service, you will get a dedicated account manager to manage your merchant account.

They provide a payment gateway with payment processing for many payment methods, including: 

What Businesses Are Served By Durango Merchant Services?

Screenshot of high-risk businesses served by Durango Merchant Services

Are you a high-risk business? Durango Merchant Service specializes in high-risk merchants but provides merchant accounts for all levels of companies. Using Durango Merchant Services for your payment gateway, you can accept payments, including contactless payments (e.g., Apple pay), mobile payments, credit card transactions, and ACH and e-check processing. They even accept multiple cryptocurrencies.

Are you a small business? Durango Merchant Service offers merchant accounts to all business sizes, whether you need low-risk accounts or high-risk accounts.

Do you need a high-risk merchant account? They specialize in high-risk industries, including eCommerce, travel companies, antique shops, insurance providers, pawn shops, online liquor sales, and membership websites. They also serve those with poor credit or businesses with a high volume of sales.

Do you want to process multicurrency transactions? Durango Merchant Services will work with international merchants to accept multicurrency transactions, including businesses in the US/UK Virgin Islands and EU/UK. In addition, they will provide multicurrency merchant accounts for those that want to process cross-border transactions.

Do you want to offer more than Level I processing? Durango Merchant Services also offer Level II and Level III processing.

What benefits does Durango Merchant Services provide?

Durango Merchant Services offers a wide range of features that make it the top choice for processing payments. Users benefit from secure encryption technology, competitive rates and fees, an extensive selection of payment methods, and 24/7 top-notch customer service ready to answer any questions.

With Durango’s advanced fraud protection tools and real-time reporting capabilities, users have complete control over their financial data. Whether you’re an individual or a business, Durango Merchant Services makes online payments easy and secure – so you can concentrate on what matters most.

High-Risk Merchant Accounts

Durango Merchant Services offers comprehensive high-risk merchant account services to businesses needing help obtaining credit card processing solutions. Their expert team has the experience and knowledge to understand the complex challenges of servicing high-risk merchants. 

They specialize in industries such as Ammunition, Electronics and Software, Adult, Home Based Businesses, E-Commerce and Online Retailers, Multi-Level Marketing, and many more. Durango Merchant Services ensures that all transactions are secure, efficient, and reliable within a streamlined payment processing platform.

Durango Merchant Services Gateway

Durango Merchant Services Pay Gateway page

Durango Merchant Services offers a proprietary gateway to make online transactions secure, efficient, and reliable. This cutting-edge payment processing platform ensures that customers can make purchases confidently, knowing their data is protected at all times.

Some of the features of this gateway include:

  • Virtual terminal
  • Multicurrency transactions
  • All major payment types: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, China UnionPay, JCB, plus Google Pay and Apple Pay
  • Gateway emulator
  • Recurring billing
  • Powerful reporting
  • PCI compliance
  • Native shopping cart solution
  • POS Terminals that offer magstripe, EMV (chip), and Mobile transactions
Screenshot of Durango Merchant Services payment gateway
Durango Merchant Services Payment Gateway Features

The gateway also supports multiple currencies and payment methods, allowing merchants to accept payments worldwide. 

The proprietary gateway features such as advanced fraud protection and a user-friendly interface. This interface makes it easy for merchants to monitor, manage and analyze their transactions in real-time.

Fast Approvals

Durango Merchant Services offers fast approvals for high-risk merchants, with a transparent onboarding process designed to simplify the merchant account setup. Their quick turnaround time and minimal paperwork make them one of the most preferred merchant services providers for companies with difficulty obtaining credit card processing solutions. 

With Durango Merchant Services, merchants can count on secure and reliable payment processing systems and fast approval times. 

Furthermore, customers also benefit from a dedicated support staff who answer any queries they might have throughout the onboarding process.

iSpyFraudTM Fraud Utility

Durango Merchant Services offers its unique iSpyFraudTM fraud utility as part of their payment processing platform. This free utility provides merchants with real-time fraud scrubbing, helping to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent transactions. 

Additionally, the iSpyFraudTM utility includes gateway and fraud prevention training as a bonus. 

With the help of this utility, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions while also staying ahead of emerging trends in the payment processing industry.

Customer Vault

Durango Merchant Services offers customers a secure and convenient customer vault, which is PCI-compliant. This solution allows merchants to store customer credit card and ACH account data in an encrypted and tokenized format for fast and secure payment processing. 

The customer vault also features advanced security features such as multi-factor authentication and encryptions, ensuring that all stored customer data remains safe from unauthorized access. 

Furthermore, this solution also reduces merchant liability by allowing them to securely store sensitive financial information without maintaining it on their own databases.

CertifyPCITM Utility

Durango Merchant Services offers their CertifyPCITM utility as part of their payment processing platform. This secure and convenient utility helps merchants to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and allows them to validate their security measures easily. 

The CertifyPCITM utility includes automated vulnerability scanning, step-by-step guidance, and pre-configured reports so merchants can quickly identify any areas needing attention to remain compliant with the PCI-DSS. 

With this tool, businesses can be confident that they are taking all necessary steps to protect customer data and reduce the risk of fraud or data breaches.

Durango Merchant Services Pricing – How much does it cost?

Durango Merchant Services do not publicly disclose their pricing details; however, they claim that their account fees are transparent, and you will have no surprises with your monthly statements.

Durango Merchant Services can provide you with a customized pricing plan that considers the type of business, average transaction amount, monthly processing volume, and length of time in business. The standard per-transaction fee ranges from 1.00%-4.99%, while they do not disclose all other costs because of the many variables involved in pricing transactions for high-risk merchants.

Get in touch with Durango today to learn more about their unbeatable rates.

Durango Merchant Services Alternatives

There are several other merchant service providers specializing in high-risk merchants. These include PaymentCloud, eMerchant Broker, PayKings, and others. Here is my review of the best CBD payment processors and the best high-risk payment processors.

Frequently Asked Questions

A high-risk merchant account is a payment processing service used by businesses in industries deemed “high risk” by financial institutions. These high-risk industries can include online gambling sites, adult entertainment services, and cryptocurrency exchanges, among others. 

High-risk merchant accounts typically offer enhanced fraud protection and specialized customer service to help ensure that your transactions are secure and reliable. Additionally, the fees associated with these accounts are usually higher than those for traditional merchant accounts. 

Ultimately, using a high-risk merchant account ensures that your business can accept electronic payments safely and securely.

Merchant Services Review is a comprehensive service that helps businesses compare different payment processing providers to make an informed decision. In addition, they provide business customers with detailed information and ratings on the various merchant services, such as fees, customer service, and features. 

They also provide financial advice to ensure businesses take full advantage of their chosen payment processing provider. Merchant Services Review does extensive research to make sure their ratings and reviews are up-to-date and accurate for each provider. 

Their reviews can help businesses find the best option for them when choosing a payment processor.

A high-risk merchant is a business that deals in goods or services considered to be of higher risk to the merchant and the payment processor. These businesses include online adult entertainment, pharmaceuticals, travel agencies, and gambling websites. 

These merchants are typically subject to higher transaction fees compared to traditional merchants. They often require additional security measures such as address verification or 3D secure authentication to process transactions securely. 

High-risk merchants must establish an appropriate relationship with a payment processor specializing in high-risk account management to ensure all customers have a safe, secure transaction experience.

A Merchant Service Account is an agreement between a business and a payment processor that allows the company to accept credit and debit card payments. The account setup typically involves providing extensive documentation to a payment processor, such as financial statements and proof of address. 

Once approved, businesses must purchase transaction processing software or hardware to process payments using their merchant service account. This processing equipment allows customers to securely submit their payment details for processing, which is then routed through the merchant service provider before being deposited into the business’s bank account.

Conclusion – Is Durango Merchant Services Worth It?

Yes, I definitely recommend Durango Merchant Services because they offer several high-risk merchant accounts, a proprietary payment gateway, multiple options for accepting payments, fraud protection tools, fast approvals, and great customer service.

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