Compared side by side on published facts and the same six criteria every review is graded on — generated from the live directory, not a sales page.
C
High Risk Pay
Agent Office / Reseller · 3.2/5 mean
High Risk Pay is a merchant account provider specializing in high-risk merchant services and payment processing solutions including credit card and ACH acceptance for businesses that struggle with traditional payment processors.
PayKings holds the higher standing — by grade, then mean category score. The row-by-row picture below is what should actually decide it for your business.
Both graded against the same six criteria. How we grade · Last fact-checked August 19, 2026 and September 7, 2026.
The six criteria
High Risk Pay and PayKings scored out of 5 on each of the six review criteria.
Criterion
High Risk Pay
PayKings
Pricing transparency
3.0
4.5✓wins this criterion
Feature set
3.0
4.5✓wins this criterion
Ease of use
3.0
Published facts
Straight from each provider's published documentation. Where a number isn't published, we say so rather than estimate.
Published rates, fees and terms for High Risk Pay and PayKings.
Metric
High Risk Pay
PayKings
Online rate
Starting around 2.19% + $0.25 for good-credit merchant accounts
IC + 1.10% + 25c, or IC + 0.80% + 10c above $100K/mo.
Monthly fee
Starting at $9.95
$13 (waived on Growth).
Payout
Next business day (advertised)
T+2, or next-day above $100K/mo.
Contract
Not disclosed
No long-term contracts.
In-person rate
Around 1.79% + $0.25
The same published markups apply in person — there is no card-present discount on the Starter tier.
Keyed rate
Not disclosed
Same published markups; PayKings does not price by entry mode.
How our reviewers frame this matchup
From the High Risk Pay review
PayKings publishes interchange-plus pricing across three tiers and approves restricted verticals, giving merchants a transparency anchor that High Risk Pay's undisclosed fee schedule cannot match. High Risk Pay may still appeal to merchants who want fast, flexible underwriting without PayKings's typical multi-year agreements and rolling reserves.
Pick PayKings if you process higher volume and want published interchange-plus tiers instead of teaser rates
Who each one is for
High Risk Pay
Ideal for
High-risk industries such as adult, travel, subscription, bad credit, and other sectors that struggle with mainstream processors
Merchants needing fast approvals and flexible underwriting
Merchants graduating from Stripe / Square who need real account management
Businesses that want published interchange-plus pricing as a negotiation anchor before talking to specialty acquirers
Not recommended for
Low-volume merchants under $25K/mo — flat-rate competitors (Square, Stripe) will likely cost less than IC + 1.10%
High card-present-volume retailers — Helcim's ~0.20% CP markup is meaningfully cheaper than PayKings's flat 1.10% Starter markup on the same swipe
Strengths and trade-offs
High Risk Pay
✓Competitive transaction and monthly pricing tiers for high-risk merchants
✓No application or setup fees
✓High approval rate claims with quick underwriting
✓Positive individual customer service reports
✕Leadership and corporate details are not publicly documented, which is unusual for a company operating since 1997
✕Advertised teaser rates omit chargeback, PCI, statement, and early termination fees, none of which are disclosed
✕Contract length and cancellation terms are not published at all
✕Thin verified review footprint (one Trustpilot page) and mixed reports of overly persistent sales outreach
PayKings
✓Publishes interchange-plus pricing across three tiers on its own site — IC + 1.10% + 25c on Starter, IC + 0.80% + 10c above $100K a month — which almost no high-risk specialist does.
Still deciding?
The full reviews carry the pricing narratives, contract analysis and everything else behind these numbers — or let the matching funnel score the whole directory against your business.
Not supported. PayKings places US merchant accounts only.
PCI fee
Not specifically disclosed
$4.50/month.
Chargeback fee
Not disclosed
$25 per incident.
Last fact-checked
August 19, 2026
September 7, 2026
Brand-new businesses in unrestricted verticals — flat-rate predictability is easier to forecast in early months
Merchants who refuse to share processing statements during underwriting
✓Publishes settlement speed per tier too: T+2 on Starter, next-day on Growth, same-day where available on Enterprise.
✓Advertises no setup fees and no long-term contracts, and Merchant Maverick's July 2026 review records the same.
✓Approves restricted verticals mainstream processors decline — CBD, nutraceuticals, firearms, debt relief and around fifty others.
✕PayKings is an agent office, not a registered ISO, and its site does not say so. The merchant agreement, the reserve, the funding timetable and any termination fee come from whichever ISO your file is placed with, not from PayKings.
✕Because of that, the published rate card is PayKings' offer rather than a guaranteed contract term — the final paper is the back end's.
✕No card-present discount on the Starter tier: the same 1.10% markup applies to a swipe as to a keyed card-not-present sale, which is expensive for a retailer.
✕Rolling reserves are normal on higher-risk files, and neither the percentage nor the release schedule is published.