INDUSTRIES
Twenty-plus years means seeing every kind of merchant deal go right and go wrong. Standard verticals, high-risk verticals, brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, multi-location — the patterns repeat, and so do the mistakes.
THE WORK
Most processor sales reps are generalists. They pitch the same rate to a restaurant, a contractor, and a chiropractor — even though those three businesses have wildly different card mixes, ticket sizes, chargeback profiles, and customer payment patterns. The "fair" rate for each is different, and the right pricing structure for each is different.
I work across both standard and high-risk verticals. Each has its own quirks: which processors actually serve it well, which contracts to avoid, which compliance pitfalls trip merchants up. Below is a non-exhaustive list of where most of my clients live, plus what's specific about each.
STANDARD VERTICALS
Tight margins, high transaction volume, lots of debit cards and gratuity adjustments. Dual pricing or cash discount usually does the heaviest lifting here. POS choice matters more than rate — some POS systems lock you into specific processors with bad rates.
Mobile-first POS (Square, Clover Go, etc.) is often the easiest start, but the rate becomes painful fast as volume grows. Mobile dual pricing exists and works well — most food truck operators don't know about it.
Most flexible vertical. Card-present is cheaper than e-commerce, ticket size varies by category, and rewards-card mix is high. Interchange-plus is usually the right structure here.
Service-based with appointment booking, gratuity, and product retail mixed together. Often locked into a POS that handles scheduling well but processing badly. Dual pricing works well; tip handling needs careful POS configuration.
Recurring billing dominates — monthly memberships, package upgrades, retail upsells. ACH/eCheck for memberships saves significant money over card-on-file. Interchange-plus on the card side, eCheck for memberships.
Field-service trades. Higher tickets, often invoice-based, customers paying by card-not-present. Mobile virtual terminals matter; eCheck for B2B and high-ticket residential cuts costs significantly. Watch for recurring service membership programs that need separate handling.
Big-ticket, project-based, often deposit + final-payment patterns. Card-not-present is high. Some merchants don't take card at all because they think the fees are unaffordable on a $20k roof — interchange-plus or dual pricing can change that math entirely.
Mid-ticket, mostly card-present, occasional fleet/business cards. Service writers handle most transactions; integrating with shop management software (Mitchell, Tekmetric, etc.) is critical. Interchange-plus is usually right.
Dental, medical, chiropractic. HIPAA-adjacent considerations on the storage side. Mid-to-high ticket, often payment plans, sometimes HSA/FSA cards. Recurring billing for treatment plans needs proper handling. Interchange-plus, with eCheck for high-ticket payment plans.
Legal, accounting, IT, consulting. Mostly invoice-based, customer-not-present, high ticket. eCheck/ACH should be the default for invoicing — saves enormous money over card on a $10k legal bill. Most professional services merchants don't have eCheck set up because their processor never offered it.
Recurring rent collection. ACH/eCheck is the right answer for almost everyone — card processing on rent is a money pit. Some markets allow surcharging on rent payments; some don't. Compliance matters.
Card-not-present means higher interchange costs and higher fraud risk. Card type mix varies by audience. Gateway selection (Authorize.net, NMI, Stripe, etc.) often matters more than processor selection. Interchange-plus on a real ISO beats Stripe's flat rate at scale.
The vertical where eCheck/ACH almost always wins. Big-ticket invoices, predictable customers, recurring patterns. Most B2B merchants are on a card processor when they should be 80% on eCheck.
Cities, counties, special districts collecting utility payments, taxes, permit fees, court fines. Compliance matters (PCI, accessibility, government accounting standards). Convenience-fee structures are often the right path — passes the cost to the payer without burdening the general fund.
Donations, recurring giving, event registration, dues. Rate matters more here than in any vertical because every dollar in fees is a dollar not going to mission. Special nonprofit interchange rates exist; many processors don't pass them through correctly.
HIGH-RISK VERTICALS
"High-risk" in the payments world doesn't mean "shady." It means a vertical that the major banks have classified as having higher chargeback risk, regulatory complexity, or reputational concerns. The label is often wrong (low-chargeback merchants in technically high-risk categories get treated the same as actual high-risk businesses), but the consequences are real: punitive rates, frozen accounts, sudden terminations, or refusals to board entirely.
I work with high-risk merchants directly. The analysis is the same — read the statement, find the leaks, recommend the right path — but the recommendation usually involves processors who actually understand the vertical.
Subscription-heavy, regulatory-watched, high-chargeback if marketing isn't disciplined. Need processors who understand the difference between an FTC-compliant claim structure and a punishable one.
Heavily regulated by state. Need correct merchant category code (MCC) and processors who actually handle the vertical (most don't).
Even "soft" categories (lingerie, novelty) can get auto-flagged by mainstream processors. Specialized providers exist; rates are higher but you keep the account.
Sometimes a merchant gets flagged not because of their vertical but because of their chargeback history. Recovery is possible — proper dispute response, customer-service tightening, and the right processor relationship can rebuild standing.
This is the moment most merchants assume they're stuck. They're usually not. Talk to me before you accept a punitive rate from a "high-risk specialist" or assume you have to go offshore. The right processor for a high-risk vertical isn't always the most expensive one.
WHO I DON'T WORK WITH
A few categories I don't take on, either because of regulatory complexity I'm not equipped for or because of clear legal restrictions:
If you're not sure whether your business fits, just ask. If it's a hard "no," I'll tell you on day one instead of wasting your time.
DIDN'T SEE YOUR INDUSTRY?
This list isn't comprehensive — I work with merchants in categories I haven't put on this page. The 24-hour analysis works the same regardless of vertical: I read your statement, look at your card mix and volume, and tell you whether there's room to save and what path makes sense.
If you're unsure whether your business fits, just upload your statement. If it's a hard "no" for any reason, I'll tell you in the first email instead of wasting your time.
YOUR VERTICAL, YOUR STATEMENT
Standard or high-risk, restaurant or roofing — the analysis is the same. Send the last statement and I'll read it like I would for a 20-year client.
RECOMMENDED
60 seconds to submit. 24 hours later you'll have a personalized analysis tuned to your vertical's quirks — real numbers, plain English.
Send the statementPREFER TO TALK FIRST
Quick conversation about your current setup. Vertical-specific questions, compliance concerns, or general processor advice — no pitch.
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