Home » High-Risk Payment Gateway and Credit Card Processing for Your WooCommerce Store

With over 6 million live websites, WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms, giving merchants an easy way to set up an online store using WordPress. It’s free, flexible, and works with a wide range of payment processors.

WooCommerce even has a built-in system called WooPayments, which is powered by Stripe. 

While this works for some businesses, it’s not an option for high-risk merchants. They need a third-party, high-risk payment gateway for WooCommerce to accept credit card payments securely.

In the following paragraphs, we will explain which businesses fall into this category and how they can find the right processor and gateway for their WooCommerce store. We will also share a story of how we developed a custom WooCommerce integration for one of our high-volume merchants in desperate need of a more reliable payment processing provider. 

Which businesses need a WooCommerce high-risk payment gateway?

Some merchants are not allowed to use WooPayments, Stripe, or PayPal. If your business is classified as high-risk, you’ll need to work with a payment processor and gateway that specializes in handling high-risk transactions.

Keep in mind that the high-risk categorization is very broad, and the lines are not always clear. For more details, this official WooCommerce documentation outlines what businesses and products are prohibited or restricted on WooPayments.

Despite those limitations, many high-risk and high-volume merchants still use WooCommerce to sell their products and services. Common examples include various supplements, subscription services, high-ticket items like electronics or collectibles, firearms, adult products, gaming, tobacco, and similar products.

If you operate in any of these industries, you’ll need a high-risk merchant account coupled with a modern payment gateway that can integrate with WooCommerce and handle your transactions securely.

How to choose the right high-risk payment gateway for your WooCommerce store?

There are many payment gateway providers that can integrate with WooCommerce. However, they don’t always provide you with a merchant account — the payment processing account where your funds are authorized and captured before being transferred to your business account.

Working with a full-service payment processor — like SecureGlobalPay —- that offers both a compatible payment gateway and a high-risk merchant account can:

• Increase approval chances: We already have relationships with banks that accept high-risk businesses.
• Reduce processing headaches: Everything (payment gateway, merchant account, and chargeback management) is handled under one provider.
• Offer better stability: Your account is less likely to get shut down unexpectedly.

What to look for when choosing a high-risk payment processing solution for WooCommerce:

• Industry experience: Choose a processor that specializes in high-risk merchants, ideally within your specific industry.
• WooCommerce integration: Make sure the payment gateway has a seamless WooCommerce plugin or API integration for hassle-free setup.
• Payment method support: Ensure the processor supports all credit cards, ACH payments, digital wallets, or other payment methods your customers use.
• Transparent pricing: Look for competitive rates with no hidden fees (such as early termination or excessive chargeback fees).
• Fraud & chargeback protection: A good payment gateway should include advanced fraud filters, chargeback alerts, and risk management tools to keep your business safe.
• Reliable customer support: High-risk merchants face more scrutiny, so having responsive support can save you from account freezes or processing delays.

Best WooCommerce payment gateways for high-risk merchants

Unlike many all-in-one payment platforms, high-risk solutions generally combine an underwritten merchant account with a compatible gateway and WooCommerce integration. 

If you already have a merchant account, you can go straight to the gateway providers like Authorize.net, NMI, and even SecureGlobalPay (although we underwrite accounts, you can opt to only use our gateway).

However, for most Woo merchants, it is simpler to do everything through one of these high-risk merchant service providers:

1. SecureGlobalPay offers domestic and offshore merchant accounts, a modern payment gateway, and a custom WooCommerce integration. Its gateway supports recurring billing, multi-currency processing, ACH and eCheck payments, fraud controls, and multiple merchant accounts with intelligent transaction routing. It is a strong option for high-volume, high-ticket, subscription-based, international, and hard-to-place businesses.
2. PaymentCloud provides dedicated merchant accounts for high-risk businesses and can connect WooCommerce stores through gateways such as Authorize.Net, NMI, and USAePay. The exact fraud, subscription, and reporting features depend on the gateway selected.
3. SoarPay specializes in high-risk merchant-account placement and offers WooCommerce-compatible options through Authorize.Net, NMI, and USAePay. It is a practical choice for merchants that prefer an established gateway platform and assistance with underwriting and integration.
4. Durango Merchant Services offers WooCommerce integration through plugins or APIs and supports features such as AVS and CVV checks, 3-D Secure, recurring billing, virtual-terminal payments, and optional multicurrency processing. It may suit merchants with international customers or more complex processing requirements.
5. Easy Pay Direct connects to WooCommerce through a third-party plugin and offers a gateway that can manage and route transactions across multiple merchant accounts. Its recurring billing, fraud-management, ACH, and transaction-routing capabilities may be useful for high-volume businesses that need greater processing redundancy.

While comparing providers, focus on processing rates, gateway and plugin fees, reserves, settlement times, chargeback tools integrations, contract terms, and technical support.

Why SecureGlobalPay offers a custom WooCommerce payment gateway integration

Initially, our payment gateway integrated with WooCommerce using one of the readily available plug-ins. That changed after we realized that some of our higher-volume merchants were unsatisfied with their existing account setups and needed customized solutions.

It all started with a high-risk WooCommerce merchant who was sick and tired of battling with Stripe and WePay:

After they completed the application process, we leveraged our relationships with many bank sponsors and acquirers to get them approved quickly. Since the merchant was processing hundreds of thousands each month, we immediately set them up with multiple MIDs — and turned on gateway load balancing and transaction routing.

After the approval, we set them up with a Sandbox account and directed them to one of the available WooCommerce plug-ins. When they initially downloaded the off-the-shelf extension, it did not work as they wanted. So we built our own custom WooCommerce integration.

Everything was ready and dialed in just before their peak season. Very soon, our team realized that if we did not raise the volume, we could run into issues due to their continued rapid growth. 

While going to bat for additional volume — even though he had no history with us — we secured the volume increase due to their previous processing history and solid track record. Along the way, we also enrolled them with RDR as our partners felt more comfortable providing the additional volume they needed to scale.

Both merchant accounts were flexed to the limit, but things worked like a charm as our team monitored their transactions daily. No money was held, and their chargebacks were minimal.

If you can recognize yourself in the merchant’s quote we shared above, reach out to our team — as we might have the perfect solution for your processing needs. 

How to integrate a third-party payment gateway with your WooCommerce store 

Integrating a payment gateway with a WooCommerce store is simpler than most merchants expect. Regardless of the gateway you are using, the process is basically the same.

Here is how it looks, step-by-step, using our payment gateway as an example.

Step 1: Apply for a high-risk merchant account

Before you can process payments, you’ll need a proper merchant account. You can apply using our online form. Our team will guide you through the approval process and ensure you get the best rates and terms for your industry and volume requirements.

Step 2: Receive your payment gateway credentials

Once your merchant account is approved, you’ll receive API keys and credentials to connect your payment gateway to your WooCommerce store.

Step 3: Install the SecureGlobalPay plugin

SGP provides a custom WooCommerce plugin for quick and easy integration. 

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
3. Upload the custom plugin file we provide.
4. Click Install and then Activate the plugin.

Here are detailed instructions with screenshots if you want to visualize the process.

Are you processing high volumes and have specific requirements? Our API allows for advanced customization and our dev team can build you a custom integration.

Step 4: Configure payment gateway settings

Once installed, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments and select SecureGlobalPay as your payment method. Enter your API credentials and configure settings such as:

• Accepted payment methods (credit cards, eCheck, ACH, etc.)
• Fraud protection settings
• Currency and region preferences
• Surcharge settings.

Step 5: Test transactions & go live

Before launching, run a few test transactions to ensure everything works correctly. Once verified, you can go live and start processing payments immediately.

If you run into any issues during setup, SecureGlobalPay’s support and dev team is available to assist. Whatever you need, we’ve got you covered.

Simplify WooCommerce payment processing with SecureGlobalPay

SecureGlobalPay offers the ultimate payment processing solutions for retail and high-risk merchants. We offer everything you need to start accepting payments on your WooCommerce site: 

• Domestics and offshore merchant accounts
• Secure payment gateway with built-in fraud prevention and custom WooCommerce integration
• Support for over 100 currencies and 200+ integrations with CRMs, chargeback tools, invoicing software, and other business systems
• Experienced account managers who help you get approved, set up, and ensure uninterrupted processing.

Get a stable, secure, and high-risk-friendly payment gateway designed for WooCommerce merchants like you. Contact us to learn more or jumpstart the process by filling out our online application form.