Firearm Payment Processing

Gun & ammo payment processing is often difficult for firearm companies.

Firearm payment processing

Gun & Ammo Payment Processing

What to Know

Selling ammo, guns, and firearm parts can be complicated, especially for credit and debit card transactions. Thankfully, you can get a firearm merchant account to simplify gun and ammo payment processing for your company.

If you have a business in the firearms industry, setting up a payment processor that is gun-friendly is essential for success because it will allow you to process payments securely and ensure that your investments are safe. Once you have a reliable payment gateway or in-store terminal set up, you can focus on promoting and marketing the sale of your ammo, firearms, and accessories with peace of mind.

Luckily, here at Vector Payments, we have the industry expertise and experience to provide secure and reliable payment processing solutions for your firearms business.

Let’s first take a look at all the difficulties merchants selling ammo, gun, and firearm accessories can face—and then dive into just how we can help mitigate these challenges for you.

What is a High-Risk Online Payment?

A high-risk online payment is any type of transaction involving a potentially high amount of money or sensitive customer information.

These types of payments include those made to merchants in industries such as adult entertainment, gaming, gambling, and e-commerce stores that sell products such as pharmaceuticals or tobacco. High-risk transactions also involve customers who have been identified as having a history of high chargebacks.

To reduce the chances of fraud, these transactions are often processed through special secure payment gateways with more stringent requirements for customer verification.

Why the Gun & Ammo Industries are Viewed as High-Risk

Unfortunately, firearms merchants face a unique set of challenges due to various rules, regulations, and laws that govern the industry in the U.S.

Standard payment processors such as Square, Stripe, Braintree, and PayPal often refuse to work with firearms businesses because of the associated legal and financial risks due to reasons including:

Chargebacks

Because the ammo and firearm market has a reputation for high chargeback and return rates, many payment processors are less likely to approve applications from merchants in this industry due to the higher risk.

Fraud

Owing to the sheer size and high financial value of the gun and firearm market, higher rates of fraud are to be expected. When fraudulent charges and chargebacks occur, it can lead conventional payment processors to reject partnerships with ammo and gun merchants altogether.

Financial and Legal Responsibility

As with any other industry, guns and ammo merchants should always try to avoid any potential legal or financial liabilities.

Sadly, these can’t always be prevented, as there have been cases of gun merchants and manufacturers—along with the banks they collaborated with—being involved in legal disputes due to a gun sale. As a consequence, many traditional financial institutions choose to stay away from such risks by not engaging in business with this particular industry.

Therefore, it’s critical to find a payment processor that not only specializes in high-risk accounts but also has a reputation for being highly dependable and trustworthy. You want to ensure that your partner is a responsible provider of firearm merchant accounts.

At Vector Payments, we have the right connections with processing banks and the in-depth industry knowledge to help you and your business succeed. You can set up a firearms merchant account with us and trust that your payments will be processed quickly and efficiently.

gun payment processing

U.S. Restrictions

U.S. Restrictions on the Sale of Gun & Ammo Products

The United States has many laws and regulations governing the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition. These laws vary from state to state, but they generally include the following restrictions:

  • An individual must be at least 18 years old to purchase a firearm or ammunition from a licensed dealer. At the federal level, people must be at least 21 years old to purchase handguns from a licensed dealer.
  • All buyers must submit to a background check before completing any purchase. This is done by submitting fingerprints, which are then checked against an FBI database of prohibited individuals.
  • It is illegal for an individual convicted of certain felonies or other violent crimes to possess or own a firearm.
  • Individuals who have been adjudicated as mentally ill or involuntarily committed to a mental institution may not own firearms or ammunition. Many states have also enacted “red flag” laws which allow family members or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily confiscate firearms from an individual deemed to pose an immediate threat of violence due to mental health issues.
  • All sellers must be federally licensed. The seller must possess a Federal Firearms License (FFL).
  • Some states also require that buyers provide proof of residency, such as a driver’s license, before purchasing firearms or ammunition.

Federal law also limits the types of guns that may be purchased and restricts illegal activities related to firearms, such as straw purchases (where someone buys a gun on behalf of another that would not pass the background check).

Additionally, some states have implemented comprehensive background checks that go beyond the requirements set by federal regulations.

In terms of ammunition sales, there are no federal laws establishing required qualifications or restrictions on purchasing ammo. However, some states do regulate the sale and transfer of ammunition within their own borders. It’s still a good idea to have a specialized ammunition merchant account if you plan to sell ammo.

Since the gun and ammo industry is so heavily regulated, merchants must stay informed about the latest state and federal laws in order to avoid potential legal penalties and financial consequences.

How to help

How Payment Processors Can Help the Gun & Ammo Industry

With the numerous risks gun and ammo merchants face when it comes to payment processing, it’s imperative to work with a knowledgeable firearms merchant services partner who is experienced in dealing with high-risk industries.

Payment processors that specialize in handling high-risk businesses understand the challenges that come with this line of work, and can tailor custom solutions to help each individual gun and ammo merchant run smoothly.

If you work with a traditional payment processor, you could experience unanticipated issues without warning, including:

Frozen Accounts

If a standard payment processor identifies the purpose of your business, you may be subject to an abrupt suspension of merchant services without any notice, resulting in potentially severe delays.

gun and ammunition

Inaccessible Funds

In the event of a payment processor freezing your account, you’d be unable to access funds or even your earned revenue. In the worst-case scenario, an account hold can last up to six months until resolution.

Lost Income & Customers

If a payment processor issue arises, you could be denied access to sales, payments, and new business opportunities. This can cause your overall business profitability to suffer and leave customers frustrated.

What You Can Sell With a Merchant Gun & Ammo Payment Processing Account

With a gun and ammo merchant payment processing account, it’s possible for your customers to easily buy the products they need. Some of the items you can sell include:

The most prominent products you can sell include:

Shooting Range Equipment

Appropriate shooting range equipment is necessary for a safe and enjoyable experience.
Targets, target stands, and bullet traps provide the shooter with a place to aim at without endangering bystanders or property.

Eye and ear protection are essential for protecting from injury from accidental muzzle blast, ricochets, and debris. Shooting mats and benches provide comfortable positions for shooters to aim from.

Additionally, range timers also help shooters practice shot speed and accuracy. Spotting scopes also allow shooters to accurately review their shots after firing to get a better sense of their accuracy. Reactive steel targets give shooters an interactive target that helps them track the progress of their accuracy over time.

Gun Magazines

Gun magazines are spring-loaded boxes that hold ammunition for firearms and facilitate the loading of new rounds into the firearm. Magazines come in different sizes and capacities, depending on the type of gun they are made for. Common magazine types include box magazines, drum magazines, and tubular magazines. Magazines can be single stack or double stack, which affects the capacity of each magazine. The capacity of a magazine is usually measured in rounds and indicates how many rounds can fit in the magazine before it needs to be reloaded.

Scopes

Gun scopes are optics mounted to the top of firearms that aid in aiming. The most common type of gun scope is a telescopic sight, which provides a magnified view of a target. Other types of gun scopes include reflex sights, holographic sights, and laser sights.

Gun scopes can range from basic crosshair reticles to complex digital reticles with features such as rangefinding or ballistics compensation. Most gun scopes will also feature an adjustable windage and elevation knob to allow for the shooter to accurately zero in their shots.

Holsters

Gun holsters are a type of weapon carrying device typically made from leather, nylon, or polymer material. They are designed to securely hold firearms close to the body and provide easy access for drawing and reholstering the firearm. Gun holsters come in various sizes and shapes to accommodate different types of guns and shooting styles. Common holster features include adjustable retention systems, belt loops, adjustable straps, paddle attachments, drop leg extensions, and open top designs.

Gun Safes

Gun safes are secure storage containers used to store firearms and ammunition. They are constructed of fire-resistant material and feature a locking mechanism to ensure the contents remain secure. Gun safes typically range in size from small bedside models to larger floor safes capable of storing multiple guns, as well as providing additional space for documents, jewelry, and other valuables. Many gun safes also have features such as digital locks, biometric locks, dehumidifiers, and internal power outlets for charging electronic devices.

Cleaning Kits

Gun cleaning kits are essential tools for ensuring firearms remain in peak condition. Kits typically contain a range of brushes and cleaning solutions, along with rods, patches, and gun oil for maintenance. Gun cleaning kits should be used to clean any firearm after it has been fired to prevent rust and carbon residue buildup on the parts. Regularly using a gun cleaning kit will ensure that firearms can be used safely and reliably for many years to come.

How to Accept Credit Card Payments For Gun & Ammo Products

Just like how most merchants have figured out, gun and ammo merchants have found that credit cards are an efficient and reliable way to process transactions. Refusing to accept credit card payments could be damaging to your business, especially since card acceptance is the preferred method of payment in the USA.

Why Choose Vector Payments?

gun payment processing

When selling gun and ammo products, merchants must choose to work with a payment processor who they can trust to reliably operate their payment processing systems. Luckily, Vector Payments is a premiere provider of merchant accounts tailored to fit the needs of firearm-related businesses.

Unlike traditional payment processors, our expertise and connections with processing banking partners make us uniquely qualified for this sector. With our top-tier compliance systems, all transactions processed through our payment gateways or in-store terminals are seamless and secure. We are fully prepared to meet the unique needs of businesses in the gun and ammunition industry.

We assign each merchant an individual account specialist who can provide guidance every step of the way during the approval process. If you choose to work with Vector Payments, you’ll never have to worry about your high-risk account suddenly getting shut down again!

Here are just a few more benefits you’ll get when you choose Vector Payments:

Compliant POS and terminal solutions

Vector Payments offers consultation on multiple Point Of Sale (POS) systems intended to help make your everyday operations more efficient, including inventory management, employee time management, sales tax logging, rewards programs, and more.

Don’t need a POS? No problem as Vector Payments also provides free terminal placement that can process all major debit and credit cards including ApplePay, SamsungPay, and GooglePay.

Maintaining Compliance With Onsite Changes

Vector Payments offers dedicated 24/7 support and is devoted to continually keeping an eye on your business activities—all to ensure that everything runs without a hitch.

Secure MOTO and In-House Integrated Payment Gateways

Vector Payments ensures your customers’ data is protected with secure payment gateways that allow you to issue invoices and securely store customer information for recurring payments that meet PCI compliance guidelines (IF needed). To process payments anywhere and anytime, you can also take full advantage of the free mobile app!

Risk Monitoring Solutions to Help Detect and Prevent Fraud

We take fraud prevention extremely seriously at Vector Payments. Our advanced risk monitoring partners detect and mitigate fraudulent activity, protecting you from potential losses and your customers’ safety.

gun and ammo payment processing

Get Your Compliant Merchant Account Set Up Today

At Vector Payments, we’re proud to say that we’re a leading provider of firearms merchant account services that you can rely on.