Moving Company Merchant Accounts and the 110 Percent Rule

A moving company takes money for a job it has not done yet. The customer books weeks ahead, often pays a deposit, signs an estimate that may not be the final price, and then hands over everything they own to a truck that may be on the road for days. Payment processors look at that sequence and see a future-delivery business with high tickets, open-ended final charges and a history of consumer complaints. That is why many high-risk processors list moving companies and moving brokers as a vertical of their own.

What makes movers different from most future-delivery merchants is that federal law already sets out how they may price a move, when they may collect, and how much they may demand before they hand the goods back. Those rules and the card network rules meet at the point of payment. This guide covers both for interstate household goods movers and brokers. Federal rules are cited from 49 CFR Parts 375 and 371 as published in the eCFR in October 2026, Visa rules from the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules of 18 April 2026, and Mastercard rules from the Chargeback Guide Merchant Edition of 19 May 2026.

Why acquirers treat movers as higher risk

Visa classifies moving companies under MCC 4214, Motor Freight Carriers and Trucking – Local and Long Distance, Moving and Storage Companies, and Local Delivery Services. The code is shared with ordinary freight trucking, so what an underwriter actually weighs is the business model behind it.

Several features of that model add risk. The service is delivered after the sale, sometimes long after it. A long-distance move is a high-ticket transaction, and a deposit is a card charge for work that may be cancelled. Under a non-binding estimate the final price depends on the actual weight of the shipment, so the customer does not know the total when they book. Loss and damage disputes are frequent enough that federal rules require every interstate mover to offer an arbitration program for them, and a customer who thinks a claim was handled badly has another place to complain: their card issuer.

The industry's reputation adds to it. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration runs Operation Protect Your Move, an enforcement effort aimed at the household goods carriers and brokers with the worst complaint records. Its 2024 operation, from April 1 to April 19, 2024, conducted investigations in 17 states to address what the agency called a significant increase in complaints of movers holding household possessions hostage to extort extra charges. An underwriter reviewing a moving company knows those complaints exist and will want to see that yours is not that kind of business.

Federal rules already decide how you collect

Part 375 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations applies to household goods motor carriers moving goods for individual shippers in interstate commerce. It does not cover moves within a single state, so if you do in-state work, check your own state's rules as well. For interstate moves, several Part 375 rules bear directly on card payments.

• You must give the shipper a written estimate, and it must say whether it is binding or non-binding. A binding estimate guarantees the total cost for the goods and services it lists. A non-binding estimate is your reasonably accurate estimate, and final charges are based on the actual weight and your tariff.
• You must specify on the estimate the form of payment you will honor at delivery. The rule's own examples include a specific credit card such as Visa. The bill of lading must show the same form of payment, and you must honor it at delivery unless the shipper agrees to a change in writing.
• If you accept cards, your tariff must provide for it and identify the card plans you take. A card payment is treated the same as payment by cash, certified check, money order or cashier's check.
• If you agree to take a card at delivery, you must arrange delivery for a time when you can get an authorization for the transaction, unless your trucks are equipped to process cards.
• The bill of lading must state the maximum amount you will demand at delivery on a collect-on-delivery shipment, and it must be provided to the shipper and signed at least three days before loading. The shipper can rescind it without penalty for three days after signing.

The practical result is that a mover's payment terms are written down before the truck is loaded, in documents the shipper signs. That is good for disputes, because it means the evidence exists. It also means your payment flow has to match those documents exactly.

The 110 percent rule caps what you collect at delivery

On a binding estimate, the most you may demand at delivery is the amount of the estimate, plus charges for additional services the shipper requested after the bill of lading was issued, plus charges for impracticable operations if your tariff defines them. Impracticable operations charges collected at delivery cannot exceed 15 percent of all other charges due at delivery.

On a non-binding estimate, the cap is 110 percent of the estimate, plus the same additions. If the shipper pays that amount, you must release the shipment. Anything above it is billed after delivery under the invoice rules below, and additional services you decided were necessary after the bill of lading was issued may be billed no sooner than 30 days after delivery. On a partial delivery you may demand only a prorated share, based on the weight delivered.

Balances owed after delivery follow their own schedule. You must present an invoice within 15 days of delivery, not counting weekends and federal holidays. The credit period is seven days, and your tariff must automatically extend it to 30 calendar days for a shipper who has not paid in seven, with a service charge of 1 percent of the invoice, subject to a $20 minimum, for the extension.

Refusing to release goods once the shipper offers the amount the rules allow is a serious violation. Under 49 U.S.C. 14915, holding a household goods shipment hostage carries a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 per violation, each day can count as a separate violation, and the Secretary of Transportation can suspend a carrier's or broker's registration for 12 to 36 months. A conviction for failing to give up possession of household goods can bring up to two years in prison.

For card processing, this means the authorization at delivery should never exceed the maximum stated on the bill of lading. If you plan to charge a later balance to the same card, treat that as a separate charge with its own invoice, and get the customer's agreement to keep the card on file up front rather than running it later without that consent.

Deposits under Visa's rules

Visa calls a deposit an Advance Payment: a transaction for the partial or full cost of goods or services that will be provided to the cardholder later. Visa's rules allow only a few categories of merchant to take an advance payment for the entire purchase amount before delivery: travel and entertainment merchants, custom goods or services, face-to-face sales where some items will be shipped later, and recreational services related to tourism and travel. Visa defines travel and entertainment as airlines, cruise lines, lodging, passenger railways in the US, travel agencies and vehicle rental. A moving company is not on that list and does not obviously fit the others, so expect your acquirer to limit you to a partial deposit and to collect the rest at or after delivery.

Before you take a deposit, Visa requires the cardholder's express informed consent to an agreement that includes, among other things:

• A description of the services and the total purchase price
• Your cancellation and refund policies, including the date after which cancelling forfeits the deposit
• Your location and the address, email address and phone number customers should use to contact you about the charges

The receipt must show the amount of the advance payment and the words "Advance Payment", "Deposit" or "Partial Payment" while a balance is outstanding, and the balance receipt must say "Balance" once the full remaining cost has been paid. Visa also says the merchant must refund the full amount paid if it has not adhered to the terms and conditions of the sale or service.

Write the forfeiture date so it fits the federal rules too. A shipper can rescind the bill of lading without penalty for three days after signing it, so a deposit policy that keeps the money when a shipper cancels inside that window is hard to square with the rule.

Household goods brokers carry an extra disclosure duty. Part 371 requires a broker to disclose prominently on its website and in its agreements its cancellation policy, its deposit policy and its policy for refunding deposits when a shipper cancels before the date a carrier has been scheduled to pick up the goods, and to keep records of every cancellation request and how it was handled for three years. A broker must also state on its website that it does not transport goods itself and arranges transportation through an FMCSA-authorized carrier. Underwriters read broker websites with those rules in mind.

How chargebacks reach a moving company

Most moving disputes fall under one of two conditions. Visa Dispute Condition 13.1, Merchandise/Services Not Received, covers a move that never happened or never finished. Damage is a different claim: disputes about the quality of a service are invalid under 13.1 and are raised instead as not-as-described or defective service disputes.

Timing is where future delivery hurts. Under 13.1 an issuer may file up to 120 days from the transaction processing date or 120 days from the last date the cardholder expected to receive the services, but no later than 540 days from processing. A deposit taken in January for a move promised in June can be disputed well into autumn. Mastercard is similar: where the merchant specified a delivery or performance date, the issuer has 120 days from the latest anticipated date, and it can charge back at once if it learns the merchant will not provide the service, for example because it has gone out of business.

That makes the delivery window on your bill of lading important twice over. Federal rules require it, and the card networks use the expected delivery date to start the dispute clock. If a move is delayed, Part 375 requires you to notify the shipper as soon as the delay becomes apparent, give new dates, and keep a written record of the notice for a year. Those records are also your dispute evidence.

Visa's rules contain some protections worth knowing. Before an issuer can raise a 13.1 dispute, the cardholder must try to resolve it with the merchant, and the dispute is limited to the part of the service not received. A 13.1 dispute is also invalid for a partial advance payment where the cardholder did not pay the remaining balance and the merchant is willing and able to provide the service. That protection assumes you are ready to perform on the terms you agreed. It is unlikely to help a carrier that is holding a shipment for more than federal law lets it demand.

Part 375 also addresses chargebacks directly. If a shipper has a card issuer reverse a charge, you may treat that as an involuntary extension of credit, and the invoice and credit rules described above apply. That gives you a basis to bill the shipper for what is owed. It does not decide the card dispute, which the issuer resolves under network rules. For loss and damage claims, you must also offer shippers a neutral arbitration program, and arbitration is binding for claims of $10,000 or less if the shipper requests it. Pointing a customer to that program early can keep a damage complaint out of the dispute system.

What an underwriter will ask a moving company

Expect an acquirer to want evidence that your operation follows the federal rules and that your payment flow matches your paperwork:

• Your U.S. DOT number and FMCSA operating authority, and whether you are a carrier, a broker or both. Part 375 requires carriers to show the DOT number in every advertisement, so an underwriter will look for it on your website.
• A sample estimate and bill of lading showing the form of payment and the maximum amount you collect at delivery.
• Your deposit policy, the share of the move you take up front, and how and when the balance is charged.
• The typical time between booking and delivery, and how much of your volume is long-distance.
• How you take payment at delivery, and whether your crews carry card terminals.
• Your complaint history with FMCSA, and the summary of your arbitration program.
• Recent processing statements and your chargeback history, if you have processed before.

Keeping moving disputes winnable

Moving disputes are usually decided by documents created before anyone complained. For each card-paid move, keep:

• The signed estimate and bill of lading, including the form of payment, the delivery window and the maximum collect-on-delivery amount
• The deposit agreement and the customer's consent to any card kept on file for a balance
• The inventory, and photographs of high-value items at pickup and delivery
• Any written notice of a delay, with the date, time and method recorded
• The bill of lading signed at destination and any delivery receipt
• Every invoice for a balance billed after delivery, with the date it was presented
• Every message with the customer about the move, before and after delivery

A mover that collects within the federal limits, takes a modest deposit on clear terms, and can produce a signed bill of lading for every disputed charge is a far easier file than one whose final bill arrives as a surprise at the curb. If you run an interstate moving company or a household goods brokerage, talk to a PayKings specialist with your estimate, bill of lading and deposit terms ready.