86% of merchants who apply are approved. No setup fees, no hidden costs.
Get Started FreeHigh-Risk Industries · Vape & E-Cig
Banks rarely decline a vape merchant one application at a time. They decline the category. We specialize in high-risk processing, and e-cigarette and vape sellers are a core industry we underwrite — not an exception we make. Through 20+ banking partners, we place your application with an acquiring bank that already accepts e-cig payment processing, and we maintain an 86% approval rate.
Be approval-ready
What underwriters ask for
Your terms, before you sign
20+
Banking partners, so your application goes to a bank that already accepts the category.
86%
Of the merchants who apply to PayKings are approved.
Upfront
Rates, any reserve, and chargeback terms in the agreement and reviewed with you before you sign.
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Risk factors
Three factors put this industry in the high-risk category, regardless of how well you run your business.
Regulation. E-cigarette sales sit under the FDA's Tobacco 21 rules, and remote sales fall under the federal PACT Act plus state and local restrictions. Banks price in the possibility that those rules tighten.
Chargebacks. Vape and e-cig merchants see higher chargeback rates than standard retail, and acquiring banks underwrite against that history.
New merchants. Many e-cig businesses are young companies without a processing record. A thin history is a reason an account is underwritten as high-risk — it is not a reason we turn one away.
None of these factors disqualifies you. They decide which bank your application should go to, and that is the decision our underwriting team makes for you.
If you are still setting up the business itself, our guide on how to start a vape company covers licensing, suppliers, and what underwriters will want to see from a new company.
What we underwrite
We underwrite an electronic cigarette merchant account the same way we underwrite a vape merchant account: both sell age-restricted products in a regulated industry, so both are placed with banks prepared for the category. One e-cig merchant account covers e-liquids, disposables, mods and hardware, retail storefronts, and online stores.
The account pairs electronic cigarette credit card processing with chargeback prevention and fraud protection, whether you sell in person, online, or both. With 20+ banking partners, we match your business with an acquiring bank that accepts e-cig payment processing, which helps you avoid the account closures and fund holds that come with processors unprepared for this industry.
Getting set up
Any business selling vape or e-cigarette products can apply: e-liquids, disposables, mods, hardware, retail storefronts, and online stores all run on the same account.
Underwriters ask for your business policy, your business URL and email address, your bank details, and compliance documentation that meets know-your-customer and regulatory requirements.
We match your business to a banking partner that accepts e-cig and vape processing, rather than sending one application everywhere. New merchants without a processing history go through the same process.
Your rates, any reserve, and your chargeback terms are in the agreement, and we review them with you before you sign.
Rates & reserves
Processing costs more for vape and e-cig sales than for standard retail, because acquiring banks classify the category as high-risk. Your exact rate depends on four factors:
Pricing may be structured as flat rate pricing or variable fees, depending on the bank and your file.
Every fee is disclosed in the merchant service agreement, and we walk through your rates with you before you sign, so the number on your first statement is the number you agreed to.
A rolling reserve is a portion of each settlement your acquiring bank holds and then releases on a set schedule, as protection against future chargebacks. Not every vape merchant account carries one; underwriting decides based on your chargeback history and processing record.
If your account includes a reserve, the percentage and release schedule are in your agreement, and we review those terms with you before you sign. For the mechanics in full, read our guide to how a rolling reserve works.
Online sales
A secure payment gateway for a vape store has to do more than take cards. It needs to sit on an account whose acquiring bank accepts the category, verify that every buyer is 21 or older, and protect card data with tokenization and encryption.
We add 3D Secure verification at checkout to shift fraud liability and cut chargebacks on online orders.
Remote sellers also carry federal PACT Act obligations — registration, age verification at delivery, and carrier rules that vary by destination. Build these checks into your checkout rather than bolting them on later:
On the platform side, the gateway connects to BigCommerce, Magento, and WordPress stores. If you sell on BigCommerce, our comparison of choosing a payment gateway on BigCommerce covers what to look for.
Many online vape merchants also add accepting e-checks as a second payment method, which gives customers an alternative when a card issuer declines a vape transaction.
In-store
For brick-and-mortar sales, we set up countertop card terminals and POS systems that connect to your inventory management, cash register, and customer records, and that handle cash and card payments together.
The hardware is the easy part. What matters is the merchant account behind the terminal: when it is underwritten for vape sales, your counter does not depend on a bank that never wanted the category.
Retail underwriting looks at the same file as online: your documentation, your volume, and your chargeback history.
Smoke shops
Tobacco, glass, and smoking accessories fall under the same high-risk underwriting as e-cig products, and many merchants sell across both. If your product mix leans toward the smoke shop side, our guide to merchant accounts for head shops and smoke shops covers how those businesses get approved and what their processing looks like.
Compare providers
The best vape merchant account is underwritten for your industry on purpose, not approved by exception. Use this checklist when you compare providers:
| What to look for | What the PayKings account provides |
|---|---|
| High-risk underwriting experience | Vape and e-cig is a core industry we underwrite, not an edge case. |
| Banking network | Applications matched to a banking partner that accepts the category, from a network of 20+. |
| Chargeback and fraud tools | Chargeback prevention and fraud protection built into the account. |
| Terms you can read | Rates, any reserve, and release schedules in the agreement and reviewed before you sign. |
| Approval record | An 86% approval rate across our high-risk merchants. |
PayKings delivers on each of these criteria, and the comparison below shows how we stack up against other processors.
The difference
Built for the businesses other processors turn away.
What's included
Nationwide
FAQ
Everything you need to know about high-risk payment processing
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