# How to Vet a High-Risk Payment Broker Before You Sign > Questions to ask a high-risk payment broker before you sign: whether it works with a real acquiring bank, how pricing is quoted, what the contract says about reserves and termination, and the red flags to walk away from. Updated: 2026-10-31 ยท https://researchpay.io/blog/how-to-vet-a-high-risk-payment-broker Ask five things before you sign. Does the provider work with a real acquiring bank, and will it show you the merchant agreement before you sign? Is the company registered with the card networks? Is the full pricing written down? What does the contract say about reserves and termination? Who supports you after go-live? A good broker answers all five plainly. Walk away from anyone who promises an approval, asks for large fees before underwriting, or suggests describing your business as something it is not. ## What does a high-risk payment broker actually do? A broker (often an ISO, agent or referral partner) sits between your business and the acquiring bank. It packages your application, matches you with a bank that accepts your category and usually stays your point of contact. The bank makes the underwriting decision. The bank sets reserves and settlement terms. A broker can prepare you well, but it does not control the outcome. ## Does the provider work with a real acquiring bank? Ask whether the provider works with a real acquiring bank, and whether it will show you the merchant agreement before you sign. Read the agreement in full before you commit. If a broker will not share it until after you sign, treat that as a warning. ## Is the company registered with the card networks? Visa publishes a searchable [Global Registry of Service Providers](https://www.visa.com/splisting/searchGrsp.do) (read Oct 31, 2026) of companies registered with it. Ask the broker which registered entity it works under, then look that name up. ## How is pricing quoted? Get the rate, every monthly fee, any reserve and any setup or termination fee written down before you commit. A verbal quote is not a quote. For reference, ResearchPay quotes RUO merchants in ranges: B2B 4 to 6% and B2C 6 to 9.5%, subject to underwriting. See [rates](/rates) and [B2B vs B2C rates](/blog/b2b-vs-b2c-peptide-payment-processing-rates). ## What should I check in the contract? - Term length and automatic renewal. - Early termination fees and how they are calculated. - Reserve terms: percentage, how long funds are held and when they are released. See [rolling reserves explained](/blog/rolling-reserves-explained). - What triggers a hold or a termination, and how much notice you get. - Whether the agreement is with the bank and processor, the broker, or both. ## Does the broker understand RUO? Ask how it will describe your business to the bank. The answer should match your website and your catalog. A broker that suggests a vague or different category is setting up a future account closure. See [why peptide merchants lose accounts to MCC miscoding](/blog/why-peptide-merchants-lose-accounts-mcc-miscoding). A good broker will also review your site before submitting. Use the [RUO website checklist](/blog/ruo-website-compliance-checklist) to check it yourself first. ## What are the red flags? - A promise of approval before underwriting. - Large upfront fees before a bank has reviewed the file. - Advice to hide products, use a different business description or leave out a past account closure. - No merchant agreement to read before you sign, or no written pricing. - Pressure to sign the same day. - Claims that a mainstream processor allows your category when its own list says otherwise. Compare against [Stripe's restricted businesses list](https://stripe.com/legal/restricted-businesses). ## What happens after go-live? Ask who you call when a payout is held or a dispute spikes, and how fast they respond. Problems can start well after go-live. See [what to do if your account is frozen](/blog/peptide-merchant-account-frozen-funds) and [chargebacks for RUO merchants](/blog/chargebacks-for-ruo-merchants). ## Can a small or new store work with ResearchPay? Startups and smaller merchants can apply. ResearchPay works only with research-use-only merchants. Every account is subject to underwriting. ## What should I read next? - [Best peptide payment processors in 2026: a sourced comparison](/blog/best-peptide-payment-processors-2026) - [Does Stripe allow peptides?](/blog/does-stripe-allow-peptides) - [How to accept credit cards for research peptides](/blog/how-to-accept-credit-cards-for-research-peptides) ## Sources - [Global Registry of Service Providers](https://www.visa.com/splisting/searchGrsp.do), Visa, read Oct 31, 2026 - [Prohibited and Restricted Businesses](https://stripe.com/legal/restricted-businesses), Stripe, read Oct 31, 2026 ResearchPay works only with merchants that sell products labeled and marketed for research use only, not for human or animal use. Pricing, reserves and settlement terms are set by the acquiring bank during underwriting. This is general information, not legal advice.