Why Flux

Your own merchant account, not a shared pool.

Many of the best-known payment companies put thousands of businesses into one shared underwriting book, so risk has to be scored automatically. Flux underwrites your business into its own merchant account, and a person reviews anything that gets flagged.

When a payment processor flags your account

An algorithm doesn't decide your fate.

Your own merchant account, underwritten by a person, not a row in a shared aggregator book. When something looks unusual, you get a question before you get an action, whenever the choice is ours.

Tue 9:04A commercial order lands. 3x your usual ticket. Nothing is wrong.
Aggregator

Scored by a model.

  1. TUE 9:04A big order lands.
  2. TUEA risk model flags it. The model has never met you.
  3. FRIThe payout isn't there, and nobody called.
  4. AFTERA form and a ticket queue, with payroll still due.
Flux

Known by a person.

  1. TUE 9:04The same big order.
  2. BEFOREA person underwrote you, so we know your normal.
  3. THENIf we have a question, it comes as a call, not a notification.
  4. AFTERIt's noted. The account carries on.

An illustration, not a service-level commitment. Automated scoring can go like the left, though not always. The right is how a review usually runs at Flux.

The honest part

Card networks and acquirers set rules we have to follow, so sometimes we will ask for documents or hold funds. We won't promise that nothing ever happens.

What we do promise is how
  • A person who knows your account makes the call.
  • You hear about it early, in plain language.
  • You can get a human on the phone.

Why a cheaper rate can cost more

Illustrative, on $150,000 a month in card volume
A rate a quarter point cheaper saves you$4,500a year
Repriced as high risk, a 25% rolling reserve held six months ties up$225,000of your own money at a time
One reserve

Each square is a year of those savings. It takes 50 of them to match one six-month reserve.

The good outcomeA reserve. It is still your money, just late.
The bad outcomeA closed account and a MATCH listing, which can keep you from opening a merchant account anywhere for five years. No rate saving covers that.

Rolling reserves and MATCH listings are standard industry mechanics, not claims about any particular provider. Your numbers will differ, so run them in the reserve calculator.

How Flux compares

Most payment companies underwrite you into their own book, which is why they publish lists of businesses they will not keep. A few give you your own merchant account instead. That one structural difference decides what happens the day your business stops fitting a template.

How Flux Payments compares with Stripe, Square, Adyen, Helcim, Authorize.net and NMI
CapabilityFluxStripeSquareAdyenHelcimAuthorize.netNMI
Your own merchant accountyesaggregatoraggregatoraggregatoraggregatoryesyes
Serves high-risk verticals182 industriesrestricted listrestricted listenterprise onlylower risk onlyvia acquirervia acquirer
Stablecoin settlementSolana, XRPUSDCnonononono
Minimum volume to startnonenonenone1,000 EUR/mononenonevia a reseller
Pass-through pricing built inshippedyou build itlimitednononono
Cards, ACH and stablecoins, one integrationall threeall threepartialcards, local methodscards, ACHcards, eCheckvia processors
AI insights on your own payment volumeyesnononononono
Hosted fields, PCI DSS SAQ-D Level 2yesyesyesyesyesdatedyes

Scroll the table sideways to see every provider.

Flat rate is 2.9% plus 30 cents, with custom interchange-plus pricing available at higher volume. No setup fees, no minimums, no contracts. Accounts processing under $100,000 a year in card volume may be subject to a $20 monthly account fee. Competitor details reflect each provider's published terms and can change, so check the current terms before you decide.

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