Snapshot: The Pawn Shop Industry
Pawnbroking has played a crucial role in economies throughout history. As of today, pawn shops continue to offer an important way for consumers to either turn personal items into cash, or purchase a wide variety of secondhand items at competitive rates.
Pawn shops tend to see counter-cyclical growth when compared to the rest of the economy: when the economy is in decline, pawn shops experience growth, and vice versa. Regardless, pawn shops have proven staying power, and according to recent statistics they command a market size of $2.1 billion (source: IBISWorld). Pawn shops that sell firearms find themselves participating in a growing market which complements other products they may offer.
Merchant Services for Pawn Shop Businesses
If you own or operate a pawn shop business, particularly one that sells firearms, you may have been previously turned down for a merchant account from a mainstream bank or merchant services company.
Or worse, your pawn shop business may have had its merchant account terminated with little or no previous notice.
Many banks and merchant services providers will not accept your pawn shop business selling firearms, ammunition, or firearms accessories for one of two reasons:
- Firearm sales are regulated by the federal government, and therefore, additional underwriting is required by the credit card processor. (Even if you don’t sell firearms, and only sell ammo, your business may be lumped into this category by the bank.)
- Because firearms and the 2nd Amendment are a “hot button” political issue, many banks and merchant services companies have taken an “anti” 2nd Amendment stance, and refuse to work with these businesses, even if they are otherwise highly desirable clients.
Tactical Payments, by contrast, was founded with the exact mission to serve firearms industry businesses. We will offer you competitive pricing, easy integration, and friendly, USA-based customer support.
Pawn Shop Merchant Account FAQs
The following are the most frequently asked questions we get from businesses interesting in being approved for an pawn shop merchant account from Tactical Payments.
What kinds of pawn shop businesses do you accept as merchants?
Tactical Payments accepts a wide variety of pawn shop businesses, including retail, eCommerce and mobile-based businesses which sell ammo, firearms, or firearms supplies. This includes retailers selling small ticket, big ticket or bulk ammo for pistol, shotgun, or rifle. Additionally, we accept merchants who sell sporting goods and archery equipment. Please note that all merchants must abide by all applicable Federal, State, and Local laws and regulations.
What criteria does my pawn shop need to meet, to approved for a merchant account by Tactical Payments?
To be approved for a merchant account by Tactical Payments, pawn shop business must meet the following criteria:
- Your business must be located, and operate, solely within the United States of America (and the business owner must be a US citizen with a SSN)
- You must be willing to provide the following documentation: (1) a voided business check or verified bank letter, (2) a valid government ID such as a driver’s license, (3) 3 months’ previous business bank statements (or personal bank statements if the business is a startup) and (4) 3 months’ previous credit card processing statements, if you’ve held an account previously.
- If you are selling firearms, or all of the parts necessary for someone to purchase an assemble a firearm you MUST have a valid FFL.
Please note we can only provide credit card processing for products sold. Pawn Shop Merchants are prohibited from accepting credit card payments for payday loans.
Lastly, we are unable to work with businesses selling any of the firearms-related items listed below:
- Bump Stocks
- Jigs
- Firearms created through CNC (Computerized Numeric Control Machines) milling
- Blueprints for CNC
Is Tactical Payments compatible with my existing ecommerce or Point Of Sale (POS) software?
{awn shops typically have a preferred ecommerce or POS (Point Of Sale) software system they use. Because Tactical Payments works with most major payment gateways (including Authorize.net, USAePay and NMI), our merchant accounts integrate with most popular ecommerce and Point Of Sale systems. Tactical Payments is compatible with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Volusion, and many other ecommerce software packages, and is also compatible with GunBroker.com.
You deserve a payment partner that respects your business, and delivers credit card processing at a low cost. Our friendly Customer Support Team is standing by to approve your application: