Travel, timeshare and advance-purchase businesses concentrate here — and they are exactly the profile banks decline. Structure Payments underwrites them, usually within about 48 hours.
Florida's economy leans heavily on travel, hospitality and advance-purchase commerce. Those are precisely the models that make card issuers nervous, because customers pay long before they receive the service.
That timing gap — not any failing of the business — is what drives the high-risk classification, and it is what a specialist processor is built to underwrite.
Surcharging permitted
Yes. Florida's statutory surcharge ban, Florida Statute § 501.0117, was struck down by the Eleventh Circuit in Dana's Railroad Supply v. Attorney General of Florida, which held that prohibiting merchants from describing a price difference as a surcharge restricted protected speech.
Surcharging in Florida therefore follows federal and card brand rules: disclose the fee clearly before purchase, cap it at your actual cost of acceptance, and never apply it to debit card transactions — that debit restriction applies nationwide.
A cash discount program remains an alternative if you would rather avoid surcharge rules entirely: prices are posted for card payment and cash customers receive a discount. The two are not interchangeable, and presenting a surcharge as a cash discount carries penalties.
Surcharging and convenience-fee rules change, and card brand rules apply on top of state law. Confirm current requirements for your situation before launching a program — we can walk you through it.
The state's economic mix maps almost directly onto the high-risk category list.
Bookings taken months in advance mean a long window for cancellation and dispute, which pushes chargeback ratios above mainstream tolerance.
High ticket values combined with long-dated delivery make this one of the hardest categories to place with a traditional bank.
Florida holds the country's largest number of Type 09, 10 and 11 Federal Firearms Licenses — dealers, manufacturers and importers of destructive devices — alongside a substantial general dealer base.
Deposits, instalments and seasonal revenue swings all complicate underwriting for hotels, resorts and tour operators.
No drawn-out underwriting theatre. A real person, a real timeline, a real approval.
One short form and a quick document upload. Your dedicated rep reviews it the same day — no call-center runaround.
We match you to the right banking relationship and gateway for your industry, chargeback history and volume.
Credentials, gateway and cart integration go live. You're accepting cards — usually within about 48 hours of applying.
Yes, with proper disclosure. Florida Statute § 501.0117 was struck down by the Eleventh Circuit in Dana's Railroad Supply v. Attorney General of Florida on First Amendment grounds. Surcharges must be disclosed before purchase, must not exceed your cost of acceptance, and may never be applied to debit cards.
Yes. Travel, cruise and timeshare merchants can be approved through a processor that underwrites future-delivery risk. Structure Payments approves Florida travel businesses with most accounts live in about 48 hours.
Because customers pay well before the service is delivered, which leaves a long window for cancellations and chargebacks, and travel transactions are larger than average. Mainstream processors avoid that exposure rather than price it.
We do everything possible to get you approved, and most merchants are processing within about 48 hours. No obligation to see your real rate.