Professional & specialty
Law Firms & Legal Services merchant accounts, placed with banks that write the category.
Boardable with most banks, but the file needs to be presented correctly. Usually a few days rather than a few weeks.
The underwriting objection
Why banks flinch at this category.
Law firms are not high risk by behavior, but they are structurally complicated: trust-account rules mean operating and IOLTA funds cannot be commingled, and fees cannot be deducted from client funds. Large keyed retainers and the occasional fee dispute add to it. The right setup is a compliance question more than a risk question.
Recommended setup
- Gateway
- Gateway with split deposit, invoicing, virtual terminal and L2/L3
- Settlement rail
- Card for retainers and invoices, ACH for large matters
- Reserve expectation
- Normally none
- Equipment
- Virtual terminal, hosted invoice page, countertop terminal for the office
What we actually do
How we get this file boarded and keep it boarded.
Specific to your category — not a generic high-risk brochure.
Split-deposit configuration so earned fees land in operating and client funds land in trust, with fees never taken from trust
Surcharge or fee-offset only where the state bar and card brands permit it — reviewed, not assumed
Level 2 / Level 3 data on corporate card payments to bring B2B interchange down
Invoicing with a hosted payment link so clients pay without a keyed phone call
The process
Four steps, no mystery.
For law firms & legal services, the honest window is: often 1–3 business days for an established firm.
- 1
Call or send the form
Fifteen minutes. We confirm the category is one we can place and tell you which documents matter for your file specifically.
- 2
Document package
You gather statements, IDs and any category paperwork. This is the step that decides your timeline — a complete package moves fast.
- 3
Multi-bank submission
We submit to the banks that write your category, in the order most likely to approve on the best terms. Declines get diagnosed, not repeated.
- 4
Board and monitor
Gateway configured, equipment shipped or checkout integrated, chargeback alerts on. Then we watch your ratio and go back for better terms once history proves out.
Accounts placed through our processor and banking network
Free statement analysis
Get a law firms & legal services account underwritten properly.
One application, submitted to the banks that write your category. If your current account is frozen or at risk, tell us on the form and we will work speed first.
Terrab Solutions is a registered agent/ISO partner. Rates and approval subject to underwriting. Estimates are not a binding quote.
Straight answers
Law firms & legal services questions
Often 1–3 business days for an established firm
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