Prop firm payments: card processing versus crypto processing

Card processing

Cards are what most traders expect to use at checkout. For a prop firm, card processing usually comes through a processor that accepts higher risk businesses, with pricing and terms to match.

Chargebacks

A chargeback, also called a dispute, happens when a cardholder questions a payment with their card issuer. Per Stripe's documentation on disputes, the issuer files the dispute on the card network, which immediately reverses the payment and adds a dispute fee. The merchant can then respond with evidence.

For a prop firm, a common case is a trader who fails a challenge and disputes the charge. See our glossary entry on chargebacks.

Card network monitoring

Card networks watch each merchant's dispute and fraud levels. Stripe explains that a merchant who exceeds a network's thresholds is placed in a monitoring program, can face monthly fines and fees, and, if it does not bring its levels down, can lose the ability to accept card payments. The same page notes that monitoring programs count disputes regardless of outcome, so winning disputes does not remove them from the count. Stripe's page describes programs run by Visa and Mastercard. Thresholds change, so ask your processor for the current figures.

Rolling reserves

A rolling reserve is a share of each payment the processor holds back for a set period. Stripe describes it as protection against chargebacks, fraud and other liabilities, and a way for processors to work with high risk or new businesses. Held funds are released after the holding period, usually on a rolling basis. The money is still yours, but you cannot use it until it is released, so plan cash flow around it.

Reducing disputes

Stripe's guidance on preventing disputes includes showing billing terms clearly before payment, requiring the customer to agree to your terms, and watching for unrecognized statement descriptors. 3D Secure adds an authentication step with the card issuer and can shift liability for fraudulent card payments away from the merchant. For a prop firm, that means showing your rules and refund policy before purchase, recording acceptance at checkout, and keeping login and trading records to answer disputes.

Crypto processing

A crypto processor lets traders pay in cryptocurrency and settles to your firm. The US Federal Trade Commission notes that cryptocurrency payments typically are not reversible: once paid, the money usually comes back only if the recipient sends it back. For a merchant, that removes chargeback risk on crypto payments.

It does not remove the need for a clear refund policy. It also narrows your audience to traders willing to pay in crypto, and adds steps such as network choice, confirmation times and converting to your operating currency. Some platforms bundle a crypto gateway, for example the Match2Pay processor in Match-Trader's plans.

Strengths and trade-offs

• Cards: familiar to most buyers, but with higher fees, a reserve and chargeback exposure.
• Crypto: typically lower fees and no chargebacks on those payments, but only traders willing to pay in crypto will use it, and there are more steps for the trader.
• Both: a second route keeps sales running if one provider pauses your account. Underwriting takes time, so apply early and to more than one provider.

Questions to ask a processor

• Do you accept prop firms, and from my jurisdiction?
• What is the fee per transaction, and what is the reserve percentage and holding period?
• What dispute rate triggers a review on your side, and what happens then?
• Do you support 3D Secure, and do you offer dispute alerts?
• What documents do you need for underwriting?
• For crypto: which coins and networks, and how and when do you settle?

What it costs

High risk card processing typically costs 3% to 8% per transaction. Processors commonly hold a rolling reserve of 5% to 20% of card revenue for 90 to 180 days. Crypto processing typically costs 0.4% to 2% per transaction. The cost table on this page shows each source. The launch cost calculator shows how fees and reserves affect cash in your first months.

Where Prop Firm Studios fits

We do not build payment or trading technology, and we have no referral deal with any processor. On the Full Scale plan, we help a client apply to the processors they choose and integrate them with their CRM and checkout. Processing fees are paid by the client directly. See the tech stack overview and how to start a prop firm in 2026.