CommerceGate review: a Spanish-licensed high-risk biller

CommerceGate’s license and track record

CommerceGate Payment Solutions S.L.U., based at the World Trade Center in Barcelona, is a payment institution licensed and supervised by the Bank of Spain under number 6896. It says it was the first Spanish non-bank group focused on cross-border online payments to get that license, in 2020. KPMG audits it, and its platform has been PCI DSS Level 1 since 2009.

The business started in Barcelona in 2006 and says it was Spain’s largest high-risk processor by 2007. Buyers handle billing questions at cgbilling.com. Trustpilot shows 2.8 out of 5, from only three reviews.

How much does CommerceGate cost?

CommerceGate publishes no rate, reserve percentage or payout delay. An independent review by iGaming Payment Solutions gives working estimates: 2% to 5% per payment depending on method, country and risk, 1% to 2% on currency conversion, a 5% to 10% reserve held 90 to 180 days, settlement in three to seven days, three to six weeks to onboard a high-risk business, and a floor of about $50,000 in monthly volume. Treat them as a starting point for your own quote.

In 2020 CommerceGate told merchants the new Visa high-risk registration would cost $500 a year. CCBill now charges $950 for Visa, so ask for the current figure.

CommerceGate billing and reserve management

CommerceGate boards merchants on its own payment facilitator account or with one of its 20-plus acquiring partners, and adds its billing platform on top. It supports interchange-plus, flat, tiered, geo-based and card-based pricing, with automatic discounts as you reach each volume tier.

The rolling reserve is run by CommerceGate: a percentage of each transaction is held and released automatically on agreed dates. A minimum security deposit can be set, and you can pre-fund the reserve by wire before processing. Payouts go out as SEPA batches generated from approved invoices, in several currencies and to several bank accounts.

Selling into Brazil and Latin America

CommerceGate opened Latin America in 2021 through Brazil, with local acquiring and PIX, then added Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. A European merchant can price, invoice and collect in the buyer’s local currency, with funds coming back in euros over SEPA.

Countries CommerceGate blocks

CommerceGate blocks transactions and merchant accounts from countries on the FATF and EU anti-money laundering blacklists. Since July 2024 that includes Monaco and Venezuela, while Turkey has been removed from the list.

Strengths and limitations of CommerceGate