About
Who is the Merchant Maverick?
After spending 8-years in the world of e-Commerce, it's safe to say that I've encountered my fair share of merchant account madness. Because of that, I decided to create this blog to help other business owners traverse the maze of credit card processing companies and services.
Unlike other review sites, I tell it like it is...both the good and the bad. If I promote a company, it's because I genuinely believe in them, and not because they're paying me to do so.
To learn how MerchantMaverick.com makes money, go here.
Chances are my advice will save you lots of headache and possibly some cash, so please stick around to read my reviews or tips. You can compare my ratings here.
**Note: I understand that times change, and so do companies. I do the best I can to paint an accurate picture, and draw up a rating based on that picture. If you notice something inaccurate or out of date, please bring it to my attention, and I'll investigate it and/or get it fixed if necessary. Don't forget to read my disclaimer.
What is MerchantMaverick.com?
"That's right! Ice... man. I am dangerous." - Maverick (Top Gun)
MerchantMaverick.com is a comparison review and ratings site of the hundreds of merchant account providers operating today.
The Merchant Maverick motto is that credit card processing companies should be going out of their way to make us feel comfortable about doing business with them. It's not our fault that they're in a jaded industry, so it's their responsibility to go above and beyond the call of duty, if they expect us to trust them.
If you plan on finding a diamond in the rough, be prepared to put in some work. You must be vigilant, you must spend hours and hours researching, you must take notes etc... etc... Or, you can leverage the Merchant Maverick's experience, time and expertise to save you most of that hassle.
I don't focus my attention on rates or fees because they are never set in stone and can always be negotiated. Rather, my reviews will be about the merchant service provider's (MSP's) themselves, like their customer service quality, their staff knowledge, their specialties & product offerings, their online reputation, testimonials etc... To me, that is the important stuff.
You might notice that I use "credit card processor," "merchant account provider" and "independent sales organization" interchangeably throughout my reviews. For the most part, they mean the same thing, but to get a more detailed view of the differences between them, go here.
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November 5th, 2009 - 20:11
Cool site. I was looking for a comprehensive review of auth.net resellers, and here I’ve found it! I had spent a fair amount of time researching this stuff all myself, and with your help it’s made the task much easier. I was pleased to see my number one pick, one of your #1′s aswell. Keep up the good work!
November 6th, 2009 - 11:09
Thanks for the kind words Cash. Let me know if you ever have any questions.
December 28th, 2009 - 12:48
Why is there no review of Cardservice International? What is your general opinion of that company?
December 28th, 2009 - 13:37
Hi Nano,
I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to review Cardservice just yet, but will soon. I’d rather not give my opinion without doing the research, so keep checking back, and you’ll see a review for them soon.
Thanks!
January 28th, 2010 - 23:30
I am a Firefox user. The Merchant Maverick website has a couple serious problems in Firefox. Here are the details.
The date does not appear on any of the reviews. So the person who said “the reviews actually are dated” (quoted from the comment section of the “How I review” page) apparently has never used Firefox to view this website.
The “Leave a comment” box does not appear on any of these pages:
* Home
* About
* Compare
* Glossary
* How I review
Please move this comment to the “About” page. I would have originally posted it there, but I see no “Leave a comment” box on that page (as I described above).
January 28th, 2010 - 23:33
FireMav,
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. The comment issue was a known problem which the author of this template just recently fixed.
As for the dates; I’m viewing my reviews through Firefox right now, and I can see dates on all of my posts. Every post has a tab at the top left which marks the date. So, I’m not sure why and how you’re not seeing dates. Can you give me a screenshot or something?
February 1st, 2010 - 13:59
Maybe you and I are using two different versions of Firefox. I am using version 2.0 (yes, I know it’s quite old). If you want to test your website on older versions of Firefox, go here and scroll down to “Legacy Versions”:
http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable
February 1st, 2010 - 14:03
Ahhhh ok! That could be it. You know what, I should be cross checking browsers anyway. There’s gotta be a firefox plugin that does that.
Either way, thanks again for bringing that up. I’m in the process of adding a “Last Updated” blurb on each review like this: http://www.merchantmaverick.com/reviews/transaction-group-review/.
That way the post date will be obsolete.
Take care
February 1st, 2010 - 14:30
I just now changed my screen resolution from 800×600 to 1024×768 to see if maybe that would solve the date problem. And yes it did solve the problem. The date appears at 1024×768 but not at 800×600 (you can’t even scroll to it either vertically or horizontally). So now I know the solution, but its not a *good* solution for me because I normally use 800×600.
All info in this post is from tests with Firefox 2.0.
February 1st, 2010 - 14:39
That’s a good idea to use the “Last Updated” blurb; that date appears wihout any problem at all screen resolutions.
February 1st, 2010 - 19:47
Lucky for me, only about 2% of my readers have the 800×600 screen res, but this theme is on its way out anyway. I’m gonna be redesigning…hopefully soon.
February 20th, 2010 - 13:55
I didn’t see our current processor, First Merchant Payment Systems (a subsidiary of iPayment, Inc.) Have you any info on them?
February 20th, 2010 - 13:59
Hi John,
I haven’t had a chance to review them just yet, but will do so soon, along with iPayment. How has your experience been with them?
March 3rd, 2010 - 14:15
I’m looking for info. about Capital Bankcard out of Boston, MA. I’ve noticed that many processing companies have several names. Should I be looking under another name or is this a company that you haven’t reviewed yet?
March 3rd, 2010 - 23:08
Hi Diane,
At first blush it looks like Capital Bankcard is a solo operation, but they may be operating other business names. I haven’t reviewed them yet, but per your request, I’ll do some research for you and have them up on the site as soon as possible. Can I notify you when it’s up? Hopefully by tomorrow evening.
March 3rd, 2010 - 23:13
Diane, you know what, it looks like Capital Bankcard works with Merchant Warehouse. I have reviewed them.
Take a look at this page on the Capital Bankcard site: http://www.capitalbankcard.com/contact.php. You’ll notice the @merchantwarehouse.com email, so they’re definitely working together.
June 4th, 2010 - 10:41
I am looking for information about Midwest Transaction Group in Michigan. Have you had a chance yet to check them out?
June 29th, 2010 - 11:38
what about global payments?
June 30th, 2010 - 01:14
Kate,
A Global Payments review is definitely on the way. I’ll keep you posted.
July 7th, 2010 - 08:57
Have any info on 1st American Card Service? Could they be listed under a different name? They say no contracts, use interchange plus pricing, “will beat any rates,” A+++ rating with BBB for 25 years — but kind of a hard sell. I was contacted by them after filling out info on buyerzone.com which claimed it would obtain multiple quotes for me — but 1st American Card Service was the only one.
October 10th, 2010 - 11:50
Ann,
Just wanted to let you know that I have a review of 1st American Card Service. Take a look when you get a chance.
August 24th, 2010 - 16:50
Can you review merchantanywhere.com? they look like a great company but I’m not sure if I should sign up. I’ve been conned by Card Services Internaltional before, so I want to be careful. Have a great day and thanks for your great and very in-depth website:)
August 25th, 2010 - 00:19
No problem Grace. It may take some time for me to get to them though. I’ll let you know when the review is up.
October 13th, 2010 - 13:37
Have you looked at and/or reviewed United Bankcard? I couldn’t find anything on your website about them…
October 13th, 2010 - 17:01
Josh,
I don’t have anything for United Bankcard yet. Stayed tuned though. I’ll let you know when their review has been published.
October 13th, 2010 - 13:43
What are your thoughts on iPayment?
October 13th, 2010 - 17:01
Mary,
I don’t have any thoughts for iPayment yet because I haven’t researched/reviewed them. I’ll be sure to let you know when that review is published though.
July 16th, 2011 - 17:05
Surprisingly, DataFirst is not listed here. Any reason?
July 21st, 2011 - 21:13
Hi Victor,
Do you mean FirstData? If so, I’ll have a review for them very soon.
September 22nd, 2011 - 14:53
I get calls atleast once a week from someone saying they are from merchant services and have reviewed my merchant account and since we are low risk, they want to meet with me and go over my invoices and the change in terms and how they can pass these savings on to me. They always have a representative in my area and would like to schedule a meeting, i have chase as my merchant providor. How do these people get any information about my account or if i am low risk or not? Is there a way to get them off my back?