Bank of America Merchant Services Review

Merchant Maverick's Rating: (3.5 out of 5)

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012.

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Overview:
Bank of America (BofA) offers credit card processing services under the name Bank of America Merchant Services or BAMS for short. BAMS is the by-product of a partnership between Bank of America and First Data (FD) that started in 2009.

First Data serves as the payment processor for BofA. Confused yet? Well, don't overthink it too much. The only thing that you need to know is that whenever you sign up for a merchant account through Bank of America, you're also signing up for a merchant account through First Data. The two go hand-in-hand.

Why is that important? It's important because it's always good to know all parties involved. You may at some point have to deal with FD's customer service department, or if there's any type of downtime or security breach to FD's system, then that may affect you as a BofA customer.

Moving on...

Since the partnership between BofA and FD is still in its infancy (2009), its still early to tell how good it's going to be for you as the merchant. There are only a small amount of complaints targeting the merchant services department specifically, so we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, here are a few things that you should know...

• A merchant account through BofA carries with it a $495 cancellation fee. If you plan on signing up with them, ask your rep if they'll waive the fee. Be sure to get it in writing.
• They have a tendency to push the credit card machine lease on merchants which is never a good thing for a small merchant. Don't lease. Ask if you can buy the credit card machine outright. See Common Complaints below for more info.
• They have a tendency to use enhanced billback billing methods. See here to learn more. Billback is a no-no. Trust me, you don't want billback.

If you plan on getting an account through BofA, then I highly recommend you consult me first. At least I can walk you through the process and hopefully get you a good deal.

One positive aspect to the Bank of America merchant account is that if you bank with them, then you can get your money deposited into your account the next day (most of the time). Rather than the usual 48hrs+ that it takes for most other providers.

Bank of America Merchant Services gets a 3.5 out of 5.

Date Established:
2009.

Location:
Spokane, Washington.

Domain Name(s):

• www.bankofamerica.com

Parent/Partner Company:
Bank of America is the Parent company. They started their partnership with First Data back in 2009.

Type:
Acquirer.

Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Bank of America.

Payment Processor(s):
First Data.

Payment Gateway(s):
Authorize.Net or First Data Global Gateway (formerly known as LinkPoint).

Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.

Trust Symbols:
BofA has a separate BBB profile for its banking wing vs. its credit card processing wing. Since the credit card processing wing is still pretty young, you're going to have trouble finding very many complaints on that profile.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:
You're going to have a tough time separating the complaints for Bank of America's regular business from their merchant services division, but you can do what I did. Search for "Bank of America Merchant Services complaints" or "Bank of America Merchant Services reviews." At least that way you can filter them a bit.

With that said, I wasn't able to find very many complaints for the merchant services division. Most likely because they've only been around since 2009.

Common Complaints:
Here are some common problems that you may want to look out for...

• Expensive terminal lease contracts through First Data Global Leasing: Some merchants have complained about not being aware that they were signing into a 4-year terminal lease. The whole "not being aware" part can be chalked up to the merchant not fully understanding how leasing works. I personally think terminal leasing is unnecessary to begin with. If you're a small merchant, and you only need a few terminals, then why not just buy them? They don't cost much these days. Leases make sense for bigger organizations that need many terminals, and don't have the upfront capital to invest in buying them.
• Witholding of funds/termination of accounts: This can happen for a number of reasons. Chargebacks and/or suspicious charges can easily raise a red flag that will either get you suspended or shut down. Both First Data and Bank of America have been known to be a bit trigger happy when it comes to holding funds or terminating accounts. You're going to want to learn how to avoid holds and minimize chargebacks, if you plan on signing up with BofA.
• Enhanced Billback: Bank of America and First Data are also known for using a billing technique called enhanced billback, which isn't the most transparent billing method. I plan on writing about it in the future, but in the meantime, you can learn about it here.
• High Cancellation Fee: If you want to cancel before your contract is up (3-years), then Bank of America will charge you a $495 cancellation fee. That's pretty steep considering there are plenty of other providers that don't charge a fee at all.
• Poor Customer Service: I really wouldn't expect much from such a large bureaucratic organization like Bank of America. You're usually a number, and not a name. Maybe they can prove me wrong.

Verifiable Testimonials/References:
There aren't any testimonials on the Bank of America website that I could find, but when you're dealing with a company like BofA, the name speaks for itself. Try to ask your sales rep for references. Specifically for businesses that operate in your same industry.

Security/Privacy:
The Bank of America online application is secured by Verisign.

Customer Service:
Existing customers get 24/7 service and support. The quality of that support on the other hand is questionable (see Common Complaints). Have you worked with Bank of America? Feel free to leave us your review. Don't forget to read the the user review and comment policy.

Contract Duration:
3-years.

Cancellation Fee:
$495.

Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by Bank of America. Be sure to learn what it is, then ask for it when the time comes.

Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered by Bank of America.

Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Online/e-Commerce Payments, Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO), Wireless, Mobile, Fraud and Risk Management, Recurring Payments, eCheck Processing, Gift & Loyalty, Point-Of-Sale (POS), Check Processing.

Product/Service Specialty:
None.

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