Bank Of America Merchant Services Review

Pros

• Predictable flat-rate pricing offered
• Custom pricing available
• No long-term contracts or early termination fees
• Next-day funding available to all merchants

Cons

• Requires an eligible Bank of America business checking account
• Reports of poor customer support

What Is Bank Of America Merchant Services?

Bank of America Merchant Services is Bank of America’s payment processing service for businesses that need in-person, mobile, online, and integrated payments. BAMS offers an array of merchant services, including credit card processing, processing hardware, and support for eCommerce businesses.

The company now advertises merchant accounts that come without long-term contracts and no early termination fees (a vast improvement over its previous contracts through Fiserv/First Data, which it separated from in 2020).

With its updated hardware, eCommerce tools, flat-rate pricing, and more flexible contract terms, Bank of America Merchant Services appears to be moving in a positive direction. But is this enough to place it among the best credit card processing providers?

Products & Services

BAMS provides a full line of products and services for retail, eCommerce, and omnichannel businesses, including the following key features:

Fees & Rates

BAMS offers flat-rate credit card processing fees for small businesses, with processing rates fully disclosed on its website. Customized, quote-based pricing is also available upon request.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Bank of America clearly discloses its Simplified Pricing rates, contract terms, and hardware prices, but software subscription costs, optional services, and custom-account fees still require a quote.

The current website features extensive pricing disclosures, including processing rates for merchants on a simplified pricing plan and prices for the company’s many card readers, terminals, and peripherals.

However, there’s very little information about recurring or incidental fees, other than a footnote mentioning that POS systems require a monthly subscription fee and a vague claim of “no hidden fees.”

Bank of America uses Merchant Services specialists to recommend and configure accounts. The company does state on its website that you will be presented with a complete fee schedule and all relevant contract documents and that you’ll be allowed to review them before signing up for an account. We strongly encourage you to thoroughly read all of your contract documents and clarify any lingering questions with your sales agent before signing up.

While the BAMS website includes links to all of the major social media sites, these accounts are for the main Bank of America organization, and finding information relevant to merchant services on any of them is quite challenging.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

BAMS prominently advertises on its website that its merchant accounts come with no long-term contracts and no early termination fees (ETFs). This is a welcome change from its previous practices when it was primarily a reseller for Fiserv, where three-year contracts and expensive cancellation penalties were the norm.

Note that older complaints may involve legacy Fiserv-era contracts rather than Bank of America’s current Merchant Services terms.

Still, we strongly encourage you to read your contract documents thoroughly before signing up.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Bank of America advertises 24/7 live technical support for Merchant Services. Automated Merchant Services phone support is also available around the clock.

Bank of America now provides Merchant Services support through its own support channels and Merchant Help Center, an extensive online knowledgebase full of technical support discussions, product documentation, and other helpful resources. The Help Center includes a search function, which should make it easier to find the specific information you’re looking for.

The real question is how good the quality of BAMS’ customer service is, and at this point, we don’t have adequate feedback from merchants to assess this area.

User Reviews

Recent feedback specifically addressing Bank of America’s current Merchant Services platform is limited. Bank of America holds an A+ rating with the BBB, where it also has thousands of complaints.

Unfortunately, BAMS itself doesn’t have a separate BBB profile, with complaints about merchant services being lumped in with those filed by individual consumers.

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Note that most of the negative reviews found were before BAMS split from Fiserv in 2020. These complaints include:

• Withholding funds
• Termination of accounts
• Expensive terminal lease contracts
• Poor customer support

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

There is limited independent feedback specifically addressing Bank of America’s post-2020 Merchant Services offering. A few common praises include:

• Excellent choice of modern processing/POS hardware
• Excellent security
• More transparent pricing

Final Verdict On Bank Of America Merchant Services

Bank of America Merchant Services offers in-person, mobile, online, and integrated payment processing with published flat-rate pricing, custom pricing options, modern hardware, and no long-term contract or early termination fee.

Its biggest advantage is convenience for existing Bank of America business customers. Eligible merchants can receive same-day funding at no additional cost, and Preferred Rewards members may qualify for processing discounts. The platform also includes ecommerce tools, a virtual terminal, ACH processing, and 24/7 technical support.

The main limitations are the required Bank of America business checking account, limited suitability for high-risk businesses, and the lack of recent independent feedback about the current service. Software subscriptions, optional services, hardware, and custom-account fees may also increase the total cost.

Bank of America Merchant Services is worth considering if you already bank with Bank of America and want payments and business banking in one place. Businesses that want more provider flexibility or do not need a Bank of America checking account should compare other processors before signing up.

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