| Featured Provider (No Cancellation Fee) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Merchant Warehouse |
Rated 4.5-Stars |
See Review | Visit Website |
BankCard USA Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (3 out of 5)
Last Updated: May 6th, 2011.
Logo:
Overview:
I was excited to do a review of BankCard USA because, for those of you that don't know, they're a subsidiary of Maverick Bankcard Incorporated, and I figured any company with "Maverick" in their name would be awesome...I was wrong. 
BankCard USA has quite the online profile of negative reviews and complaints. It's hard to ignore all of the ROR posts, complaints on the BBB and generally unfavorable reviews around the net (see "Negative Reviews" below). They seem to be right up there with Charge.com in that regard. It goes without saying that BankCard USA seems to have some serious customer service issues that need to be addressed soon. Most of the complaints revolve around this exact problem.
It would be unwise of me to recommend any of my visitors do any business with BankCard USA given all of the bad intel that I've been able to dig up, but that doesn't mean I won't give them the opportunity to bump their score up. I'll continue to follow them, and give them their due credit, should I see any major improvements. Until then, they're going to get a 3 out of 5.
If you want to compare my reviews on other credit card processing companies, go to my comparison chart.
Click Here If You Need Help Choosing a Provider
Date Established:
2000.
Location:
Westlake Village, California.
Parent/Partner Company:
BankCard USA is a subsidiary of Maverick Bankcard Inc., which I must make clear, has no relation to Merchant Maverick whatsoever.
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Wells Fargo Bank.
Payment Processor(s):
Sage and First Data.
Payment Gateway(s):
Authorize.Net, SagePay and First Data Global Gateway.
Do you need help setting up your payment gateway? Visit the Payment Gateway Integration page for more info.
Trust Symbols:
Take a look at the Bankcard USA BBB profile. They have an "A+" rating as of this update, with a total of 91 complaints in the last 36 months. They're also part of the BBB Trustlink program, so be sure to visit it as well. Unfortunately for them, they also have quite a few bad reviews there too.
Negative Reviews:
Do a search for Bankcard USA on RipOffReport, Complaints.com, ComplaintsBoard.com, Paypal Sucks, and Trustlink and I promise you you'll have plenty to sort through. There's at least an hour's worth of reading material there, so get busy.
I do have to say though, that reps from Bankcard USA are trying to clean up the mess on RipOffReport (see rebuttals), but it looks like a losing battle. You be the judge.
Common Complaints:
- Bad post-approval customer service.
- Overpriced terminals.
- Deceptive terminal contracts (48-months).
- Undisclosed early termination/cancellation fee.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
You'll find a few testimonials on the Bankcard USA site. They're verifiable, so be sure to contact those merchants to see if they're still happy.
Security/Privacy:
No on-site security features (i.e. McAfee, Security Metrics etc...). The security issue really depends on what kind of information the merchant account provider is collecting from you. If they require you to fill out a full digital application with sensitive info like SSN numbers, then they should definitely have some third-party security in place. Sometimes, and in the case of BankCard USA, the application only requires some basic info, then the real application is taken care of by fax or later on through a secure online app.
Customer Service:
Besides the standard questions about contract terms and seasonal downtime that I've contacted them for, I personally haven't dealt with the BankCard USA customer service. Judging by the negative reviews I've seen, I'm assuming that it's not the best.
Contract Duration:
The sales rep told me that they don't have any contract terms, but some of the reviews I've seen suggest otherwise.
Cancellation Fee:
They told me they don't charge a cancellation fee either, but if you read the comments section below, you'll see that a couple merchants were charged $295+ for trying to close their account early.
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-Plus is offered, be sure to ask for it.
Seasonal Downtime:
Apparently they do offer seasonal downtime, but again, read your contract.
Product/Service Offering:
Retail, Internet, Wireless/Mobile, Loyalty & Gift Cards, Cash Advance, Check Services.
Product/Specialty:
Retail.
Don't forget to leave your review and rating in the comment section. 
No trackbacks yet.
Sign Up Today!
As Seen In
October 27th, 2009 - 16:50
I can confirm your review, you can even take it down to a one! When the rep had me on the phone it was all milk and honey. All was well until I starting make money, I had a week were we did 35K in sales in my furniture store. ( just a note furniture stores are now on the high risk list for many merchant account providers) Bankcard USA held all of the funds! I thought it was an error, nope the sales were under review. They even called my customers and harassed a old lady ( she did not know about the dining room set it was a suppose to be a surprise.) she freaked! I had to make a personal visit to ease her mind.
Then their other evil side came out, the woman in risk management even yell at me! ” Well you know with volume like that we need to check you out!” Hello, didn’t you do that before you approved the account? It got so bad she hung up on me and would not answer the phone!
After beating my head against the wall, I did a quick search and was appalled at my error in merchant accounts! I knew I had to do something quick or sue them. I ran one of my cards through the account and waited a day. The I did a refund, it work so a plan was born!
I called up each customer and explained what happened. I told them I would refund their money and recharge to another system. I did that waited a week for the refunds to be credited and charged the cards again. I was lucky no on walked. Thank GOD I did not close my other merchant account. I lost money, the money I could have made running my business versus dealing with those idiots! This was over 3 years ago and it still pisses me off!
Their customer service is no existent!
October 27th, 2009 - 17:40
Glendon,
Thanks for posting, and very sorry to hear about your experience with Bankcard USA. Although it’s unfortunate that you had a rough time with them, your comment will definitely help prevent another business owner from going down the same path that you did.
My reviews are always being updated, so I will definitely lower their score if I continue seeing negative comments like yours.
April 6th, 2010 - 19:57
This company just upped my monthly fee in Ca. from 11.53 to 43.17. No notice nothing. I have complained to Attorney generals office. This can’t be legal without notice.
April 10th, 2010 - 14:14
BankCard USA just (as of 4/1/2010) raised my standard monthly fees from $5/month to $40 and also added a $99 annual fee that is to be charged on the anniversary date.
These changes came with no advanced notice: they were printed in my statement dated 3/31/2010 to go into effect on 4/1, with the note that “Continued processing will be deemed acceptance of the new changes…”
At the end of last month, I had an email conversation with my service representative (about a different matter), and he did not mention at all that these changes were coming.
I have to say, up until now, I haven’t had any problems with them (since June of last year), but this increase is rather large and not one that I am set to absorb. (I found this site in the process of searching for a new provider.)
September 7th, 2010 - 08:50
I have a new business and Bankcard USA was the first merchant service company I used. When talking to the salesman he ade it seem like everything worked very easily. I told the salesman exactly how much my very first transaction would be run for and how it would be run. They tied up my funds in risk management because the salesman lied to me about how things worked. As of this morning they keeping 10% of the sale as a “reserve”, yet they closed my account after the first transaction because of “contract viaolations”. If my account is closed why do they need to keep my money? I would NEVER deal with this company. If a salesman tells you anything you should definately double check it.
March 22nd, 2011 - 13:10
I was a customer of Bankcard USA for about 10 years (although it’s hard to tell because they keep switching names or selling their list). I had finally had enough of their excessive charges and switched to a new provider. And then the headaches started!!! I faxed over their cancellation form and they told me they would close the account but still charge me $45 for the month even though I wasn’t using the account. Ok. I’m happy to pay $45 to get rid of them. But in March I find out that they haven’t closed the account and I’m about to get another $45 charge. After numerous (unreturned calls), I finally speak to a supervisor who tells me that he’ll close the account after I fax him the form (again), but this time, I have to pay an additional $295 because it’s now March and there’s an early cancellation fee!! Now I know why they’re saying they didn’t receive the fax. IMO these guys are nothing but scammers. DO NOT LET THEM GET THEIR HANDS ON YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT!
July 22nd, 2011 - 20:14
I just want to say thank you to all of the reviews I have just read. I actually just called them today because of a post card I received in the mail from them. I was told $10 monthly fee and % of each transaction processed each month. Said that is ALL the charges I would have. I didn’t sign up with them or anything yet but they were lower than the prices I received from the bank and QuickBooks which made me like them more. After thinking about it and how I found out about them I felt a little weiry with all of the fraud and scams out there. Thought to myself that I would look them up tonight and see what I find out. Well, here I am and I found out a lot of valuable information. We all work too hard for them to take our money for doing NOTHING. I really don’t know how people can live day by day knowing what they are doing to other innocent hard working people. Anyway, thanks everyone for the information, it’s greatly appreciated.
August 2nd, 2011 - 00:35
Any advice as to how to get rid of these people without being hung up to dry or am I asking for alot? We are getting ready to change from BankcardUSA to a local bank which will be cheaper for us in the long run but by these reviews, I see alot of people are being charged any “early” cancellation fee of $295 dollars. I already recieved a BS charge from them already. Something about some government stuff and a monthly charge of $3.95. Also, they stated that I provided them with an invalid TIN and in checking with them they had our business name wrong. So, they intend to charge me $10.00 a month until I straighten that out in their system online which I cannot find access to. I think that is their fault to begin with. What is wrong with these people. I don’t know how they sleep at night. We also recieved an obsolete card reader that we paid $249.00 for. Our bank says it cannot be reprogrammed. I guess we should have rented one first but we didn’t know we would start having these problems. You can’t trust any of the bankcard services. There should be government regulations on all of them.