BestMerchantRates.com Review

Merchant Maverick's Rating: (4.5 out of 5)

Last Updated: October 6th, 2011.

Logo:

Overview:
BestMerchantRates.com (BMR) is located in Corona Del Mar, California, and has been in business since 2005. They've made quite a few changes since I reviewed them back in Oct. of 2009, including a new website, so I figured it was time to give them an update.

I really like what Best Merchant Rates has done. The company was founded by a small business owner who has been through the same problems of being a merchant as we all have. It's always good to have someone selling you a service when you know they've been in your shoes before. That way they understand your pain points, and will work to ease your mind about them.

Speaking of pain points, we all want the same things when it comes to credit card processing; (1) Transparent pricing, (2) fair pricing, (3) no cancellation fees, and (4) good customer service. BMR does well on all accounts.

(1) They only offer interchange-plus pricing which is much more transparent than the old school tiered model. This is a big change from the status quo.

(2) They don't hit you with unfair fees like, application and setup fees. Some fees are just bogus and unnecessary.

(3) They don't lock you into a contract where you have to pay a hefty cancellation fee. Why charge me if you can't keep me? BMR doesn't.

(4) Their customer service is pretty damn good...enough said!

I love that they focus on education (via their blog) as a way to inform merchants of the deceptive practices involved in the industry.

And I love that they offer merchants a discount on their processing fees for referring new business to BMR. That shows me that they focus on their customers to do the selling for them instead of having a big "boiler room" type salesforce.

You can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

I gave them a 4.5 out of 5 mainly because of their BBB complaints. They're a great company, but most of my 5-star guys have complaints in the single digits. Don't get me wrong though, I'd gladly refer you to BestMerchantRates.com without hesitation.

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Date Established:
2005.

Location:
Corona Del Mar, California.

Domain Name(s):
www.bestmerchantrates.com.

Parent/Partner Company:
Doesn't look like BMR has a parent company.

Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.

Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Wells Fargo Bank.

Payment Processor(s):
First Data.

Payment Gateway(s):
Authorize.Net.

Do you need help connecting your payment gateway to your website? Click here.

Trust Symbols:
BMR has an accredited BBB profile with a score of "A" as of this review. They've also had 10 complaints filed against them in the last 36 months.

They're also part of the BBB Trustlink program, so check back there periodically to find reviews.

Negative Reviews:
Just one report found on RipOffReport, and one on Yahoo Local.

Common Complaints:
None.

Verifiable Testimonials/References:
There are a few testimonials listed on the BMR site. Be sure to check them out, and to ask for references.

Security/Privacy:
The BMR site is secured by Aria Systems and Verisign.

Customer Service:
I was treated very well when chatting with one of the BMR reps. She was detailed and informative in her responses. Besides that, I haven't had the chance to work with them, so feel free to let us know about 'em.

Btw, they offer 24-hour customer support via phone.

Contract Duration:
No contract terms...month-to-month.

Cancellation Fee:
No cancellation fee either, but as always, be sure to read your contract thoroughly.

Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus pricing is offered by BMR. Matter of fact, that's all they offer. They don't promote the less transparent tiered pricing at all. That's a big leap from the old way of doing business. Good job guys!

Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered.

Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), e-Commerce, Mobile, Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO).

Product/Service Specialty:
None in particular.

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