Braintree Payment Solutions Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (5 out of 5)
Last Updated: April 20th, 2010.
Overview:
I can't tell you how pleased I was to stumble across Braintree Payment Solutions. Not only did they pass my critique with flying colors, they left me confident in the fact that they are THE future of merchant account service providers. Everyone should be looking to emulate what they do, and as matter of fact, If I was to start my own credit card processing company, I'd model it exactly after Braintree...here's why:
For starters, they realize that the internet has shed some light on an otherwise dark industry. There are some business practices that just won't fly anymore in the digital age, and as an outspoken critic of deceptive pricing practices, Braintree realizes that being up-front with fees can pay off big time. They don't lock you into a contract, and they don't charge you a cancellation fee should you decide to terminate your account.
Braintree Payment Solutions doesn't have any complaints or negative reviews because they're choosey with whom they do business with. By being selective, they can focus on a smaller number of big merchants, thus providing great customer service and support to them all. That's exactly what I would do. I'd much rather have a handful of high volume merchants that I can form a mutual trustworthy relationship with as opposed to chasing every dollar that comes my way.
They also realize that social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are where us merchants would like to voice our opinions about them, so they provide those channels for us.
Add to that a blog with TONS of educational information, and you've got yourself a 5 out of 5.
The only concern you should have about Braintree Payment Solutions is whether or not you're good enough as a merchant to have the pleasure of processing through them.
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Date Established:
2007.
Location:
Bartlett, Illinois.
Domain Name(s):
www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com.
Parent/Partner Company:
Doesn't look like Braintree Payment Solutions is a subsidiary of any other company.
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Wells Fargo Bank.
Payment Processor(s):
Braintreee processes its own transactions.
Payment Gateway(s):
Self-branded Braintree Payment Solutions gateway. Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.
Trust Symbols:
The Braintree Payment Solutions BBB profile has a "B-" rating as of this review, with 0 complaints in the last 36-months.
You may be wondering why they have a B- when they've never processed any complaints. Here's the BBB's explanation for that:
Reasons for this rating include:
- BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating.
- BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business.
Let's clear up both of those reasons right now so there isn't any confusion.
- BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating. Run a quick search on the Illinois Secretary of State website, and you'll find that Braintree Payment Solutions, LLC filed their license on 10/13/2006.
- BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. What else do you need? Maybe the BBB doesn't do all of their research, but Merchant Maverick does...we're good.
Negative Reviews:
None found.
Common Complaints:
None.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
A quick look at the Braintree homepage, and you'll see a handful of high-level clientele. If you've never heard of some of the companies that Braintree has worked with, I'll give you a rundown.
- OpenTable: Probably the most popular restaurant reservation service around.
- Animoto: An image to video service company that has been featured in USA Today, National Geographic and CNN, just to name a few.
- 37signals: The creators of Basecamp and The New York Times best-selling book "Rework."
- JBL: Need I say more.
There are a few more, but I think you get the point. It almost makes you wonder if you are good enough to work with them, not the other way around. Check out their "Buzz" page to see what their other merchants are saying.
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 provider is collecting from you. If they require you to fill out a formal application with sensitive info like SSN numbers, then they should definitely have some third-party security in place. Sometimes, and in the case of Braintree Payment Solutions, the application only requires some basic info, then the real application is taken care of by fax or through a secure online app.
Customer Service:
Have you worked with Braintree Payment Solutions before? Feel free to leave us your review.
Contract Duration:
No contract duration. Your contract will be month-to-month.
Cancellation Fee:
No cancellation fee.
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by Braintree Payment Solutions, but only for larger, more established merchants, with higher processing volumes.
Seasonal Downtime:
You will be able to temporarily deactivate your account with Braintree for $15/month.
Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Internet (e-Commerce), Recurring Billing, International, Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO).
Product/Service Specialty:
Online/e-Commerce.
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April 20th, 2010 - 10:17
What a pleasant surprise. Thank you for the kind words.
Bryan Johnson
Braintree
April 20th, 2010 - 11:50
No sweat Bryan. You guys deserve it.
July 7th, 2010 - 15:35
“Braintree Payment Solutions doesn’t have any complaints or negative reviews because they’re choosey with whom they do business with. By being selective, they can focus on a smaller number of big merchants, thus providing great customer service and support to them all.”
I can clearly see that Braintree is the best in the business. But my small business doesn’t even earn enough revenue at this point to sign up with them. The little guy is stuck with PayPal etc, I suppose…
July 13th, 2010 - 00:39
I wouldn’t say that you’re stuck with Paypal. There are other third-party providers like Google Checkout or 2Checkout as well, but you are right, it’d be much better for you to start off working with one of them until you have enough sales volume to justify the expense that will come with a merchant account. See this article here.
May 5th, 2010 - 07:22
Just an FYI for everyone. The reason for the B- rating could very well be because they don’t pay the BBB. Good info. Thanks for the review!
August 6th, 2010 - 12:24
$75 minimum, $35 monthly fee, $99 set up? You must be kidding!
August 6th, 2010 - 23:26
Thanks for the comment Bob. I wasn’t going to let this one through because, I can’t really say it adds anything to the conversation per my policy, but it does raise some good questions…
Just by looking at those three incidental fees, do you feel that you’re able to accurately determine that Braintree is more expensive than any other providers? Wouldn’t you need to take other fees into consideration? Especially the discount rates? You’d probably actually have to have a full rate proposal from Braintree and the other provider in order to get a better idea of what the true cost of your merchant account would be…right?
Additionally, do you think price is the only thing a merchant should look at when shopping for a merchant account? Is it that much of a commodity that price becomes the only thing that matters?
I’m not trying to pick on you here Bob, but it’s difficult for me to add any validity to an argument that doesn’t present me with anything new or enlightening. I love being proven wrong, because that means I can get better at what I do, which in turn will better my reviews, but you gotta come with something better than “You must be kidding!” if you plan on being heard.
September 13th, 2010 - 14:49
Wow. This company seems very forward thinking. Impressive!
I LOVE the fact that they also offer data portability. Everyone reading reviews of merchant accounts should take a VERY SERIOUS look at data portability. A LOT of gateways (like Authorize.net *ahem*) will inadvertently LOCK YOU IN since you can’t get YOUR customers data out of the gateway once it’s in there. So if for any reason you ever wanted to move your merchant account elsewhere, you have to hope that your customers will re-enter any reoccurring subscription billing info! I got burned on this once and learned my lesson. Not enough people talk about this downside of gateways and data management. Remember merchants, these are YOUR customers and therefore you should consider it YOUR data. Don’t let someone keep it hostage from you!
Their PCI compliance solution seems pretty clever too.
November 24th, 2010 - 19:32
I love your site and all the useful information, but Braintree is clearly out. You see, I’m a sketch artist and writer looking for a good merchant rep to handle credit card transactions by cell phone. What solid company would you recommend for a little guppy like me. ;>
November 29th, 2010 - 12:06
T.Falcon,
I just sent you a private message. Let’s see if we can find you a good provider.
December 21st, 2010 - 10:18
They do look very top notch, alas, as a Canadian business we can’t use them unless we create a legal U.S. presence. Hopefully they expand their reach …
March 24th, 2011 - 11:28
I received quotes from 8 different processors and Braintree was the highest price of all of them. They also were unwilling to negotiate at all. Companies like Paymentech, Merchant e-Solutions, First Data and Blue Pay Go!, were all cheaper.
Of the 8 companies I compared, they had the highest per transaction cost ($.30) and the highest monthly minimum ($75). They had the 2nd highest setup fee ($99) and the highest monthly fee ($35).
I actually wanted to choose them over the others because they are so forward thinking about data portability. But, why would I pay more money to choose them? If your bottom line is important, you may want to shop around – you may be able to get a much better deal elsewhere.