Merchant Accounts Express Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (3.5 out of 5)
Last Updated: June 13th, 2010.
Overview:
Merchant Accounts Express, also know simply as, Merchant Express operates out of Nashua, New Hampshire and has been in business since 1998. They're a subsidiary of TransFirst which is based out of Louisville, Colorado.
Merchant Express is a full service provider, so they can set you up with whatever you need. e-Commerce, retail, wireless etc...
They have a great score on the BBB with only a handful of complaints (as of this update), and hardly any negative reviews online.
Merchant Express also provides some decent educational resources on the "Learn" section of their site. So, be sure to step up your merchant account knowledge before you sign the dotted line.
Although they do have a comprehensive testimonials section, none of them include the merchants full name or business name, so it's difficult to give them much credibility. I'll allow some user reviews and comments to build up here on Merchant Maverick before I accept any of those testimonials as legit.
The major issue that I'm having with Merchant Express right now is their lack of transparency as a company. What I mean by that is that as merchants we want to see that we're dealing with a real company with real people and real success stories. The online world allows for a tremendous opportunity to display some of that same transparency. With the type of testimonials that I'm seeing on their website now, I'm not really feeling the love. Additionally, it would be great to see them open up to us by setting up some social media profiles, and actually using them to directly communicate with us. A Twitter account and Facebook page would be awesome.
In a world where CEO's are handing out cease and desist's to customers just for contacting them, you'll stand out as a genuine company that's actually accessible to us peon's. That's a rare quality these days, but an absolute must if you plan on surviving the online world. Bad news travels at the speed of light, just ask Randall Peterson (AT&T CEO), but on the flip side, if you let us know that you're hearing our voice, we'll go to bat for you any day of the week.
Merchant Express gets a 3.5 out of 5 for now.
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Date Established:
1998.
Location:
Nashua, New Hampshire.
Domain Name(s):
www.merchantexpress.com.
Parent/Partner Company:
Merchant Express is owned by TransFirst.
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Merrick Bank and Columbus Bank & Trust.
Payment Processor(s):
TransFirst. They've also been known to do business with First Data and possibly Pipeline Data.
Payment Gateway(s):
Transaction Central or Authorize.Net.
Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.
Trust Symbols:
The Merchant Express BBB profile has an "A+" rating as of this review, with just 5 complaints in the last 36-months.
Negative Reviews:
There were only a few negative reviews scattered here and there, but nothing to worry about. For a company that has been in business since 1998, that's a great track record.
Common Complaints:
None.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
The Merchant Express website has a very long testimonials section with quite a few merchants listed on it, the only problem is that those testimonials don't have full-disclosure (i.e. full-name/business-name), so they'd be virtually impossible to verify.
Security/Privacy:
The Merchant Express application is secured by McAfee.
Customer Service:
Have you worked with Merchant Express? Feel free to leave us your review. Don't forget to read the user review and comment policy.
Contract Duration:
3-years with a 30-day risk free trial guarantee.
Cancellation Fee:
If you cancel your account after the 30-day trial is up, you'll be charged a $495 cancellation fee. They also have an option where you'll be able to setup your account without a term (month-to-month) if you pay an upfront fee of $100.
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by Merchant Express.
Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered by Merchant Express.
Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Online/e-Commerce Payments, EBT, Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO), Wireless, Quickbooks Integration.
Product/Service Specialty:
None.
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June 30th, 2010 - 12:40
You are my last resort. I have left 2 emails on the MAE website and have not received responses in over 48 hrs. I am hearing impaired and so it is diffifult for me to speak with them on the phone. On 6/21 I attempted to contract with these people for a simple old-fashinged swpie machine and credit card processing. I was told there was a 9.95 fee and NO others. They did say that an application fee had been waived. The entire deal was rushed, with no time for me to review the contract…citing the 30 say free clause. Okay, I went through this application, but have not heard from these people in 9 days. I tried to contact them twice via email, but got NO response. When we spoke to the agent she claimed that the 9.95 monthly fee was the sole charge, but in reviewing the agreement and form (which she did not let us read because it was cancellable), we find several other charges, including a monthly minimal and possible an up to $500 cancellation charge. Hey, we are a small group in a small gallery and we were very upfront with that. We were looiking for a very low cost way of accepting credit cards. Their lack of communication and the fact that their agent misrepresented facts, leads us to believe that this is not the place for us. Unfortunately, I can get NO response from these people. As a hearing impaired person it is difficult for me to get someone to handle my calls, but by golly, I will do what I can to get my contract cancelled, even if I need to hire a lawyer (easy since that’s in the family)!
December 15th, 2011 - 14:51
We are at 2 weeks with Merchant Account Express.It started out good but it has turned into an instant nightmare.They stopped transferring money because they said we have too much business.We attempt to upgrade the limit but all we are getting is the run-around.I would never recommend MAE.Terrible customer service.It almost as if they attempt to stall the growth of small business on purpose to collect fees.DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!