MerchantOne Payment Systems Review

Merchant Maverick's Rating: (2.5 out of 5)

Last Updated: April 30th, 2010.

Overview:
Merchant One is based out of Miami Beach, Florida and has been around since 1994. When I first reviewed them back in July of 09' they had only about 3 negative reviews on RipOffReport (ROR), and were sitting on about 68 complaints on their BBB profile. In the few months since, those numbers have skyrocketed. As of this update, they have 14 negative reviews on ROR and a whopping 139 complaints with the BBB. What happened?!

I've never seen such a drastic increase in user complaints in such a short amount of time. I searched everywhere to find the root of the problem. Was it an ownership change? A new CEO? I couldn't find anything. Regardless, it's a problem that needs to be addressed, and what amazes me is that one of the so-called authorities on credit card processing reviews (TopTenReviews) has put Merchant One at #5 on their best providers list (as of this review). It makes me wonder how much research they put into their ratings.

The one thing that did help offset some of Merchant One's complaints was the client list that they have displayed on their homepage. A client list whom I was able to contact, and receive positive responses from (see below). That's only reason why I didn't give them a lower score.

I give them a 2.5 out of 5.

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Date Established:
1994.

Location:
Miami Beach, Florida.

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

Parent/Partner Company:
Doesn't look like Merchant One is the subsidiary of any other company.

Type:
The Merchant One website says that they're a registered ISO/MSP of Visa and Mastercard, but I couldn't find them on Visa's ISO list.

Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Wells Fargo Bank and First National Bank.

Payment Processor(s):
First Data.

Payment Gateway(s):
Network Merchants, Inc. (NMI).

Do you need help setting up your payment gateway? See the payment gateway integration services page.

Trust Symbols:
You can find the Merchant One BBB profile here. As of this review they have a "D" rating, and have had 139 complaints in the last 36 months. You should also check out their TrustLink profile from time to time as well.

Negative Reviews:
You can find quite a few complaints on ROR (RipOffReport), their TrustLink profile and on Merchant One's Yelp profile.

Common Complaints:
Based on all of the negative review sources that I could find, common complaints fall under the same few categories:

• Bad post-approval customer service.
• Undisclosed cancellation fee. Usually this fee is in fact disclosed somewhere, but most likely in the very very fine print, so be sure to read it.
• PCI compliance fee ($150).

Verifiable Testimonials/References:
The Merchant One homepage has a list of some of their happy clients. I tried to contact as many of them as I could. Out of the ones that I was able to contact, two of them responded to my inquiry. Both merchants stated that they were happy with Merchant One and were still processing with them...good news.

Security/Privacy:
No third-party security features (i.e. McAfee, Verisign etc…) on the Merchant One site, but they only have a basic contact form. No need for heavy security.

Customer Service:
I personally haven't worked with MerchantOne, so please let us know how your experience has been with them.

Contract Duration:
I was told that the contract duration is only 1-year, but as you can see from this ROR complaint, it's more like 3-years. See this PDF of Merchant One's terms as well. Section 23.2 states:

The initial term of this Agreement shall commence and shall continue in force for three years after it becomes effective. Thereafter, it shall continue until either party terminates the Agreement upon written notice to the other.

Cancellation Fee:
I was told there will be a $25 deconversion fee if you cancel inside the 3-year contract term. $25 doesn't seem like much, but here's what "deconversion" means.

In the event that Client terminates this Agreement within three (3) years from the the date of approval by MerchantOne and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Client will be charged a Deconversion Fee for such early termination of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per location, for each month remaining in the Agreement, or two hundred ninety-five dollars ($295.00) per location, whichever is greater.

So, much like this ROR complaint, you could be paying $295 or more to cancel your account.

Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by Merchant One, but only for larger, more established merchants, with higher processing volumes.

Seasonal Downtime:
Merchant One doesn't have a seasonal package, so you'll still have to pay your monthly fees, which vary depending on the kind of merchant you are. Contact me if you need some clarification on this.

Product/Service Offering:
Online/Internet (e-Commerce), Retail, Mobile/Wireless, Phone/Mail, Trade Show Vendors.

Product/Service Specialty:
None in particular.

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