BankCard USA Review
- Date Established
- 1993
- Location
- Westlake Village, CA
Overview:
Established in 1993, BankCard USA Merchant Services is a mid-sized processor headquartered in Agoura Hills, California. Not a direct processor themselves, they are an authorized re-seller for First Data. In addition to traditional in-store credit card processing, they also offer wireless terminals, a POS system, and options for eCommerce and mobile processing. The company claims to have provided services to over 100,000 merchants since their founding twenty-three years ago, but it’s unclear how many are currently using them.
In past reviews, we’ve criticized BankCard USA pretty heavily for misleading and sometimes downright deceptive advertising and marketing, both on their website and from their sales agents. Misleading rate quotes, possible false testimonials, and an inaccurate BBB rating all caused them to a receive a below-average overall rating. The good news is that their volume of complaints with the BBB has decreased dramatically in the past year, and much of the misleading information on their website has been removed. The bad news is that the deleted content hasn’t been replaced with anything of value, and the website remains a poor resource for prospective and current customers alike.
So, BankCard USA is basically moving up from being a slightly below average processor to merely an average, middle-of-the-road one. This might bring up two possible questions in your mind. For one thing, why review them at all? Also, why would a merchant consider using their services when there are so many other processors out there that offer better rates, terms, and overall service? The answer to the first question is that it’s important for you to understand why they only rate in the middle of a very crowded pack. If you decide after reading this review that BankCard USA is not for you (which you probably will), then hopefully I’ve saved you from being subjected to a high-pressure sales pitch from a long-winded agent trying to get you to sign up with them. Feel free to thank me.
The answer to the second question is a little more complex. While every processing company wants your business, the reality is that not everyone will be approved for an account. If your business falls into the high-risk merchant category, you might not be able to open an account with some of the better processors in the industry. While BankCard USA doesn’t directly market itself as specializing in high-risk accounts, there are several indications that this category does indeed constitute a significant portion of their business. Two of the testimonials on their website come from a vape shop and a tattoo parlor, both of which might be considered high-risk by some processors. I also noted that many of the positive comments about the company came from merchants who claimed that BankCard USA approved them for an account when no one else would. So, if you’re in the high-risk category (read our article here about what that means) and you’re having trouble getting approved for a merchant account, BankCard USA might be a viable choice for you. Just be aware that you’ll probably have to settle for higher rates and fees than other processors typically charge, and you’ll also have less room to negotiate over the terms of your contract.
Overall, BankCard USA seems to be slowly improving its sales and marketing practices, and that’s good to see. Nonetheless, they still have a long way to go before I can wholeheartedly recommend them. Their high rates and fees, together with sub-par customer service and support, keep them from getting a higher rating. For now, they rate a very average 3.0 out of 5 stars. While that’s not terrible, the fact is that there are plenty of other providers out there who offer more competitive rates and terms. Unless you’re a high-risk merchant and don’t have the luxury of signing up with a better company, I’d advise you to look elsewhere.
Check out our full review below for more details, or let us help you find a provider that best fits you.
Table of Contents
Products & Services:
BankCard USA offers all of the industry-standard services and features, although they don’t provide very much detailed information about them on their website. Here’s a list of what they offer:
- Merchant accounts: BankCard USA is not itself a direct processor, and their accounts are issued through First Data.
- Wireless and countertop terminals: BankCard USA will now sell you a compatible terminal, although this isn’t readily apparent from the information on their main website. In fact, educational materials on their website warn against leasing your terminals for the same reasons that we do. Terminal leases are very expensive and usually come with long, non-cancellable contracts. They are almost never cost-effective. Check out our article to learn more about why you should never lease your credit card machine.
- POS: BankCard USA also supports and sells the popular Clover POS station.
- Mobile processing: BankCard USA apparently uses the Ingenico Roam mobile card reader and VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile app to offer mobile processing. However, I recommend you check out our mobile payments comparison chart instead for better options.
- Payment gateway: BankCard USA supports eCommerce by providing a “free” payment gateway through Authorize.Net. Of course, this feature isn’t really free. Expect to pay for it through other fees rather than being directing charged for it.
Fees & Rates:
We’ve criticized BankCard USA in the past for advertising deceptively low rates on their website – specifically a rate quote of “rates as low as 0.23%.” This is a common misleading gimmick in the processing industry: advertise the lowest possible rate that a transaction might process at, but fail to mention that almost all of a merchant’s transactions won’t actually qualify for this rate. In fact, most transactions will be processed at a much higher rate. I’m glad to see that BankCard USA has quietly dropped all mention of this teaser rate from their main website. Of course, there’s now no mention at all on the site about processing rates. You’ll have to talk to a sales rep and negotiate the best rates and terms that you can.
BankCard USA also used to advertise a “$1000 low rate guarantee,” promising to pay you $1000 if you could find a lower rate at one of their competitors. This is another gimmick, as the company had plenty of caveats that they didn’t disclose – all virtually guaranteed to ensure that they wouldn’t have to pay you the $1000 under any circumstances. They’ve dropped this from the website, but unfortunately it’s been replaced by an incredibly nebulous “low rate guarantee.” In other words, they still promise you the lowest rates, but they won’t back it up with, well… anything.
It’s worth noting at this point that the BankCard USA website can cause some confusion in its current configuration. While they’ve deleted references to the 0.23% teaser rate and the $1000 guarantee, they also include a site map that will in turn lead you to older web pages that still include those gimmicks. Needless to say, this kind of contradictory information creates even more confusion, and it’s something the company needs to address.
Although BankCard USA doesn’t advertise its rates on their website, they apparently offer both tiered and interchange-plus pricing. Interestingly, in the educational materials they offer in the Resources section of their website, they advise you to look for interchange-plus pricing and to avoid processors that only offer tiered pricing. We couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, a lot of their sales agents will probably try to steer you into the more expensive tiered pricing plans. If you want interchange-plus pricing, you’ll have to ask for it. Even then, you might be told that it’s not available to you. Remember that this company is marketing primarily to high-risk merchants who’ve been turned down for merchant accounts by other processing companies.
What about fees? Again, there’s no mention of these on their website, but you can rest assured that they’ll be in your contract. While most of the fees they charge are near or slightly above the industry average, they can still add up quickly. Expect to either pay a monthly fee or have a monthly minimum requirement, plus annual fees for PCI compliance (possibly as high as $200). There’s also an early termination fee (ranging from $95 to $295) if you break your contract.
Contract Length and Early Termination Fee:
BankCard USA offers a standard contract that runs for three years, with an early termination fee that can range from $95 to as high as $295. The standard contract apparently doesn’t have an auto-renewal clause, but you’ll want to read your contract carefully to confirm this. Be aware that your sales agent does have some leeway to offer better terms, so you’ll want to negotiate for a month-to-month contract with no early termination fee, if possible. If you’re leasing any terminals or other equipment, be aware that these leases are independent of your merchant account contract, and they’re much harder to get out of.
Sales & Advertising Transparency:
As I’ve noted already, BankCard USA has taken a small step in the right direction by removing the “teaser rate” information and “$1000 low rate guarantee” from their main website. Unfortunately, this leaves them with essentially no information about rates or fees on their site at all. Like a lot of older processing companies, they seem to regard a website as merely another form of advertising, and nothing more. To them, the goal is not to educate the consumer or help them make an informed decision. Rather, the goal is to lure the consumer into picking up the phone and calling one of their sales agents, where they’ll be subjected to an annoying, high-pressure sales pitch. As the processing industry moves increasingly toward greater transparency and more informative sales copy on their websites, companies like BankCard USA will be left behind if they don’t improve in this area.
And what about those sales agents? BankCard USA now employs an in-house sales team of 20 agents, some of whom have been with the company for many years. Unfortunately, they also rely on independent sales agents, many of whom are poorly trained and are notorious for failing to disclose relevant terms in the contracts they’re trying to sell to you. If you’re going to talk to a BankCard USA sales rep, my advice is to check their website and make sure you’re talking to one of their in-house sales reps. In most cases, they’ll be able to provide better service than the independent reps.
Customer Service & Technical Support:
BankCard USA touts the availability of a “100% US-based call center staff” on their website. Customer support is supposedly available 24/7 via phone and e-mail. Unfortunately, many of the complaints about the company that I’ve found across the internet cite poor customer service, particularly their telephone support. Long waits, un-returned calls, and downright rude customer service representatives seem to be common problems. This certainly seems like an area that needs improvement. If you’ve had any personal experience with BankCard USA’s customer service, please tell us about it in the Comment section below.
Negative Reviews & Complaints:
BankCard USA is accredited by the BBB and currently has an A+ rating. Like virtually all processors, they have their share of complaints – they currently show 23 formal complaints filed within the past three years, with three of those complaints being filed within the past 12 months. This is down from 29 during our last update. They’ve definitely improved and we can only hope they continue to do so.
Overall, their volume of complaints with the BBB is fairly average, and it’s worth noting that the company actually responded to a majority of those complaints, offering both an apology and a refund, where appropriate.
We’ve criticized BankCard USA in previous review updates for advertising a higher grade from the BBB than they actually had. I’m happy to report that they’ve since removed all references to their BBB rating from their website.
You’ll also find quite a few complaints about the company elsewhere on the web. Ripoff Report, ComplaintsBoard.com, and TrustLink all feature a litany of woes from unhappy merchants. Be aware in reviewing these complaints that dissatisfied customers often copy and paste their complaints onto multiple websites, including our own Comments section. While there’s nothing wrong with doing this, it does artificially inflate the overall number of complaints against a company.
Common complaints against BankCard USA include:
- Poorly-disclosed contract terms: This is a common complaint with all processing companies that use independent sales agents. Terms regarding processing rates and early termination fees are frequently not disclosed. You can protect yourself from this by (1) not relying on your sales agent’s verbal assurances for anything, and (2) carefully reading your entire contract and application before signing up. Pay special attention to the fee schedule which is included as part of the application.
- Withholding of funds/termination of accounts: This can happen for a number of reasons. Chargebacks and/or suspicious charges can easily raise a red flag that will either get you suspended or shut down. First Data (the main processor used by BCUSA) has been known to be a bit trigger-happy when it comes to holding funds or terminating accounts. You’re going to want to learn how to avoid holds and minimize chargebacks if you sign up with them (or anyone really).
- Expensive terminal leases: There are still a lot of complaints out there from merchants who have gotten stuck in lengthy terminal leases, which are very expensive to get out of. Most terminal leases run a minimum of four years (i.e., longer than your merchant account contract), so you can imagine what the cost will be if you decide you want to break the contract early. My recommendation is that you never lease a terminal unless absolutely necessary. Terminals are very cheap to purchase these days, and in fact BankCard USA now recommends that you buy your terminals on their website.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials:
In past review updates, we’ve taken BankCard USA to task over their use of stock photos and brief, one-sentence testimonials from supposedly happy customers – all warning flags that the “review” is probably fabricated. I’m happy to report that there has been some noted improvement in this area. BankCard USA’s website now features full paragraph-length testimonials from actual clients, complete with links to their websites.
The testimonials seem authentic, and they cite specific reasons why the merchants giving them are happy with BankCard USA’s service. Still, I’d prefer to see video testimonials with the merchants speaking in their own words. I’d also like to see a larger number of testimonials from merchants in a wider variety of industries. For a company that claims to have over 100,000 satisfied customers since 1993, you would expect to see more than just four positive testimonials.
Also, while BankCard USA still uses small business-themed stock photos on their website, they’re clearly no longer tied to the merchant testimonials and aren’t misleading.
Final Verdict:
While it is possible – with some negotiation – to get a decent contract and quality service from BankCard USA, it’s hard for me to recommend them when there are so many other processors out there that can offer you a better deal. As a reseller for First Data, they offer little or no value beyond what you’d get by signing up with First Data directly.
Nonetheless, the company has taken some baby steps towards improving its service, such as dropping some misleading sales gimmicks from its website and also achieving a much lower complaint volume with the BBB. As such, I’m upgrading their overall rating to 3 out of 5 stars (from a previous 2.5-star rating).
This is still a very average rating, and there’s plenty of room for further improvement. I’d like to see the company be more transparent about their rates and fees on their website, and I’d particularly like to see them advertise the availability of interchange-plus pricing. Switching to month-to-month contracts with no early termination fee and ditching terminal leases altogether would also improve their rating.
Of course, if you’re a high-risk merchant who’s having trouble being approved for an account with other providers, you may have little choice but to look into BankCard USA or a similar provider. If you do, you can improve the odds of getting a fair deal by (1) ensuring that you talk to one of the company’s in-house sales agents, and (2) buying your own terminals rather than leasing them. Be sure to ask for interchange-plus pricing, and try to get the early termination fee waived.
One positive thing that stood out about BankCard USA was the willingness of their customer service representatives to resolve complaints filed with the BBB in the merchant’s favor when the company clearly had made a mistake. Naturally, I’d prefer to see these mistakes and misunderstandings not happen in the first place.
Until then, please check out our comparison chart to see some of our favorite providers. If you’ve had any experience with BankCard USA, don’t forget to leave your review in a comment!
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27 Comments
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the vendor or bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the vendor or bank advertiser. It is not the vendor or bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Organization Name: printboys digital printing
Bankcard usa potential customer beware. I was a customer with bankcard usa for 5 years before my first experience with a chargeback (A term use by CC industry requiring the retailer to pay back to the customers the total amount of sales over any disputed transaction made, right or wrong by his customer.) Bankcard feels they have the right to reach into your bank account and remove without notice the total sum of a disputed sale, and return it back to a customers bank without research or fact, solely on the direction of a lone bank executive? I strongly disagree therefore I took my business else where.
Hi,
I don’t see many comments by readers with complaints in 2016, does this mean they have cleaned up their act? Or are people just not leaving negative comments anymore?
Thanks…
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I wish you could leave negative stars because Bank Card USA deserves a negative 100 star. I opened an account with bank card USA March 2016. Things were going smoothly for about 3 weeks then out of nowhere they held me payments. I didn’t get a notice or anything I just noticed that they stopped depositing my payments into my account. I waited about 3 days before I called to see if I would get any type of correspondence from them. On the 4th day I called to see what was going on. I was told by someone that my account was placed on a temporary hold and I needed to speak with Ryan Khuel in the “risk department”. I was transferred to his line and it rang with no answer. I left a voicemail. Two days later still no return call. I called back. No answer, so I called and asked for an email. I emailed Ryan and finally got a response a week later and he told me they were holding my payments because they wanted to verify that my customers were receiving their products. He requested that I provide Proof of shipping (tracking numbers) for about 10 orders. I thought this was fair so I gathered the necessary documents and forwarded them over. I was assured once they received that information they would release my money. Two weeks went by still no update or words as to when my funds would be released but they continued to debit my account for fees and drained my checking account. They repeatedly debited my account causing overdraft fees and causing my account to go into a negative status. They were drawing fees on payments they had not paid out to me. Smh. When I finally got Ryan on the phone 3 weeks later he tells me they were closing my account because they could not withdraw any fees from my account. I told them my account was negative because they had been pulling money out of my account and NOT been depositing my payments. At this time BANK CARD USA had over $2,500 in a reserve account for me and I asked him why wouldn’t they take their fees from that money and withdraw money from my bank account. He had no reason or explanation. At this point I was glad they were closing my account. I asked when would they release my funds. He lied to me and told me they would release half of my reserve funds in the next business day. The next day came and still no money. But there was an attempt to withdraw money from my checking account. At that moment I called my bank and issued a stop payment on BANK CARD USA. I guess this only pissed them off because they stopped responding to my emails s d calls. I finally googled the company and got the owner and other upper management email address and cc”d everyone I could find on an email. Here it is 3 months later and they still have not released my funds. This company is a scam. They will steal your money. I wish I had did a search on this company before I trusted my business to them. They almost destroyed my business. A business I worked hard to build. They tried to steal my dream. I beg anyone if you care about your business please find another payment processor.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
This company is full of crap. They are in California which means for me being in Georgia it makes it very difficult to get anyone on the phone. Ryan in there risk department is one of the rudest CSR ever. They will hold your money without so much as an email as to why. When they do get you through to Ryan he gives very indirect answers and no reason for the hold up but his personal feelings. PLEASE STAY AWAY! I only ended up with this company through a mistake from my processing company Shopkeep. You can’t do any research on these people because they seem to be new. They hold your money in any account that gets interest for them so they continually make money off of you but can’t return a phone call.BEWARE OF BANKCARD USA AND THEIR RISK MANGER RYAN KUEHI. They have $700 of my money with no word on it being released. Left three messages for Todd Duplain with no return call in a week sine he is the person who opened this account incorrectly from what his manager says
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I will try to be very brief. I experienced HORRIBLE customer service today (11/19/15) by Bank Card USA. After ten days of not hearing back from the representative who was handling my account at Bank Card USA I called their main office to find out whats going on. There I spoke to a lady with a PISS POOR attitude who worked in customer service named Alex. This lady was extremely unhelpful and couldn’t provide me with any information on why I haven’t heard from my representative at Bank Card USA. Then she rudely transferred me to my representatives voicemail in the middle of me asking her another question. I left a voicemail and called back and spoke to the supervisor in Customer Service named Corrie and this gentlemen seemed to no care one bit about my situation. He informed me that my account had been forwarded to another processor (in which no one had told me about at Bank Card USA) and made no mention of remorse in the way I was treated by the poor customer service rep named Alex. Needless to say as a business owner I hate “poor” customer service and I will never do business with Bank Card USA going forward. I highly recommend you look elsewhere as well. God Bless!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Well it won’t let me leave Zero stars! These guys are pathetic! they will double triple and over charge you in a heart beat.Running a business is stressful enough the last thing you need is a greedy company taking the same money more than once then LYING to you on when it will be returned. Still Has Not BEEN Returned.I have now had to file Unauthorized charges with my bank.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
First off, I doubt if they are legitimate. Their processing is fraudalent, they hold our customers money after we refunded it back to our customer. Apparently, they keep all refunds rather than deposit it back into the proper account. Their customer service is very threatening; if you do not do it according to the legal terms of banking they will take your deposit and hold it for security. They owe my company so much money and I doubt if we will ever be able to get it back. I suggest you stay away from this bank.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
this outfit is full of thievery and its a total ripoff, when i tried to do the pci compliance i get a “this web site is not available” i ve been ripped off by the friggin awipes way too long. and the head con is a guy named “kieth” BEWARE STAY AWAY FROM THESE RIPOFFS….. JOE FROM VIDEO BLUE II @ 206 499 3069 i hope this elevates this review to a credible one.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I just recieved a call from them over the phone.. 1) they refused to tell me their name over the phone2) they claimed they could do swipe/mobile transactions like square.3) they said their rates were lower than square (they said 4.5%, which square’s rates are 2.75%)4) they said you can buy square at walmart (no you cant)5) sales rep actively argued with me instead of answering my questions.6) also lied about startup fees. overall? not impressed.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I appreciate your reviews. Instrumental in helping me choose a processor.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
They are such a big liar’sI don’t recommend anybody doing business with bank card usa They told me the monthly fee is five dollars and they charge me $30 the rates are highest on the market big liars don’t trust them
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I cancelled service in February and they continue to charge my bank account the $24 fee! They are stealing my money!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
So today I decided to look around to see if I was the only person in their dishonest and abused list. So I had a few bad transactions go south but I was completely aware of and I didn’t take steps since I spoke to their Agent over the phone and she said she would take care of it I responded to their emails but never got a respond from them. I keep getting bills and my account is being terminated and fund placed on hold because they have a awful way of communicating with people. Worst mistake I’ve done to hire these guys to processes my payments now I’m in a thin line of going bankrupt and out of business do to not having my funds. I well be talking to a lawyer since these damages are very hard to repair due to their bad service. I even hired a third-party for fraud right after that they cancelled the account. Fishy!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I have been with this company 1 year and I have been having major problems with their administartion corospondense people they have poor people skills and are very greedy , our company would rather pay more then pay less for credit card transaction than deal with their neglegence.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Just by talking to a sales Rep over the phone,To see if i want to use their service,I did not like his attitude at all,He told me,He felt like i was wasting his time,So i say,I know i will not use their merchant services.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
The worst customer service I have ever experienced. I have been on hold for 26 minutes and counting and still do not have my issue resolved. Unbelievable!!!!!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I had been processing all my credit cards through a different credit card processing company for the last 3 years and decided to switch to BankCard USA. This was probably the biggest mistake I ever made. We had only 1 dispute come through on our account due to a client who received services, but didn’t want to pay for it. The lady in Risk Management required we send over all documentation of current sales so she can call and verify if services were rendered. Every sale checked out perfectly. Then she calls back up and requires we send over all past sales so she can verify those. This all over 1 dispute. This was a horrible experience and this is a horrible company. Never use them.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I decided to start a little business of merchant processing and contacted BankCard to handle the processing. WHAT A MISTAKE. Everything worked great for a while. Then they held the merchants money. I tried to handle it for my merchants. They quit taking my calls. Then they sold my accounts, never told me, and I quit receiving checks. I do not recommend this company. I would also be careful, because I suspect they will only close down and start up a new company under a different name. I feel so bad for my merchants as they were small businesses and needed every dime to stay in business. That is why they switched to me, because I could get their charges lowered. Humph!!!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Now here I am joining the ranks of the unimpressed. After having nightmares with Sams Club/First Data,I don’t know quite what to do so I call my bank. They tell me that some of their costumers were trying Bankcard USA so hesitantly I called them and they assured me that I would love their program.They agreed to sell me one of their processing machines so I chanced it and said yes I would try them. The first few months went by.the charges were high and I kept contacting them as to what was the problem. Now for the third time in a row I am being charged for not being pmi compliant and when I correct this problem for 2 months I am still being charged 19.95 for none compliance. This was supposed to have been done ins 2011 but three months into2012 I’m being charged. Now my machine suddenly quits working, and all they can tell me is something is wrong will my internet service. They finally send me a different machine and guess what it won’t work either, but it will work on my phone line which is not satisfactory with me as I only have one phone line as I am a small business, but all I’m getting is bs that it is a problem at my end and the phone company says that shouldn’t be the case .So now in order to get card machine service I will be forced to pay a cancellation fee which is bogus when their machine is the thing not communicating with the internet.Is it interesting that as soon as I am compliant my machine quits working Be careful.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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.)
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.