Dharma Merchant Services Review
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- Date Established
- 2007
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
Pros
- Interchange-plus pricing offered exclusively
- No annual fee or monthly minimum
- Month-to-month billing with no early termination fees
- Discounted pricing for qualified nonprofit companies
- Outstanding sales transparency and highly ethical business practices
Cons
- Not recommended for businesses processing less than $10,000 per month
- No support for high-risk or international merchants
Dharma Merchant Services Overview
Dharma Merchant Services, a merchant account provider headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, has been combining expert processing industry know-how with highly ethical business practices since 2007. The company caters to the unique needs of small businesses, restaurants, and nonprofits.
Dharma offers some of the best advertising practices and sales transparency we’ve seen anywhere in the industry. The company uses interchange-plus pricing exclusively, and all accounts feature month-to-month billing with no early termination fees. Dharma has no account application fees, no annual fees, and no monthly minimums. Dharma also won’t charge you any pesky PCI compliance fees or batch fees.
Dharma credit card processing constitutes proof that you can run a merchant services business and make a profit without having to rip off your customers. What’s more, Dharma is a certified green business and a Special Purpose Corporation (similar to a California Benefit Corporation).
Dharma’s pricing is consistently fair and predictable. The company advertises all of its standard rate and fee information publicly on its website. You can also expect high-quality, friendly, personalized service and support from the Dharma team. A real human being with industry knowledge is always just a phone call away. We’re in touch with the people at Dharma often, and we’re always impressed by the quality of the information provided by the in-house staff.
We take our reviews seriously. We’ve reviewed hundreds of merchant services providers, most of which end up being average or below. A select group makes the grade as providers we recommend, and only a handful of those are our favorite, go-to partners. Dharma Merchant Services is one of that exclusive handful, and it’s earned the distinction.
Dharma Merchant Services easily earns a score of 5 out of 5 stars. It’s not for everyone; high-risk businesses and those processing less than $10,000 per month will need to look elsewhere. For most merchants, though, Dharma offers the best overall value of just about any provider in the industry, and we recommend Dharma to you with zero hesitation.
Please read our full Dharma Merchant Services review for more details, or cut to the chase and sign up with the company. You won’t regret it.
Table of Contents
Products & Services
Dharma Merchant Services provides a complete lineup of essential products and services for retail and eCommerce merchants. It offers everything you need and nothing you don’t. Check it out:
- Merchant Accounts: Dharma processing primarily uses Fiserv (formerly First Data) as its main back-end processor. While Fiserv doesn’t have a great reputation among small business owners, Dharma has tremendous leeway to set its processing rates, account fees, and contract terms. The result is that Dharma can offer you a much better deal than you would get if you tried to set up your own account with Fiserv directly. Dharma provides customer service to its merchants, so you shouldn’t have to contact Fiserv in most cases. Note that Dharma no longer services high-risk or international accounts. Instead, the company will refer you to PaymentCloud, a high-risk processor.
- MX Merchant: This is Dharma’s all-in-one online account access and reporting system, and it’s included with every Dharma merchant account. Features include a virtual terminal, online reporting, a customer database, a mobile processing app, and several other goodies. You can add options for an additional monthly fee, such as integrated ACH payment processing, B2B processing, invoicing, and recurring billing.
- B2B Processing: If you run a business that sells to other businesses, Dharma has an exclusive B2B program that offers discounted rates for merchants processing Level 2 and 3 data. You’ll need the MX B2B app, which costs an additional $20 per month. Depending on your average processing volume, your savings in processing charges should more than offset the cost of this extra fee.
- Payment Gateway: For eCommerce merchants, Dharma offers a choice between either the NMI Gateway or Authorize.Net. Both gateways have nearly identical pricing, but the NMI Gateway appears to have a few more specialized features. If you’re concerned about being able to take your customer data with you if you ever switch gateway providers, the NMI Gateway may be a better choice.
- Credit Card Terminals: Dharma offers several countertop terminals for direct sale, with pricing fully disclosed on its website. Unlike many providers, Dharma won’t set you up with an expensive (and noncancelable) lease. Current models include the Verifone Vx520 ($179), the Fiserv FD-130 ($295), and the Ingenico Desk/5000 ($375), all of which are EMV-compliant and can also work with NFC-based payment methods (such as Apple Pay). If you already have a terminal, Dharma can reprogram it for free if it’s compatible with the company’s system. Check Dharma’s FAQ for more details, as several potential problems can come up. For example, Dharma won’t reprogram wireless terminals and recommends that you buy a new terminal in most cases.
- Mobile Processing: If you’d prefer a truly mobile way to accept payments, Dharma offers its MX Merchant Express app, available for both iOS and Android. It pairs with the Walker 2 card reader, which can accept magstripe, EMV, and NFC-based payment methods (including Apple Pay and Google Wallet). The reader costs $99 and can connect via either your device’s headphone jack (if you still have one) or Bluetooth.
- POS Systems: Dharma promotes Fiserv’s popular Clover series of POS products, including the top-of-the-line Clover Station ($39.95/month, $1,649 for the hardware). It comes with a Clover Mini for no extra charge, and you can also pair it with a Clover Flex for an additional $9.95/month (and an additional $499 for the device). You can also use a Clover Flex on a standalone basis, in which case you’ll pay $499 while having to choose one of three Clover service plans. These plans range from $4.95/month to $29.95/month and offer an escalating level of features as you move up the subscription tier ladder. See our reviews of the Clover POS system, Clover Mini, and Clover Flex for more information, and read our guide to the top Clover resellers if you want to assess your other options.
- Kabbage Merchant Financing: The company partners with Kabbage to provide small businesses with a line of credit up to $150,000. This credit line is not the same as a merchant cash advance and may be a better option if you need funding to get your business off the ground.
- Fundraising Services: Dharma partners with 4aGoodCause to provide services for nonprofit organizations, from everyday donations to online crowd-funding events. Dharma will set you up with clean, professional donation pages for web and mobile as well as event registration services. The costs here are a bit more than regular processing, of course, but they beat the industry standard for sure, offering very reasonable pricing with optional add-ons.
Dharma Credit Card Processing Rates & Fees
Dharma Merchant Services offers one of the most transparent and fair pricing structures in the industry, with all costs being fully disclosed right on its website. Interchange-plus pricing is provided exclusively for every account, so you won’t have to negotiate to get it.
The company separates its pricing plans by business categories rather than processing volume levels, so it’s effortless to decide which plan is best for your business. Pricing plans include options for storefront and eCommerce merchants as well as a discounted rate plan exclusively for restaurants. Discounted rates are also available for qualified nonprofit organizations. Here’s an overview of Dharma’s pricing options:
| Plan Type | Monthly Fee | Per-Transaction Fee | Virtual Terminal | Mobile Processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storefront (Retail) Rates | $20/month | Interchange + 0.15% + $0.07 per transaction | Free | Free |
| Restaurant Rates | $20/month | Interchange + 0.15% + $0.07 per transaction | Free | Free |
| Virtual (eCommerce) Rates | $20/month | Interchange + 0.20% + $0.10 per transaction | Free | Free |
| High-Volume Retail Rates | $15/month | Interchange + 0.10% + $0.07 per transaction | Free | Free |
For each option, there are numerous incidental fees to pay (chargebacks, etc.), all of which Dharma discloses on its website. High-volume rates are available to merchants processing over $100,000 per month.
Gateway Fees
There are extra costs associated with using a payment gateway. Dharma processing gives you a choice between its proprietary NMI Gateway and Authorize.Net. With either option, you will pay nothing in setup fees and $10 per month after that. There is also an additional $0.05 per-transaction fee for any sales processed over the gateway. You will only need a payment gateway if you will be selling online.
Other Fees
Like any other provider, Dharma also occasionally charges incidental fees. Unlike most providers, however, the company discloses them in advance on its website. Here’s an overview of the fees you might see on your statement:
- Retrieval Fee: $5 per instance (charged only when a customer disputes a transaction)
- Chargeback Fee: $20 per instance (charged only when a chargeback occurs)
Dharma does not charge account setup fees or annual fees. None of its accounts require a monthly minimum, and there is no early termination fee if you close your account.
Dharma sells its processing hardware directly, rather than setting you up with an outrageously overpriced third-party equipment lease. Prices for its terminals are quite fair, especially considering that you’re also getting a warranty and the software loaded to work with Dharma’s processing system.
If you already have a terminal, the company will reprogram it to work with Dharma’s system for free. Unless you already have a compatible EMV-compliant terminal, we recommend buying your equipment outright from Dharma.
Special Rates For Nonprofits
Dharma specializes in working with nonprofit organizations and offers reduced pricing for qualified businesses. Retail rates are interchange + 0.15% + $0.07 per transaction, while eCommerce rates are interchange + 0.20% + $0.10 per transaction. All other pricing information listed above also applies to nonprofits.
Contract Length & Early Termination Fee
Dharma offers true month-to-month billing with no long-term contract and no early termination fee on all of its merchant accounts. While you can close your account at any time, be sure to follow the procedure specified in your contract to avoid being charged beyond your intended closure date.
While it doesn’t charge an early termination fee, the company does impose a $25 account closure fee when you permanently close your account. Like all merchant account providers, Dharma is required by law to keep your account on file for a minimum of six months after closure. This fee merely recoups the cost of this necessary record-keeping. Note that if you are a seasonal business, you will not be charged this fee when you suspend your account for the off-season.
Sales & Advertising Transparency
Often, the sales experience is one of the worst aspects of setting up a merchant account. That’s not the case with Dharma. Your first contact with the company will probably be through its website, and it’s one of the best we’ve seen. The site is well laid out, and it’s easy to find the information you need. In fact, it provides more data than you probably thought you needed. All fees, rates, and contract terms are explained in detail, and the company lists the actual cost of every service and piece of equipment it provides.
The advantage of this unusually high level of transparency is that many (if not most) of your questions will already be answered by the time you decide to contact the company’s sales team. Dharma uses in-house sales representatives exclusively, so you won’t experience any of the misleading claims and high-pressure sales tactics that independent agents at other companies commonly employ.
With Dharma’s standardized pricing plans and lack of long-term contracts, there won’t be much left to negotiate when you finally talk with one of the sales representatives. They’ll still provide friendly and helpful service, of course, but you’ll already know most of what you need before you ever talk to a representative. Frankly, we wish a lot more providers would offer the same level of transparency that Dharma does. The company has set a very high standard in this area, and there aren’t many other providers in the processing industry that come even close to meeting it.
Dharma also gets the word out about its services via social media. The company has active accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. A YouTube channel provides several educational videos, and Dharma has posted some marketing videos separately on the site that include excellent testimonials from satisfied clients.
Customer Service & Technical Support
In-house telephone support that’s available 24/7, 365 days a year, is the gold standard in the processing industry, but it’s something that only the largest providers can offer. In most cases, companies provide in-house support during business hours and rely on outsourced support staff to cover the rest of the time. If you have an issue come up at 9 PM on a Saturday, for example, you’ll often find yourself talking to a call center employee who can do little more than file a support ticket on your behalf. The actual resolution of your problem will have to wait until Monday morning.
Dharma compromises, providing superb in-house telephone-based and live chat support from knowledgeable and supportive staff during business hours, 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Support is also available via email, and you can submit a ticket directly from the company’s website. Outside of regular business hours, Dharma will direct you to the appropriate party, depending on the nature of the issue and your back-end processor.
Dharma’s website also includes an outstanding knowledgebase — one of the best we’ve ever seen — that provides answers to a wide variety of questions you might have about how credit card processing works. All the information the company provides is beneficial, accurate, and, overall, quite impressive.
Dharma Merchant Services Reviews & Complaints
Dharma is one of the very few companies we’ve seen in the processing industry that has more positive feedback than complaints on the web. In fact, in surveying Dharma credit card processing reviews, the most common criticism of the company appears to come from merchants who’ve been turned down for an account for one reason or another.
Positive Dharma Merchant Services Reviews & Testimonials
Unlike the overwhelming number of merchant account providers in the industry, praise for Dharma is much easier to find than criticism. Our Comments section (below) is filled with positive reviews from merchants who’ve used Dharma’s services and been happy with the results. Reviews on Dharma’s Facebook page are also mostly very positive, with the company scoring a 4.1 out of 5, based on the opinions of 46 people.
The company promotes a number of client testimonials on its website from merchants who have been very satisfied with Dharma’s service. Business owners and their companies are clearly identified, making these testimonials very convincing.
It’s always a breath of fresh air to see a company receive so much positive feedback. Particular strengths praised by reviewers included fair pricing, excellent customer service, and Dharma’s commitment to protecting the environment and promoting the work of a wide variety of nonprofit organizations.
Negative Dharma Merchant Services Reviews & Complaints
Dharma Merchant Services is no longer accredited by the BBB but still has an A+ rating. The company has had only a single complaint within the last three years, with no complaints received within this past year. Unfortunately, specific details about the complaint are not available. Over on Trustpilot, there are over 100 Dharma Merchant Services reviews, with 90% of reviewers giving the company an Excellent rating. While it’s not quite a perfect record, it’s about as close to perfect as we’ve seen for any merchant services provider.
The general lack of negative feedback is, of course, an excellent indication of the high quality of service that Dharma provides. However, it does not mean that nothing ever goes wrong. Funding holds and equipment compatibility issues come up from time to time, but the company handles these hiccups in a much more professional and competent manner than most of its competitors. Dharma’s use of a well-trained and supervised in-house customer support team is the main reason the company is able to keep almost all of its merchants happy.
While it’s not a negative factor, we should point out that you will have to pay a monthly gateway fee and a small per-transaction charge if you use one of the company’s gateways. The amounts Dharma charges for these services are entirely fair and reasonable, and they’re generally below industry averages.
However, if you have an eCommerce business with a very tight budget, you should be aware that there are providers out there who will set you up with a payment gateway for free. For example, CDGcommerce offers either its proprietary Quantum gateway or Authorize.Net for free. There are no setup fees and no monthly gateway fees. Nonetheless, we firmly believe that Dharma’s overall value more than makes up for these costs for most merchants.
Help make our Dharma Merchant Services review even better by leaving a comment with your own experience below!
Final Verdict
If you’ve read this far, you’ll see why we rate Dharma Merchant Services as being among the best of the best when it comes to providing honest merchant services. It offers a high-quality service at a fair price. With stellar services and sales practices, it’s no wonder that Dharma comes in as an absolute favorite merchant account provider.
Dharma excels at saving merchants money and providing a headache-free processing experience. If your business is a good fit for what Dharma offers, we can’t recommend the company highly enough. Dharma may not always be the least-expensive provider (although it’s pretty close!), but it does provide the best overall value around. The total value of the services a provider can deliver is more important in the long run than simply being the cheapest available option.
Just remember that not all merchants will be a good fit for Dharma’s business model. Dharma is only available to merchants operating in the United States, and it doesn’t accept high-risk merchants. If your processing volume is currently less than $10,000 per month, Dharma recommends Square as a more affordable option.
In fact, Dharma now provides an online calculator that allows you to compare your anticipated costs using either Dharma or Square. We can’t think of any other provider in the industry that gives you the chance to compare your costs with a competitor in this way.
Dharma is an excellent choice for the following entities:
- Brick-and-mortar retailers
- eCommerce retailers
- Restaurants
- Nonprofit organizations
Dharma earns a coveted score of 5 out of 5 stars and our highest endorsement.
Frank Kehl
Frank Kehl has been writing about merchant services, payment gateways, and international money transfer services since 2015. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State and a Juris Doctorate from the Ventura College of Law. After a long and enjoyable career of traveling around the world as an Air Force navigator, he’s comfortably settled down in the wine country town of Paso Robles in California’s scenic Central Coast region. He enjoys reading, photography, hiking, and numerous other outdoor pursuits.
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The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Dharma Merchant Services  |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Dharma Merchant Services for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Dharma Merchant Services |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Dharma Merchant Services for yourself.
Read Next
Organization Name: Shaman Modifications LLC
Dharma no longer exists and we were never informed that their number transfers to Priority Payments- they closed without taking down their website or even emailing their clients. I only found out when I called to find out why an email wasn’t answered for weeks and was informed that email doesn’t go anywhere anymore.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: HILL'S AUTOMOTIVE
Dharma is great! I have been a customer for several years & they have been exceptional. Had a chargeback issue – first time in 25 years processing cards. I dealt with one of the main people at Dharma personally & he got my problem solved. Great service!!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Fed-Up Legal Solutions
I would not recommend Dharma Merchant services as they will say anything to get your account and then when you have any customer charge-back issues they immediately begin holding your funds with no notice or snail mail notice so you have no time to respond! They will send you confirmation that your account is good and then continue holding the funds without explanation. They do not care what effect it has on customers or their business! Very deceptive practices STAY AWAY!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Thank you for sharing the information.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.