Merchant Focus Review

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Overview:

The thing that drew me to Merchant Focus originally was their strong relationship with Authorize.Net, the most popular payment gateway provider in the US. If Authorize.Net trusts these guys enough to send a whole bunch of business their way, that’s saying something. And there’s no doubt about it, Merchant Focus is an above average merchant account provider. But the question is: How far above average are they?

Incorporated in 2006, Merchant Focus has built a great reputation over the past almost ten years, and it’s easy to see why. They’ve been setting up accounts with no junk fees and no early termination fees for a long time – and while this practice is now fashionable, it wasn’t always so common. Merchant Focus has also been advertising an interchange-plus plan for a while now, and I love to see this since it’s my preferred pricing model. They’ve never to my knowledge engaged in shady leasing practices or ripoff equipment sales, another common pitfall. For all of these reasons – as well as their outstanding track record – I like Merchant Focus. But I think they have room for improvement.

One of my major gripes is their standard advertised pricing model: Tiered pricing (my least favorite pricing system). Yes, they do offer interchange-plus – but for some merchants. Merchant Focus is also known as Established Merchant Focus around the web, and they even have a separate URL along these lines at www.EstablishedMerchantsOnly.com. This stems from the company’s two distinct pricing models – one for new or low-volume merchants (tiered), and another for “established” or high-volume merchants (interchange-plus). To be considered an established merchant, you’ll need to be consistently taking about $21K per month ($250K per year).

I don’t think merchants should have to process $21K per month in order to qualify for interchange-plus, and I feel like this is an outdated way of pricing processing rates. True, a couple of my favorite providers advertise tiered pricing, but they make up for that in other ways. I believe Merchant Focus can do better than this. Another issue: On the whole, I found the Merchant Focus website confusing and difficult to navigate. The whole site is kind of messy and outdated.

Although I’m not thrilled with the Merchant Focus marketing style and pricing system, this company overall performs favorably. They have an amazingly clean track record and seem to do an outstanding job when it comes to the sales experience beyond their marketing. Frankly, I can’t argue with results – and Merchant Focus has produced results.

I believe that this is a trustworthy company dedicated to setting up effective, reliable service. And that has earned them a solid 4-star review. I’d just recommend skipping their website and just going straight to the sales call. I also recommend that you insist on interchange-plus pricing – regardless of your volume – and be ready to negotiate.

Countries Served:

USA and Canada (Canadian rates and fees will differ from those listed in this review).

Products & Services:

• Gateway/virtual terminal – These come through Authorize.Net, and at a good price too.
• Mobile payments – This comes via their Take Charge app. (Who doesn’t love a good pun?) It’s basically a rebranded version of the AppNinjas iSwipe app. The app itself doesn’t have any features that set it apart and look less functional than some alternatives, but it probably gets the job done for most small merchants. I do have two concerns, though. First, it looks like very few people actually use the app. For instance, Google Play is showing less that 50 downloads for this app. Next, I’m always a little wary of apps that don’t have a demo mode, and this one doesn’t.
• Web-based POS – This might be my favorite service from Merchant Focus, especially since its included at no extra fee beyond a normal monthly admin fee and gateway fee ($25 combined). Plus they throw in a free USB card reader to complete the package. With this app and the card reader, you won’t need a dedicated credit card terminal. This is a much more compatible solution than Authorize.Net’s Virtual POS system. I particularly liked seeing that Merchant Focus released a Google Chrome app, making it effortless to use even with Chromebooks. As a sometimes user of Chromebooks, I love this. It’s a great way to turn a very cheap piece of hardware into a functional point of sale. The POS isn’t fully-loaded with features (not much in the way of inventory tools, for instance), but it gets the job done in a barebones way.
• Gift cards – This is a nice feature, and not all providers offer it. Access will cost you $20 per month and $0.25 per transaction, but if you sign up for a merchant account too they’ll waive the $100 setup package fee. This also includes online reporting to track gift card status.

Fees & Rates:

Merchant Focus offers two pricing standard pricing models – one for high volume (interchange-plus), and one for low volume (tiered). These two models are then broken down into other categories. Frankly, I find their pricing system very outdated and, in some cases, deceptive. It also can be confusing. Let me show you:

Starter Retail Account (under $250K annually)

• Monthly Fee – $10
• Qualified Discount Rate – 1.69%
• Mid-Qualified Rate – 2.29%
• Non-Qualified Rate – Not disclosed
• Transaction Fee – $0.25
• No Monthly Minimum

Starter eCommerce/Mail Order Account (under $250K annually)

• Monthly Fee – $10
• Qualified Discount Rate – 2.19%
• Mid-Qualified Rate – 2.29%
• Non-Qualified Rate – Not disclosed
• Transaction Fee – $0.24
• Monthly Minimum – $15
• Authorize.Net Gateway Fee – $15 monthly, $0.05 per transaction

These are tiered plans – a pricing model that I really, really don’t like to see. And what’s worse? They commit a cardinal sin of merchant services advertising: not disclosing the non-qualified rate. I normally will only recommend interchange-plus pricing to our readers, even for lower volume merchants. In certain circumstances, fixed-rate pricing will make sense (like with some e-commerce accounts and some mobile accounts), but I never recommend tiered pricing.

“Established” merchant account ($250K or more annually)

Merchant Focus gives the following example of an interchange-plus quote for a card-not-present merchant processing $20K to $50K per month.

• No monthly fee
• No monthly gateway fee ($0.05 transaction fee applies)
• Variable interchange-plus markup (ranges from 0.15% to 0.60% depending on card type)
• Transaction fee – $0.15

A variable markup is not a very common practice, and I don’t prefer it. It’s like having a tiered interchange-plus plan – kind of defeats the purpose…

I really do like that they waive the monthly fee and gateway fee, though. So that’s something. But, to be honest, this just isn’t good enough for me based on what their competition is offering as standard.

“Take Charge” mobile payment account

• Monthly Fee – $25
• Debit Transactions – 1.59% + $0.29
• Credit Transactions – 1.79% + $0.29
• Keyed In (not swiped) Cards – 2.89% + $0.29
• Corporate, Government, Foreign or High-End Rewards Cards – 2.89% + $0.29

Other “downgraded” rates may apply, not exceeding 2.89% total. A headphone jack free card reader is included.

Other Fees:

• Chargeback fee – $30

There are a number of other pricing models discussed on the Merchant Focus site, but I’ve covered the most important information here.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee:

Since there is no early termination fee with Merchant Focus, you are free to end your contract any month you choose with no penalty. You will have to follow the proper cancellation procedures, which usually include sending in a signed cancellation form. Thirty days notice is usually expected to avoid billing for the following month.

Sales & Advertising Transparency:

One thing I really do appreciate about Merchant Focus’s advertising? Their clear and easy to find explanations about monthly minimums. A lot of merchants don’t understand what a monthly minimum fee is, and I think we all have to admit that is isn’t necessarily intuitive. I was really glad to see Merchant Focus link to a great explanation right in their sales copy.

Beyond that, I didn’t find a lot to love about the way Merchant Focus advertises their services. The pricing information is confusing, and in some cases, only a qualified rate in a tiered plan is advertised. I generally consider this practice deceptive and don’t like to see it.

The bottom line for me? The only way you’ll have any idea what your quote rate will be is to call and talk to a sales rep. The rates on the site are unreliable at best – confusing and deceptive at worst. I’d really like to see the whole thing overhauled.

Customer Service & Technical Support:

This appears to be a category that Merchant Focus really excels in. I know that I’ve complained about their advertised pricing, and that is an issue for me, but pricing is always negotiable. Customer service isn’t. So the fact that Merchant Focus has managed to keep so many customers satisfied over the past decade means a lot to me. It is incredibly hard for a merchant service provider to keep complaints from leaking out across the web, but Merchant Focus has managed to maintain a stellar reputation (see next section). This is only possible when customer service and support are functioning well.

Merchant Focus support is offered by email, phone and live chat on weekdays from 8 AM to 6 PM Eastern time. Unfortunately, very little self-service customer support is available. There is no knowledge base and only a very limited FAQ. I’m disappointed to see this.

If you have direct experience with the customer support offered by Merchant Focus, please leave us a comment with your insights!

Negative Reviews & Complaints:

As I’ve already mentioned, I really don’t like Merchant Focus’s advertised pricing models. So when I looked up their complaint record, I expected to find a sea of negatives. But – I was pleasantly surprised. Only four complaints have been filed with the BBB in the last three years, and the company has an A rating and has been BBB accredited since 2006. This is a really good track record.

You’ll find two complaints on Ripoff Report, both from 2013. One is a customer complaining about not being approved for an account, the other is a complaint about the quality of service. Two complaints shouldn’t sway your opinion, though. There are no substantive patterns of complaints against Merchant Focus.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials:

You’ll find a couple dozen positive reviews on the Testimonials page of the Merchant Focus site. I always love to see this sort of thing because it tells me that not only do they have some satisfied merchants (which is obvious, really, or they’d be out of business), but that these merchants appreciate the service so much that they were willing to take the time to write some kind words about their experience.

Most of the positive reviews do not cite any specific products or services they liked, but common themes are:

• Great sales experience
• Great customer service

So while you should always take on-site payment processors reviews with a grain of salt, seeing this does boost my confidence a bit.

Final Verdict:

End of the day, Merchant Focus is an above-average payments provider. They don’t use early termination fees or other junk fees, and they’ve managed to maintain a very clean reputation across almost ten years in business. While you won’t find a tremendous number of products and services offer, you will find most of the essentials, and even a gift card processing option. I truly believe that Merchant Focus is a trustworthy provider overall.

All of that said, I also think Merchant Focus has a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to their website and advertising. I don’t like that they use tiered pricing as the standard model, and I really don’t like that they fail to make complete fee/rate disclosure in their advertising. They are quick to tell you all of the fees that you won’t be paying, but less forthcoming when it comes to the rates and fees you will. Overall, the company has confusing and outdated marketing and this isn’t doing anyone any favors. It also brings their sales practices into question, despite their clean track record.

I’m currently glad to give Merchant Focus a solid 4-star rating, but I’d like to see some improvement in their marketing and standard pricing before they go any higher than that.

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No early termination fee	✓	✓	✓	✓
Pricing model	Interchange-plus*	Interchange-plus*	Interchange-plus*	Flat rate
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*Our preferred processors use fully transparent Interchange-plus pricing.

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We've done in-depth research on each and confidently recommend them.

Check Out Our Preferred Credit Card Processors 🏆

	Payment Depot	Fattmerchant	PaymentCloud	Square
	Visit Site Read Review	Visit Site Read Review	Visit Site Read Review	Visit Site Read Review
No early termination fee	✓	✓	✓	✓
Pricing model	Interchange-plus*	Interchange-plus*	Interchange-plus*	Flat rate
Rate matching / Negotiable	✓	✓	✓	✓
Next Steps	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site

*Our preferred processors use fully transparent Interchange-plus pricing.

See more information

Hide

We've done in-depth research on each and confidently recommend them.

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