National Processing Review

Products & Services

Although National Processing doesn’t offer all the extra bells and whistles that you might find with a larger provider, it covers the basics very well. Here’s an overview of its major services:

• Merchant Accounts: National Processing is not a direct processor. It has previously used Global Payments as its back-end processor (and may still do so). Now that it offers a full line of Clover hardware options, it’s probably using First Data as well. Note that customer service is still provided by National Processing in most cases. You shouldn’t have to deal with your back-end processor directly unless you experience an account hold, freeze, or termination.
• Countertop Credit Card Terminals: The company offers a wide selection of the popular Clover brand of terminals, all of which support EMV payments. The closest equivalent to a traditional countertop terminal is the Clover Flex (see our review). National Processing does not disclose equipment prices. Fortunately, though, you should be able to buy your equipment outright, rather than leasing. If you already have an EMV-compliant terminal, National Processing will reprogram it to work with its system for free.
• Point Of Sale Systems: For restaurants and other businesses that need a more robust processing device, the company advertises Clover Station (see our review) and Clover Mini (see our review) as its primary POS systems. You might also be able to use your existing POS system by having it reprogrammed — check with your sales agent to ensure compatibility.
• Mobile Processing: If you’re a small business owner and just need an affordable mobile processing system to use with your smartphone or tablet, National Processing has you covered. The Clover Go reader (see our review) connects to the app via Bluetooth and supports both EMV and NFC-based payment methods, making it reasonably future-proof. While pricing isn’t disclosed, the Clover Go usually retails around $40 for the basic EMV reader ($60 for the Bluetooth + NFC reader).
• Payment Gateway: The company offers a payment gateway but doesn’t disclose much information about it. In the past, it has offered Authorize.Net (see our review) as its primary gateway. While it doesn’t charge any gateway setup fees, you can expect to pay gateway fees of $5 per month. As we’ll see below, processing rates for eCommerce transactions are a little higher than the retail rates.
• ACH/eCheck Processing: Finding reasonably priced ACH processing isn’t as easy as it used to be. Gone are the days of free ACH for low-value transactions. National Processing offers ACH processing but no longer discloses its rates or fees for this plan. In the past, however, it has charged $15 per month + $0.48 per transaction. As always, be sure to ask your sales agent for more details if you need this feature.

In addition to these basic services, National Processing used to advertise a “cash discount” program that essentially allowed you to pass the cost of credit card processing onto your customers. However, it’s no longer advertised on the company’s website and may not be available anymore.

Fees & Rates

National Processing offers some of the clearest pricing disclosures of any provider in the industry. The company breaks its plans down by the primary sales channel for low-volume businesses, with different rates for each. Above a threshold of $75,000 in credit card sales per month, merchants are eligible for enterprise plans.

Restaurant Plan:

• $10 per month account fee
• Interchange + 0.15% + $0.07 per transaction
• Optional free Clover Go terminal
• $75,000 monthly processing volume limit

Retail Plan:

• $10 per month account fee
• Interchange + 0.20% + $0.10 per transaction
• Optional free Clover Go terminal
• $75,000 monthly processing volume limit

eCommerce Plan:

• $10 per month account fee
• $5 per month gateway fee
• Interchange + 0.30% + $0.15 per transaction
• $75,000 monthly processing volume limit

For high-volume merchants, National Processing offers two plans: one for merchants processing between $75,000 and $200,000 per month in card sales, and one for merchants processing more than $200,000 per month.

High-Volume Business Plan:

• $59 per month account fee
• Interchange + 0% + $0.09 per transaction
• $200,000 monthly processing volume limit
• Free terminal, PIN pad, and mobile card reader

Very-High-Volume Business Plan:

• $199 per month account fee
• Interchange + 0% + $0.05 per transaction
• Free terminal, PIN pad, and mobile card reader
• Optional free Clover Go, Flex, or Mini
• Free terminal upgrades every two years

National Processing is one of the better providers in the industry when it comes to fees. It doesn’t charge any account setup fees or annual fees. It also doesn’t require a monthly minimum. If you don’t need a free terminal, your contract comes with month-to-month billing and no early termination fee. While it no longer discloses miscellaneous incidental and recurring fees on its website, in the past it has charged the following extra fees:

• PCI Compliance Fee: $7.95 per month
• AVS Fee: $0.05 per verification
• Batch Fee: $0.10 per batch
• Chargeback Fee: $15.00 per occurrence
• Retrieval Fee: $5.00 per instance
• Voice Authorization: $1.50 per authorization
• PIN Debit Fees: Passed through at cost (i.e., no markup)

If you need ACH/echeck processing, there are separate fees for this optional program. While the company no longer lists them on its website, in the past it has charged the following fees for ACH processing:

• Monthly Fee: $15.00
• ACH Processing Rate: $0.48 per transaction
• Return Fee: $3.50 per instance
• ACH Rejection Fee: $15.00 per instance

Overall, these are some of the lowest fees and rates we’ve seen disclosed by a provider, making National Processing an excellent choice for small or medium-sized businesses. However, we encourage you to compare its prices against what a competing provider will offer you before making a decision.

Visit National Processing

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

Standard agreements with National Processing include a $295 early termination fee (ETF), but even as part of this standard contract, the company waives this fee under several circumstances. If you don’t need any free equipment when you sign up, you should be able to get a month-to-month account with no cancellation fees. National Processing makes the following statement on its website regarding this topic:

1. In the event that your business is sold or closed, National Processing will waive your termination fee upon receipt of the appropriate documentation.
2. In the event that National Processing can’t meet or beat a competitor’s rates, your termination fee will be waived. In order to qualify, the competing quote must be submitted to National Processing in writing with the competitor’s original contract.
3. In the event that you leave National Processing for a competitor without providing the opportunity for National Processing to meet or beat another offer, you agree to pay the standard termination fee.

We’d prefer to see the company dispense with its early termination fee altogether. However, this is a reasonable compromise. The argument is that by ensuring you have some level of commitment to keeping your account open for an extended period, National Processing can offer you lower rates and free equipment. I have not seen complaints about this policy, so it appears that merchants are satisfied with the arrangement overall. However, if you’re dead set on getting a full-service merchant account without any ETF whatsoever, there are highly-rated providers that can accommodate you. See our Merchant Account Comparison Chart for some recommendations.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

National Processing’s website isn’t the fanciest or most informative one that we’ve ever seen, but it does do an excellent job of disclosing the company’s rates and fees under its numerous processing plans. The company also does a good job of disclosing many of the “hidden” fees that most providers bury in the fine print of their contracts, although the details provided aren’t as extensive as they’ve been in the past. In any event, you’ll want to read your contract thoroughly before signing up. If you have any concerns about specific fees, you should discuss them with your sales agent before you open your account. While some fees are non-negotiable, many others can be reduced or even waived altogether if you ask.

Unlike the vast majority of providers on the market, National Processing provides an extensive discussion of interchange fees on its website. It even includes real-world examples of interchange fees from Visa and Mastercard to show you how they affect your final processing cost for a given transaction. Most merchants are surprised to discover that interchange fees constitute the majority of their processing charges. The provider’s markup only constitutes a small portion of the cost you pay to process a transaction.

One fee not disclosed is the early termination fee (ETF), which only applies if you elect to include a “free” terminal as part of your account. To be honest, we haven’t seen a provider yet that advertises either the existence or the amount of this fee in any of their marketing materials. Rest assured that the fee is disclosed during the sales process, so you won’t experience an unpleasant surprise later on if you decide to close your account.

National Processing appears to use a combination of in-house and independent sales agents to market and set up its accounts. It even includes disclosure of its ISO program on its website. While we’ve found a ton of complaints about independent agents working for other providers, we haven’t seen any complaints regarding the sales team at National Processing. You should fully expect honest and ethical treatment from the company’s sales representatives in negotiating and setting up your account.

Lastly, I do have some concerns about any “meet or beat” guarantee like the $500 promise National Processing makes if you can find a lower rate elsewhere. It’s easy to manipulate the numbers and obscure value to make one deal seem better than another, so I generally consider this type of marketing to be gimmicky and meaningless. The fact is that just about any provider is willing to match a valid quote to win or retain your business. So, while it’s not a bad thing necessarily, take this tactic with a grain of salt.

National Processing’s rate match promise

Customer Service & Technical Support

National Processing offers 24/7 telephone and email support, but it’s not clear whether the support team is entirely in-house or if the company outsources this function outside of regular business hours. It’s tough for me as an independent reviewer to assess the quality of tech support since I can’t test it out in the real world. However, most of the comments I was able to track down from merchants about National Processing’s credit card processing support were positive, which is more than most merchant services providers can say. Usually, customer service is the leading complaint about any merchant account provider. The fact that National Processing doesn’t have a ton of complaints about support says something in itself.

Still, I’d love to hear from you if you have direct experience with National Processing’s customer support. Your feedback helps keep our review accurate! Leave us a comment if you have any information, and we’ll consider it during our next update.

Visit National Processing

User Reviews

Unlike most merchant account providers, National Processing has received far more positive comments from merchants than complaints. We can’t guarantee that you won’t have any problems (that applies to any processor we recommend). Nonetheless, we’re confident that your chances of experiencing difficulties with the company’s service after you’ve signed up are very low.

Negative Reviews & Complaints

National Processing has been accredited with the BBB since 2008 and currently has an A+ rating. The company has received only one complaint in the last three years, and it dates back to 2016. You can also find an additional 37 reviews on the company’s BBB profile, all of which are either positive or neutral. While these reviews are far from in-depth and not all that useful overall, I was glad to find that none were negative.

A broader internet search of popular complaints sites, such as Consumer Affairs and Pissed Consumer, didn’t turn up much else. Many complaints about National Processing Company (NPC) came up — but again, as I mentioned in the overview, this is an entirely different company with no connection to National Processing. The similarity in names has created some misunderstandings with merchants. This fact makes it even more impressive to me that National Processing has such a clean track record. I expected to find many more complaints from confused merchants.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

National Processing currently has a brief Reviews page on its website that features a handful of testimonials from customers. While they vary in level of detail and overall quality, they identify the name and location of the business that’s providing the testimonial, which is always helpful. The company also mentions positive reviews on Consumer Affairs, Google Reviews, and Crowd Reviews, but no longer links to any of them. We were able to find plenty of positive comments about the company scattered across the internet and on the sites listed above. While some of the reviews are more detailed and compelling than others, overall, they paint a very positive picture of the company.

Final Verdict

National Processing is an excellent provider for businesses that want low rates from a reliable company. If you’re hoping for some massive free software suite like Square (see our review) offers with POS, analytics, and such included, you might not find what you want here. However, keep in mind that you could easily end up saving enough money with National Processing to buy all that software and more from whichever provider you want. Low costs and overall versatility make National Processing a great option for many businesses.

We’re not thrilled that National Processing requires you to accept a long-term contract with an early termination fee (ETF) in exchange for free processing equipment. Still, it’s a fair deal, given that you’ll receive low processing rates and a reasonable account fee schedule in addition to the free terminal. We’re also happy to see that the company will waive your ETF if you sell or close your business. Most providers will charge you the full ETF regardless of the circumstances that led to your decision to close your account.

Overall, we’re happy to award National Processing a coveted 5 out of 5 stars. If your small business has grown to where you need the added features and stability of a full-service merchant account, this is one of the most affordable options currently available. While it offers the kind of very low interchange-plus rates that will be attractive to larger businesses as well, we’d caution you to look carefully at the company’s product lineup before making a decision. National Processing is a small company and doesn’t offer as complete a lineup of services as you’ll find with a larger provider. Businesses with more basic needs, however, will find everything they need to accept credit and debit cards as well as ACH/echeck payments. Give them a shot!