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This young payment processing company has some good things going for it, including month-to-month contracts with interchange-plus pricing. However, their fee transparency could be better.
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WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
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REVIEWED BY
Managing Editor
Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.
ProMerchant
| Total Rating | 3.9 |
|---|---|
| Fees & Rates3.6 | |
| Products & Services4.7 | |
| Contract5.0 | |
| Sales & Advertising Transparency3.4 | |
| Customer Service2.5 | |
| User Reviews4.0 | |
ProMerchant At A Glance
- Choice of interchange-plus and cash discount/credit card surcharge plans
- Wireless terminal, mobile processing, POS, MOTO, virtual terminal, & eComm solutions
- Transparency regarding specific costs and fees is lacking.
Pros
- No application or account setup fees
- Month-to-month contracts with no early termination fee
- Interchange-plus & zero-cost plans available
- Accepts high-risk businesses & businesses with bad credit
- Free terminal or mobile reader
Cons
- Minimal pricing disclosures
- Some complaints regarding customer service
Table of Contents
What Is ProMerchant?
Founded in 2018, Boston-based ProMerchant is the brainchild of several former executives from other merchant account providers. This is a newer company, but we’re highly encouraged by some of the features they offer, such as month-to-month accounts that don’t come with an early termination fee and a choice between interchange-plus and zero-cost (cash discount/credit card surcharge) pricing.
Products & Services
| Products & Services4.7 |
|---|
| Software & Services 4.3 |
| Hardware & Equipment 5.0 |
ProMerchant earns high marks from us in this area because of its comprehensive software and hardware offerings. Even better is that the company offers same-day merchant account approvals (at least, for low-risk businesses) to get you up and going at speed.
Here’s a rundown of what they offer.
ProMerchant Features Overview
| ProMerchant Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Dedicated Merchant Account | |
| PCI Compliance | |
| High-Risk Accounts | |
| International Accounts | |
| Contactless Payments | |
| ACH Processing | |
| Digital Wallet Acceptance | |
| EBT Acceptance | |
| Virtual Terminal | |
| Mobile POS Reader & App | |
| Hosted Online Store | |
| Payment Links | |
| Payment Gateway Integrations | |
| Shopping Cart Integrations | |
| POS Integrations | |
| BNPL Integrations | |
| API Documentation | |
| Currency Conversion | |
| Recurring Billing | |
| Invoicing | |
| Cash Discount Program | |
| Cryptocurrency Processing |
ProMerchant Features In Detail
Below are some more details about ProMerchant’s offerings.
Fees & Rates
| Fees & Rates3.6 |
|---|
| Pricing 4.2 |
| Affordability 3.0 |
Most traditional merchant services providers disclose absolutely no information about their processing rates and fees on their websites, so it’s refreshing to see that ProMerchant offers some pricing information. In all, ProMerchant has earned a decent score from us in the area of Fees & Rates, since this processor offers interchange-plus pricing without a long-term contract.
ProMerchant also doesn’t charge a setup fee and claims not to charge additional junk fees. However, some merchants allege that they were charged fees beyond what they originally agreed to.
Pricing Overview
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pricing Starts At | Not disclosed |
| Account Setup Fee | $0 |
| Contract Length | Month-to-month |
| Processing Model | Interchange-plus, cash discount |
| Card-present Transaction Fee | Interchange + 0.5% + $0.15 |
| eCommerce Transaction Fee | 2.90% + $0.30 (Virtual terminal rate) |
| Keyed-in Transaction Fee | Interchange + 0.5% + $0.15 |
| Equipment Cost | $0+ |
Monthly Plans
| ProMerchant Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Interchange Plus Fixed Rate | Not disclosed | For most businesses processing at least $5K/month |
| Zero Cost Processing | Not disclosed | For restaurant and retail businesses that want to pass their credit card processing fees to their customers. |
ProMerchant offers a choice between an interchange-plus plan, which we feel is the most affordable and transparent option for most merchants who process over $5,000 per month in transactions, and a “zero cost” plan that passes your credit card fees to your customers so you don’t pay a dime (it’s unclear whether ProMerchant offers a cash discount or credit card surcharge plan, but the differences between those two pricing models are minimal).
ProMerchants states that both plans do carry a “low monthly fee” but the exact fee is not disclosed (and probably varies depending on business specifics).
Extra Costs
| ProMerchant Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Payment Gateway Fee (Authorize.Net) | $25/month |
| Batch Fee | $0.10 |
ProMerchant advertises that they do not charge any account setup or application fees. We consider these fees to be “junk” fees – at least for a traditional, low-risk business – so we’re glad to see that you won’t have to pay them. At the same time, most merchant services providers have dropped these fees in recent years, so you’re not really getting a special deal here.
The company makes no other disclosures regarding account fees, other than the standard claim that they don’t charge “hidden” fees. There’s no information regarding monthly account fees, annual fees, PCI compliance fees, a monthly minimum, or any other types of fees. You’ll want to ask your sales representative about these fees when negotiating the terms of your contract, but don’t accept their verbal assurances as the final word. There are always additional fees, even if they’re just incidental fees that you only occasionally have to pay. These fees will be disclosed (often in very fine print) in your contract documents, so be sure to review them thoroughly before you sign up for an account.
Sales & Advertising Transparency
| Sales & Advertising Transparency3.4 |
|---|
| Sales Practices 4.4 |
| Web Presence 2.0 |
ProMerchant’s website features an elegant design and a fair amount of information about its products and services. It’s also easy to navigate – primarily because there isn’t all that much information on it. We’re glad to see that they’ve included a discussion of interchange-plus pricing. We’d like it even better if the company included some actual pricing disclosures. Many of our favorite merchant services providers fully disclose their processing rates and account fees right on their websites, and if ProMerchant wants to compete with them, they’re going to have to step up their game in this area.
ProMerchant also does not have much of a social media footprint; they have X and Facebook accounts, but they haven’t posted on FB since 2019!
On the positive side, the company does not use any independent sales agents to market its accounts. This is a very good thing, as the use of independent agents has led to a number of problems within the processing industry, and they have a poor reputation due to inadequate training and supervision. Instead, ProMerchant has a dedicated team of in-house sales representatives to help you set up your account. In-house sales representatives generally receive much better training and will, in most cases, provide much better service to their customers.
Contract Length & Early Termination Fee
| Contract5.0 |
|---|
| Commitment 5.0 |
| ETF & Other Fees 5.0 |
ProMerchant advertises that all their contracts are month-to-month with no early termination fees. This is the best and most flexible arrangement you could hope for, and it’s becoming increasingly common throughout the processing industry. Accordingly, ProMerchant has earned a perfect score from us in this area.
Customer Service & Technical Support
| Customer Service2.5 |
|---|
| Personal Support 4.0 |
| Self-Service 1.0 |
The company employs a dedicated support team, so you’ll be able to reach someone at any hour of the day. However, your primary point of contact will be a dedicated account manager, who’ll be assigned to you when you set up your account. Naturally, we recommend that you try to contact your account manager during business hours, if at all possible.
Though we like to see a dedicated support team, ProMerchant’s overall score in the area of customer service was negatively affected by the company not maintaining an online knowledgebase for self-diagnosing issues, as well as some negative user reviews regarding the company’s customer service (see “User Reviews” below).
| ProMerchant Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
User Reviews
| User Reviews4.0 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.0 |
There are not a ton of user reviews for ProMerchant online. However, the reviews we could find are mostly positive. Though some users have left negative reviews, the overall complaint volume is low.
Final Verdict
Newer companies usually go out of their way to make a good first impression, and ProMerchant is no exception. We’re impressed that they offer month-to-month contracts as a standard feature and don’t charge early termination fees. We’re also pleased with their use of both interchange-plus and zero-cost processing.
At the same time, we would definitely like to see some more transparency on some issues. We’d like to see the company disclose more information about its actual processing rates, for one thing. We’d also like to see some more transparency regarding account fees. Many of ProMerchant’s competitors freely post this information right on their websites.
Overall, month-to-month billing and interchange-plus pricing put this provider ahead of the competition, though if you’re interested in signing up with ProMerchant, we recommend that you get a quote with some actual pricing information and compare it to what other providers can offer you.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for a merchant account and want to compare some of the best providers, check out our list of the best credit card processing companies for small businesses.
Credit Card Processor Review Methodology
We evaluate and test each payment processor that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key characteristics in order to generate our granular ratings for merchant accounts and credit card processors.
For payment processing reviews, we use a 24-point rubric to evaluate the provider. First, we look at pricing structure – interchange plus, subscription-based, tiered, or hybrid – giving the most points to providers that provide fair, transparent pricing and docking those that rely on tiered models. Then we examine rates, the presence and transparency of early termination fees, and any additional fees.
We also look at contract length and fairness and test out sales staff and customer service channels ourselves to ensure that the company uses reputable, above-the-board sales techniques. Finally, we take the company’s online reputation into account, reading customer reviews and comments.
Read more about how we rate payment processors.
Shannon Vissers
Lead Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick
Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
View Shannon Vissers's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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