SMB Global Review

Pros

• Offers high-risk merchant accounts to a wide variety of industries
• Offers offshore merchant accounts
• Reasonable pricing
• Reasonable contract terms
• Excellent customer service

Cons

• No pricing disclosures

SMB Global Overview

SMB Global is a merchant account provider headquartered in South Jordan, Utah. Established in 2016, this is a new partner of one of our favorite providers, Payline Data. SMB Global is set up to work exclusively with high-risk merchants and those who need an offshore merchant account. The company primarily serves eCommerce businesses in the high-risk category. However, since our last review update, it has expanded its products and services for retail merchants. SMB Global continues to be one of the relatively few reputable high-risk specialists we’ve found in the payments processing industry.

Not even high-risk experts will deal with every possible kind of business, but SMB Global covers the majority of the most common categories of high-risk merchants, including the following industries:

• Adult entertainment
• Auto parts and accessories
• Collections
• Coins and precious metals
• Credit repair services
• Diet and weight-loss programs
• E-cigarettes/vaping/tobacco products
• Electronics (online)
• Extended warranties
• Fantasy sports
• Financial services
• Firearms and ammunition
• Free trials, multilevel marketing
• Furniture sales (online)
• Nutraceuticals/herbal supplements (including CBD products)
• Online gaming and casinos
• Self-storage
• Vacations/travel/flights

Note that this list is not inclusive, so if you don’t see your particular industry listed, give the company a call anyway, and a rep will let you know whether they can sign you up for an account.

Like most high-risk specialists, SMB Global doesn’t disclose specific pricing information or contract terms on its website. Pricing and terms are customized for each merchant based on various factors, such as length of time in business, processing history, specific high-risk industry, and several others.

We can tell you that, unfortunately, you will, in all likelihood, pay higher rates and fees and be subject to stricter contract terms than a comparable merchant in a low-risk industry. Even the best high-risk specialists can’t get you the kind of affordable terms that less-risky businesses enjoy. However, you can expect to receive top-notch customer service and pay reasonable fees and rates.

The merchant account industry is littered with shady companies that charge high-risk businesses exorbitant rates and fees, taking advantage of the fact that it’s so difficult to get approved for a high-risk account. Don’t become one of their victims! Get a quote from SMB Global before signing up for an account with a company you’ve never heard of before.

SMB Global marketing example

Overall, SMB Global earns a very respectable score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. As a new and growing company, it doesn’t have much of a track record yet. We have very little feedback from merchants to factor into our rating, and there are practically no publicly available complaints or other negative feedback. This is a very good thing, as high-risk providers usually receive more than their fair share of criticism.

If you’re in a high-risk industry and have struggled to get approved for a merchant account, be sure to check out SMB Global.

Products & Services

Here’s a quick summary of the main services that SMB Global can provide to your business:

• High-Risk Merchant Accounts: SMB Global offers high-risk accounts exclusively. If you aren’t in a high-risk industry, take a look at the company’s partner Payline Data. SMB Global is not a direct processor, but it works with various banks and processors to set you up with an account that will meet your needs. You can apply for an account online, but it won’t be instantly approved. Although the underwriting process will take longer and require more paperwork than you’d like, you’ll be at far less risk of suddenly having your account shut down after you’ve started using it.
• Offshore Merchant Accounts: For merchants located in one country but primarily doing business in another, an offshore merchant account can be very beneficial. SMB Global offers offshore accounts that allow your customers to pay in their currency, using dynamic currency conversion to process the transaction. Offshore accounts have relaxed underwriting guidelines and avoid cross-border fees imposed by the credit card associations. You’ll need to process a minimum of $50,000 per month or have a solid financial history to get approved for an offshore account.
• Credit Card Terminals: SMB Global now offers one free countertop terminal or mobile card reader with each account. Like most similar “free” offers, you’ll have to return the equipment if you later close your account. EMV-compatible equipment is provided, but the company doesn’t offer any further details. While we generally recommend that you purchase your terminals outright, this is a reasonable alternative to getting stuck in a lengthy, over-priced equipment lease.
• Payment Gateway: For eCommerce merchants, SMB Global offers a choice between the NMI payment gateway and Authorize.Net. Both are excellent options. Note that while SMB Global doesn’t have its own proprietary mobile app, you can accept mobile payments using apps for either of these gateways. You can also access SMB Global’s proprietary gateway directly from the company’s website.
• Mobile Processing: Although the company doesn’t advertise it very well on its website, its Mobile SDK will allow you to build your own mobile processing system using third-party devices and services. You’ll need either the Authorize.Net or NMI mobile app (available for iOS and Android) and a compatible mobile card reader. The Mobile SDK is compatible with both the Magtek iDynamo and the IDTECH Shuttle. As noted above, SMB Global now offers a “free” mobile card reader with each account.
• Online Shopping Cart Integration: Regardless of which gateway you choose, you’ll be able to integrate your website with over 175 third-party online shopping carts. SMB Global currently doesn’t provide a list of specific carts, so check with your sales agent for compatibility if you have a particular one you’d like to use.
• ACH Payment Processing: The company also supports ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments, including recurring billing support. ACH payments eliminate the need for paper checks or wire transfers and cost much less to process than credit cards. ACH processing requires a separate underwriting process, so you can probably expect to pay an additional monthly fee for this service. Merchants in particularly high-risk industries may want to consider an ACH-only processing option in lieu of a merchant account.
• Chargeback Prevention Suite: Chargebacks are a concern for any business, but high-risk merchants often have much higher chargeback rates than their low-risk counterparts. SMB Global offers a suite of automated services to monitor, prevent, and respond to chargebacks. These automated software tools provide real-time reporting and analytics and help automate the chargeback response process.
• Business Loans: If you need to take out a loan to help launch or expand your business, SMB Global works with Lendio to get you the funds you need. Advertised minimum requirements for loan approval include having been in business for at least six months, generating at least $15,000 in monthly revenue, and having a current FICO score of over 550.

SMB Global’s service marketing

SMB Global Fees & Rates

While Payline Data offers full disclosure of prices and contract terms right on its website, you won’t get the same level of transparency with a high-risk provider such as SMB Global. The company currently offers no disclosures whatsoever regarding processing rate plans or account fees on its site. Unfortunately, there is actually a good reason for doing this. Because SMB Global works with many different banks and processors to get you an account, pricing and contract terms will vary widely from one high-risk merchant to another. There are no standard rates or fees for the company to disclose. You’ll have to get a customized quote from SMB’s sales team and compare it to any quotes you receive from competing providers to see which one can offer you the best overall deal.

Although we highly recommend interchange-plus pricing for any merchant, the fact is that it’s much harder to obtain if you’re in the high-risk category. You’re more likely to be offered a tiered pricing plan instead, but it never hurts to ask for interchange-plus when you’re negotiating the details of your account. Regardless of which type of pricing plan you’re offered, be prepared to pay significantly higher rates than a comparable low-risk business.

Monthly account fees are also highly variable and will likely be higher than what other merchants pay. You can also expect to pay a PCI compliance fee, a PCI non-compliance fee (which only applies if your account is out of compliance), statement fees, an annual fee, and possibly a one-time account setup fee. eCommerce merchants can also expect to pay a monthly gateway fee to use the NMI or Authorize.Net payment gateways.

One additional expense that non-high-risk merchants usually don’t have to pay (but you will) is a rolling reserve. Although it’s not a fee per se, if you have a rolling reserve imposed on your account, you will have a specified percentage of your funds held every month as a hedge against chargebacks or the possibility of going out of business. While you can eventually pay off the rolling reserve and get your money back, it can create a significant cash flow problem for a new startup. It can even put you out of business altogether if you’re not careful. Be sure to review your contract thoroughly before signing up to see if you have a rolling reserve. If you do, you’ll want to understand how much it is and what you’ll have to do to get it removed.

Visit SMB Global

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

One of our favorite things about SMB’s partner Payline Data is that it offers month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts and no early termination fees as a standard feature. This arrangement is the gold standard in the payments processing industry, as it allows you the flexibility to close your merchant account or switch to a different provider without onerous restrictions or penalties.

Unfortunately, as a high-risk merchant, you probably won’t be offered these terms unless you have a very high-volume business with a strong processing history. Merchant account providers want some sort of guarantee that their relationship with your business will be profitable to them. Many providers see lengthy contracts and early cancellation penalties as an easier way to accomplish this than earning your loyalty by simply providing high-quality service at a fair price.

We can’t tell you with any certainty what kind of contract terms SMB Global imposes on its merchants, as the company doesn’t post any contract documents on its website, and we haven’t received any feedback from customers on this subject. As a high-risk merchant, you should fully expect to be required to sign up for a standard three-year contract with both an automatic renewal clause and an early termination fee (typically around $500).

When negotiating your contract’s terms, clarifying these issues before you sign up for an account is crucial. While we haven’t received any negative feedback about SMB Global’s sales agents failing to disclose any important contract terms, it’s still a common problem within the industry, and you should be wary of this possibility. Your best defense is to review your entire contract thoroughly before you sign up for an account. Even the most honest and knowledgeable sales agent is not going to have the time to walk you through every clause in your contract, so it’s up to you to know what’s in it before you commit.

Also, note that high-risk merchant account contracts frequently include a rolling reserve provision that can significantly impact your cash flow during the first year or so of your contract. You’ll want to be thoroughly familiar with the terms of the rolling reserve clause (if you have one) and how it’s going to affect your business.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

SMB Global’s website is very professional-looking and easy to navigate. It also includes a lot of useful information about how high-risk onboarding works and how your high-risk account will differ from more traditional merchant accounts. Since our last review update in 2020, the site has been updated to include some limited information about the “free” terminal or mobile card reader offer that’s available for retail merchants. While still not nearly as robust as the websites we typically see from more established providers, it also doesn’t include any of the misleading sales gimmicks or false advertising claims that are so common in the processing industry.

The company uses independent sales agents to market its accounts and actively recruits them on its website. This practice frequently leads to complaints about poorly-trained agents who fail to disclose essential contract terms and employ unethical, high-pressure sales tactics to sell accounts. The good news is we haven’t heard any complaints from merchants alleging these kinds of problems with SMB Global’s agents. We’re satisfied that the company provides its independent agents with the training and supervision necessary to avoid these types of issues.

SMB Global is still a small company with very little presence on social media. There’s currently no Facebook page, Twitter account, or even a YouTube channel. However, the company has added a LinkedIn profile that is frequently updated with new content. SMB Global also has a blog on its website. Unfortunately, there are only five posts, the most recent of which is over two years old. Nonetheless, the quality of the blog content is excellent. Prospective clients should take a look at it for an in-depth explanation of how high-risk merchant accounts are underwritten and onboarded.

Customer Service & Technical Support

SMB Global offers customer service via telephone and email. The company does not list the hours that phone support is available on its website. The lack of true 24/7 support might be inconvenient for some — especially for international merchants using SMB Global to do business in the United States. The truth, though, is that most merchant account providers outsource their after-hours customer support. Instead of talking to a dedicated representative who works for the company and is authorized to make decisions, you’ll most likely end up talking to someone with little experience in the payments industry and no authority to do much for you beyond writing you a support ticket and passing it on to SMB Global for further action.

We still have yet to receive much feedback — good or bad — about the quality of SMB Global’s customer support. However, the lack of public complaints against the company is a good indicator that SMB Global is doing a satisfactory job in this area and keeping its merchants happy.

If you’ve had any experience with SMB Global’s customer support, please tell us about it in the Comments section below.

SMB Global Payments Reviews & Complaints

Negative SMB Global Reviews & Complaints

SMB Global Payments is not accredited by the BBB and does not have a profile on the BBB website at this time. Its parent company, Payline Data, is BBB-accredited, with an A+ rating and a very low complaint volume relative to its size. Unfortunately, none of the currently listed complaints appear to relate to high-risk merchant services.

We also couldn’t find any complaints against the company on Ripoff Report or other consumer protection sites. The company’s current Trustpilot profile is unclaimed and also has no complaints.

While SMB Global is still a relatively new company, it’s been in business long enough that the continued lack of negative feedback is a very good indication that it’s providing a high level of service and meeting its merchants’ needs. How long will this last? We can’t say, but we know that, eventually, all merchant services providers will receive some public criticism, whether it’s warranted or not.

High-risk providers usually receive an above-average number of complaints due to the increased chance of an account freeze or shutdown, so the lack of complaints against SMB Global is particularly encouraging.

Positive SMB Global Reviews & Testimonials

SMB Global provides four written testimonials on its website. Although they’re brief, the business and the merchant offering each review are fully identified, and they’re pretty compelling. We’d like to see additional testimonials, including video interviews with merchants, as the company expands and becomes more established.

If you’ve had a positive experience with SMB Global, by all means, feel free to leave a review and tell us about it in the Comments section below.

Final Verdict

When Payline Data offered services to both high-risk and non-high-risk merchants, it always presented a bit of a challenge to review. The company had an excellent reputation based primarily on its extensive disclosures regarding pricing and contract terms. Competitive interchange-plus processing rates, a transparent account fee schedule, and month-to-month billing with no early termination fee made it very easy to recommend Payline Data.

However, those features only applied to low-risk merchants, and it was all too easy for a high-risk merchant to expect that those terms would apply to them as well. In reality, high-risk merchants are rarely offered such attractive terms. The simple, unavoidable truth is that high-risk merchants almost always pay more for processing than their low-risk counterparts, even with the best merchant services providers in the business.

Consequently, we’re glad to see that the company has spun off its high-risk division into an independent firm. We think this will go a long way toward avoiding the kind of confusion high-risk merchants may have experienced in the past. Of course, there are a few tradeoffs. You won’t get the kind of transparent pricing and flexible contract terms that a non-high-risk merchant can obtain, and you will (in most cases) pay significantly more overall for processing services.

Nonetheless, we’re satisfied that SMB Global does a remarkable job of working with a wide variety of high-risk industries to get you matched up with a bank or processor that can handle your needs and will approve you for an account. We also believe that, although your costs will be higher than average, they’ll still be reasonable under the circumstances.

SMB Global Payments scores an excellent 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. As a relatively new company, this score is strongly influenced by the outstanding reputation of its parent organization, Payline Data. However, the company has operated for several years now without receiving any public complaints from merchants — a remarkable accomplishment for any merchant services provider, let alone a high-risk provider. SMB Global continues to perform well enough to earn a coveted spot on our list of the best high-risk merchant account providers. It’s also a good choice for international merchants doing business in the United States.

If you’re in a high-risk industry and have struggled to find a good provider that can meet your needs, then give SMB Global a try!

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

SMB Global	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see SMB Global for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

SMB Global	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see SMB Global for yourself.

Sources

Read Next

Looking For The Best Merchant Services? Try These 9 Small Business Credit Card Payment Processing Companies In 2021

Read More

Oct 14, 2021 330 Filed under: Credit Card Processing

7 Retail POS Systems With The Best Features For Small Businesses In 2021

Read More

Aug 2, 2021 7 Filed under: Point of Sale