Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law, and currently resides in Paso Robles, California.
There are so many processing companies, they all seem to be doing more or less the same thing, and they all have both glowing testimonials and terrible complaints. How are you supposed to choose the best company under these circumstances? Who can you trust? Read on to find out.
While merchant account fees are definitely irritating (and expensive!), they're often an inevitable cost of doing business. Even if you sign up with a payment service provider like Square that doesn't charge monthly fees, you'll still be paying the costs associated with maintaining your account in the form of higher transaction processing rates.
Credit card surcharging has rapidly gained in popularity in recent years as court decisions, and legislative changes have gradually removed legal barriers to the practice. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated this trend. Nonetheless, the question remains: Should you add a surcharge?
There's a lot to love about Helcim. What we love is that you won't have to worry about the bait-and-switch tactics and long-term, binding contracts that plague the industry. Helcim distinguishes itself from many other providers by offering no binding contracts, exclusive interchange-plus pricing, consistently good customer service, and low account fees.
Choosing a high-risk merchant account provider isn’t the same as working with other payment processors. You can expect different pricing and contract terms — but you shouldn’t compromise on customer service. Here are six great providers that offer great service, fair pricing, and reasonable contracts for small businesses.
Bank of America Merchant Services has taken several positive steps to improve both the quality of its services and its reputation among merchants. It’s done away with long-term contracts, eliminated early termination fees, and introduced a flat-rate pricing plan with no monthly fees that will appeal to small-business users. It’s also instituted 24/7 customer support and completely revamped its hardware lineup, eliminating Clover products and replacing them with universal devices that can be reprogrammed, if necessary.
Large banking organizations such as Wells Fargo have little motivation to offer competitive terms or prices on payment processing. Customer service is also subpar, and the promise of quicker deposit times is rarely fulfilled, with many competing providers now capable of getting your money to you even faster. Read more in our review of Wells Fargo Merchant Services.
Sam’s Club Merchant Services uses the appeal of the bulk-discount warehouse business to bring in merchants, but the reality is that processing payments through Sam’s Club is likely to be far more costly for small businesses.
If you’ve been turned down for a merchant account because of bad credit, don’t panic. Here’s what you need to know about what role credit scores play in payment processing, plus the best ways to get a merchant account for your small business.
With a company such as Global Payments, the name speaks for itself. It’s common knowledge that Global runs a large, successful, highly capable payment processing business. This is not a fly-by-night operation. However, just because a business is successful does not mean that it’s a good proposition for all of its customers.
Despite intense demand from consumers to be able to use their credit cards at a marijuana dispensary, there is currently no legal, secure method to accept credit cards for cannabis sales. There are, however, viable alternatives to operating on a cash-only basis, which this article will discuss in detail.
Durango Merchant Services stands out from the crowd by offering fair pricing in a segment of the market that’s notorious for charging highly inflated prices and invariably provides excellent solutions to complex merchant situations.
Merchant One has a number of features that help it stand out from its numerous competitors in the merchant services industry. However, the company’s standard three-year contract and the potentially expensive early termination fee that comes with it are not so great.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
