In May 2019, Global Payments, another very large direct processor from Georgia, announced that it was acquiring TSYS for $21.5 billion. The combined organization will operate under the Global Payments brand name, and the TSYS name will eventually disappear. However, mergers of this size take a long time to complete, and as of May 2020, TSYS still has its own website, which lists the company as ‘TSYS – A Global Payments Company.’ We haven’t received any indication of how Global Payments plans to transition existing TSYS customers into its system, but we expect that you will probably be switched over to a Global Payments contract at some point. If you’re a merchant looking for a new provider, now is not the time to sign up with TSYS.

Payline Data offers interchange-plus pricing for all its merchants, with discounted rates for nonprofits and medical organizations. On top of that, every plan includes a gateway and virtual terminal, with no long-term contracts. What’s not to love?

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.