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Merchant Accounts, Beware and Read the Fine Print

This is not so much a rant as a warning to new merchants….OK, it’s gonna be a rant based on about 8 years in the industry selling merchant accounts and seeing some really slimey stuff. I got out of the business because I could not deal with the lowlifes that dwell under the surface on the industry.

A new merchant is like blood in the water to sharks and when you setup a new business you will deluged with offers for merchant accounts because simply the merchant business is a Multi BILLION dollar business. Salesmen will lie, cheat and do whatever it takes to get your business if you are a hi volume merchant. I have actually seen a salesmen come into the office bragging about  making $1,000 selling a $200 POS terminal to a merchant for $2,000 lease.

I have seen companies charge $8,000 on a 5 year lease for an Authorize.net virtual terminal that cost them $149

I have seen companies lease terminals for 500-800% more then they are worth. Merchants are fresh meat when thrown into the Frey when there are so many sharks. Be extremely cautious when signing up for a merchant account. Some have lock ins for years and a cancellation fee from $100 to $500 dollars, and yearly fees, and hold backs, and the biggest kicker in the whole merchant account industry is you have to show worth to get a decent monthly transaction volume. Most new internet merchant say ” Why cant I just process 500K a month, I’m making them Money?”

The best way to get a decent merchant account is referrals from fellow merchant that have had there accounts for a few years and even better yet find a merchant that has had problems and see how there company handled it. That is the true test of a merchant company. If they disappear in times of trouble then you need to disappear when they coma a callin…be cautious in your search for a new online merchant account, and good luck.