Associated Merchant Services Review

We have located only one negative Associated Merchant Services review, but this complaint explicitly accuses the company of fraudulent activity. As noted above, the complainant suggests that AMS’s president intentionally took sensitive merchant information and used it to open unauthorized credit accounts that were unrelated to credit card processing. It is our belief that if this practice were common at AMS, there would be far more merchant complaints filed against the company. It therefore seems more likely that this complaint was the result of a miscommunication or misunderstanding by the merchant. AMS offers a phone number on its website, but it’s unclear as of this review whether that number leads to sales or to customer support.

The Better Business Bureau currently does not maintain a profile for Associated Merchant Services or for Rocky Mountain ATM at this time. As a result, we will not factor a BBB rating into this review.

There is very little publicly available information about the standard Associated Merchant Services contract at this time. The company does not disclose its contract terms on its website, but it does describe a pricing model that sounds similar to interchange-plus pricing. AMS’s $1,000 guarantee seems to suggest that it is capable of offering a wide range of per-transaction fees and contract terms, so it’s likely that it customizes its pricing for each merchant. We are unable to find any complaints related to AMS’s contract terms at this time, which indicates that most of the company’s clients are satisfied with their pricing and fees. If you have any knowledge of the standard AMS contract (including any early termination fees or PCI compliance fees), please share that information in the comment section below this review.

AMS appears to primarily market itself using independent sales agents and offices. The company claims to have sales offices in Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago, with more being opened weekly. There is currently only one Associated Merchant Services complaint that accuses the company’s sales team of deceptive practices. This complaint, which was filed in 2010 against the president of AMS, alleges that AMS collected sensitive information from the merchant and used that information to open unauthorized lines of credit. In our opinion, the validity of this complaint seems dubious. It is unlikely that a merchant account provider could get away with fraud of this severity for any extended period of time. We have therefore noted it in this section but not applied it to AMS’s score in this category.

AMS offers a $1,000 meet-or-beat guarantee in its sales copy. There is no evidence at this time that this promotion is illegitimate. Overall, the company does not appear to engage in deceptive sales practices. We have given it an “A” in this category as a result.

Associated Merchant Services rates as a reliable merchant services provider at this time. We are unable to find any specifics regarding the company’s pricing, but it is showing only one complaint in over six years of operation. Our grade for AMS could change once the BBB opens a profile for the company.