In the late 2000s, as a broke college student struggling to make ends meet, I was contacted by a merchant services company after uploading my resume to a job listings website. This company promised substantial commissions and ongoing residual income for simply persuading businesses to accept credit card payments. It seemed straightforward enough—after all, what business doesn’t need to process credit card payments? Following a phone interview with a persuasive “sales director,” I found myself embarking on what I believed would be an easy job that would significantly boost my bank account with reliable monthly income and large sales commissions. However, the lessons I learned would profoundly change my life in ways I could never have imagined.
After completing my sales training, I hit the ground running, eager to make sales. This broke college student was determined to improve his financial situation! My first attempt at a cold call, with no prior appointment, ended with a burly man in his 50s yelling at me to leave, claiming he had been “totally robbed” by someone like me before. As I hastily exited, puzzled and intimidated by his reaction, I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant. Throughout the day, I encountered similar hostility from other business owners, all expressing disdain for the industry I had been so excited to join that morning. Confused and curious, I decided to shift my approach from selling to listening.
I quickly uncovered that the merchant services sector was riddled with unethical practices, including hidden fees, deceptive marketing, fine-print traps, and much more. It dawned on me that I had nearly been tricked by a dubious company into selling overpriced services under contracts with long-term commitments, all without being fully aware of what I was promoting. Outraged, I resigned from that company but learned that there were indeed ethical credit card processing companies that treated their clients fairly. Over the next four years, I worked for one such company, assisting hundreds of businesses in securing cost-effective processing solutions. Yet, I also met many more who had been misled and trapped in onerous service agreements. Determined to help people steer clear of these unscrupulous providers, I launched this website in my spare time, dedicating myself to researching and sharing my findings on every merchant account provider I could investigate.
Gradually, more and more business owners began to discover my articles. As word spread, search engines started to rank my content highly, amplifying its reach. My efforts were making a difference! Eventually, the website garnered enough traffic to enable me to leave my job and focus on it full-time, a journey that has now spanned over a decade. This path has not been without its challenges; unscrupulous company owners have tried to intimidate and sue me into silence on several occasions. Yet, I have stood firm against each threat. Here I am, continuing to publish reviews and articles, hoping to safeguard others from the pitfalls of the credit card processing industry.
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Darren
Scam artists, do not sign with them. The have robbed me for 1000s while I have no service or ability to run cards. Gross company.
Amelia Mazgaloff
I have a chiropractic, acupuncture and massage practice in San Francisco. We use office ally for our EMR and scheduler. We started with AxiaMed because of its integration with Office Ally. The set up was easy, and everything went down hill from there. Every time we have a problem we are bounced from Ofice Ally to AxiaMed and the other way around. For 3 weeks no one can figure out why when we run someone’s card the patients name doesn’t print on the receipt, basic right, not for AxiaMed. Our procedures have lengthened. Not once anyone has called back to try to resolve the issue, every time we call they open a new inquiry and blame the other company. We are in a vicious circle. I would recommend that you DO NOT choose this company for your merchant transactions.
Amelia Mazgaloff
Chiro-Health, inc
This post will help: Best Medical Merchant Accounts
-Phillip
Lorinda
We run two separate businesses through Axia and have been with them for over 9 years. I have always found their customer service to be very responsive when we have had issues. Their rates have not been bested by any other processing company.
They seem to employ people of a good character as they do not engage in the usual “merchant services” sales tactics. I have recommended them without issue to many other businesses.
Lucy
Poorly customer service, always refuse to admit is their own fault. Push the fault to others. Was not there when needed because he said he is busy. Not informed by the 3 years contract, and infinite chargeback and small charges to bank account. Really got sick of them doing this.
Rich S
After 5 years with Axia, we recently canceled our account. They elected to charge us $31.75 in the last month although we did not have any transactions. I asked their customer service rep to refund the charge and she refused. Be aware of this trick. They claim they incur costs associated with having an account open, however, a $31.75 fee is just stealing from you. This kind of behavior makes me happy we elected to leave them.
Roberta Greene
Very difficult to reach customer service. Have to call several times to get assistance.
Casey Cruciano
My non-profit has been a customer of Axia for about 2 years. They have been good to work with and unlike so many processors out there, are a legitimate company that doesn’t deceptively price their product or call excessively.