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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Leo
I am owner of SemBro Outlet and sign up with BCMS about 3-4 month ago. We had several trouble with processing, some fees was not explained, and when spoken with representative – two times they gave us wrong answer. We are on the line right now, thinking to switch to different merchant service.
Kevin James
Leo,
I am not an employee of BCMS nor am I authorized to speak on their behalf.
Speaking as a veteran ISO in this industry, I noticed that you’ve only been with BCMS 3 to4 . Honestly, your account is still within the “ramp-up” window. This means, there are probably integrated services such as online invoicing, ecommerce and other services that a processor may not get perfect to your liking until the 3rd or 4th invoice.
The bottom line is, you may have wasted your time looking for a different processor. BCMS has been around for decades and has a solid reputation. Based on their website they “white label” the services of Elavon, Sage and several other big boys. Service doesn’t get any better than what BCMS brings to the table.
Good luck.
Eric Espinoza
Kevin, i agree with you. i am not a merchant, but an independent agent. I do have a relationship with the owner and staff at BCMS, but I work for another company. If I ever made a change in my career it would be to work with those guys. They are very transparent with the shortest customized merchant application Ive seen in the industry. The last time I checked they have over 90% of their clients PCI compliant. They have a gal who calls hundreds if not thousands of merchants to help complete their PCI questioannaires as well as performing their quarterly scanning. If there are fees that dont make sense, i would take a guess its interchange not BCMS causing the confusion. As we all know interchange is much more than a “rate and a per item fee”.