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Barclaycard Merchant Services Review: Fees, Complaints & Lawsuits

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Rating

4/5
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  • Shore side:
    "We have started this contract with Barclays Card Merchant service, after taking all terms and condition. they are charging £50 per month addi..." Read More
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Rating:
4/5

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Most Recent Comment

  • Shore side:
    "We have started this contract with Barclays Card Merchant service, after taking all terms and condition. they are charging £50 per month addi..." Read More
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Merchant Services for the United Kingdom

Founded in 1966, Barclaycard Merchant Services is a UK-based card issuer and merchant account provider that serves businesses of all sizes and types within the UK. The company is one of the few large UK merchant services providers that is not an extension of a U.S.-based credit card processor like First Data (now Fiserv) or Global Payments. In addition to merchant accounts, the company also provides virtual terminal and payment gateway services. In July 2020, Barclaycard Merchant Services announced they would be the acquiring partner in a deal with Philadelphia-based FreedomPay. 

Barclaycard Merchant Services Payment Processing

Barclaycard Merchant Services processes all major debit and credit cards for most business types. Their services include EMV card readers and swipers, mobile payments, data reporting and analysis, accounting software, and e-commerce solutions.x

Barclaycard Merchant Services Location & Ownership

Barry Rodrigues is the CEO of Barclaycard, which is headquartered at 1 Churchill Pl, Canary Wharf, London, UK.

Barclaycard Merchant Services Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: Barclaycard Merchant Services appears to offer an 18-month contract that may include an early termination fee.
  • Complaints & Service: Barclaycard Merchant Services has received more than 30 public complaints.
  • BBB Rating: Barclaycard Merchant Services does not have a profile with the Better Business Bureau at this time.
  • Sales & Marketing: Barclaycard Merchant Services does not appear to hire independent sales agents and has received very few complaints about its sales practices.

Is the BBB Rating for Barclaycard Merchant Services Accurate?

Better Business Bureau Profile

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No BBB Profile

The Better Business Bureau does not maintain a profile for Barclaycard Merchant Services due to its location in the UK. We therefore will not factor a BBB rating into this review.

How Expensive is Barclaycard Merchant Services?

Rates, Fees, and Contract Terms

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Cost Summary

Terminal Based Rate 1.25%
Barclaycard Anywhere Rate 2.6%
Growing Plan e-Commerce Monthly Fee £20 + VAT
Growing Plan e-Commerce Transaction Fee £0.10 (After 350)
Barclaycard Anywhere Set Up Fee £60
Early Termination Fee Undisclosed
Counter Top Terminal Monthly Fee £15
Portable Terminal Monthly Fee £20
Mobile Terminal Monthly Fee £25
PCI Compliance Fee Undisclosed

Barclaycard Merchant Services Pricing

Barclaycard offers options to merchants under 18-month contracts with payment processing facilitating mobile payments as well as countertop and portable terminals. A Flat fee of 1.25% applies to all transactions. A monthly fee is attached to each option. Countertop terminal services are assessed a monthly fee of £15, while portable terminals cost £20, and mobile payments are the most costly at £25.

Barclaycard also supports a smartphone-hosted payments app called Barclaycard Anywhere. Unlike Barclaycard’s terminal-based rates, transactions made through smartphones are assessed at a rate of 2.6% as well as a £0.75 charge per refund. A one-time setup fee of £60 is also charged to merchants. Barclaycard Anywhere services do not require a contract.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Barclaycard also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising Barclaycard Smartpay, its virtual lterminal and payment gateway service. Barclaycard Smartpay offers 2 different plans, the Growing Plan and Established Plan.

The Growing Plan charges a fixed monthly fee of £20 plus VAT for merchants making less than 5,000 transactions per month. Each transaction is charged £0.10 each after the first 350, which are free. The Growing Plan also includes a minimum contract period of 12 months.

The Established Plan offers an online payment gateway for merchants making more than 5,000 transactions per month. Pricing for this plan offers rates tailored to fit a merchant’s transaction volume, the size of their business, and its industry. The Growing Plan comes with the possibility of a joining fee of up to £150.

Variable Contract Terms

Merchant complaints report that the early termination fee can be expensive and that cancellation itself can be a complicated process, but specific figures are hard to come by. In general, the company appears to offer average contract terms that can vary according to each situation. We do not have enough concrete information to determine if Barclaycard’s terms are competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts at this time. If you have any specific knowledge of the standard Barclaycard contract, please share that information in the comment section below this review.

We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.

Does Barclaycard Merchant Services Use Deceptive Marketing?

Advertising & Sales Strategy

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Key Points

Employs Independent Resellers No
Advertises Deceptive Rates No
Discloses All Important Terms No

Inside Sales Team

Barclaycard appears to rely on conventional advertising, strategic partnerships, and an in-house sales staff to market its services. There is no indication that the company recruits independent sales agents, and there are very few complaints that mention problems with the company’s sales tactics. This may be partly because Barclaycard’s long time in business and high consumer recognition allow it to market less aggressively than smaller or lesser-known companies.

This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

No Deceptive Advertising

The company does not advertise any rates or pricing details on its website, and it generally seems to avoid negative feedback about its sales tactics. It has therefore received an “A” rating in this section. If you suspect that Barclaycard is charging you undisclosed fees, however, we recommend seeking an independent statement audit to spot hidden charges.

Does Barclaycard Merchant Services Deserve Your Business?

Review Summary & Our Thoughts

One Option For UK Merchants

Barclaycard Merchant Services rates as an average merchant services provider for UK businesses of all sizes and types. The company’s large size gives it the flexibility to adapt to different business needs, but it also appears to have negatively impacted its customer service. As a general rule, large entities like Barclaycard are a better fit for mid-size and large businesses. For now, UK merchants may want to consider a top-rated UK merchant account provider to get the best rates and service.

5-Star Rated Barclaycard Merchant Services Competitors

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About The Author

Phillip Parker is a Payments Industry Analyst and creator of this blog, CardPaymentOptions.com. Phillip is passionate about researching merchant service providers and payment industry trends. He is often quoted as an expert source in national publications such as INC Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Entrepreneur, and many others.

“I started this blog because I was disgusted by the business practices of the merchant services industry. I wanted to empower business owners by providing insight on how to avoid shady merchant account providers and costly credit card processing mistakes.” 

Phillip’s Processor Comparisons

Picking a credit card processor can be a headache, but we’ve made it easy. Phillip recommends comparing the best merchant services providers we’ve researched.

Audit Your Merchant Account

When was the last time you had your rates audited by someone who wasn’t also trying to sell you credit card processing services? We support this website by helping business owners understand how to cut their processing costs, either with a new processor or their current one. Learn more.

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This processor offers the lowest rates and best service we've seen

What Others Are Saying About Barclaycard Merchant Services

Customer & Employee Reviews

One Response

  1. We have started this contract with Barclays Card Merchant service, after taking all terms and condition. they are charging £50 per month additionally when we ask for the reason they said this is because of international card, when we ask for evidence they said they can not provide that means simple cheating and biggest fraud case and this is a bleach of contract, they will charge you account direct debit whatever they want without information and when you ask for explanation you will never have it.

    We close the contract within first 30Days due to all above issues and we are not at all confident because the way they are doing fraud, they will finish soon,
    My appeal to the Business community it is our hard earn money which Barclays Card Merchant service will take without a reason so you can deal with them at own your risk.

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