Barclaycard Merchant Services Review

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. Counter top terminal services are assessed a monthly fee of £15, while portable terminals cost £20, and mobile payments the most costly at £25.

Barclaycard also supports smartphone hosted payments app called Barclaycard Anywhere. Unlike Barclaycard’s terminal-based rates, transactions made through smartphones are assessed a rate of 2.6% as well as a £0.75 charge per refund. A one time set up 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 that advertises Barclaycard Smartpay, its virtual terminal 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, 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.

Moderate Complaint Total

We have located a moderate number of negative Barclaycard Merchant Services reviews, some of which describe the company as a scam or a ripoff. Most complaints mention poor customer service based in India, difficulty canceling service, large termination fees, and withheld funds.

Some Red Flags

Barclaycard as an overall entity has a 2.0 out of 10 rating based on 413 reviews on Trustpilot, a customer feedback website. Although we typically don’t consider high Trustpilot ratings to be reliable due to the company’s partnership policies, we do take low ratings on the website seriously. It is difficult to differentiate the complaints about Barclaycard’s consumer card-issuing services from the complaints about its merchant services, but both branches appear to be equally represented in the available body of complaints. In general, Barclaycard appears to have an average number of complaints, with none of them being especially severe. Therefore, we award it a “C” rating in this category.

Barclaycard Lawsuits

Barclaycard is a party to numerous lawsuits against different banks and card providers. Yet, we have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Barclaycard by merchants. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

Barclaycard Customer Support Options

Barclaycard offers live phone support and email support to all of its merchants. According to the level of complaints that specifically mention issues with the company’s customer service, these channels are evidently lacking when compared to the top-rated credit card processors for great customer support.

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.

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.

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.