Crown Merchants Review: Fees, Comparisons, Complaints & Lawsuits
(828) 781-4335 Offering Merchant Services Since 2005
Founded in 2005, Crown Merchants is a merchant account provider headquartered in Claremont, North Carolina.
Crown Merchants Payment Processing
Crown Merchants processes all major debit and credit cards for most business types. Their services include POS solutions from Clover, EMV card readers and swipers, mobile solutions, access to virtual terminals, and MOTO.
Crown Merchants Location & Ownership
Julie Harbin is the president of Crown Merchants, which is located at 2960 N. Oxford St. Claremont, North Carolina 28610. The company is an ISO/MSP of Elavon Payments and is partnered with US Bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as its acquiring bank.
Crown Merchants Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: Crown Merchants offers interchange-plus pricing with no early termination fees through Elavon. Crown Merchants also relies on LADCO Global Leasing Solutions for its payment processing terminals.
- Complaints & Service: Crown Merchants complaints number few to none on public complaints forums.
- BBB Rating: Crown Merchants has no rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 0 complaints and 0 reviews in the last 3 years.
- Sales & Marketing: Crown Merchants does not engage in misleading sales tactics and has not received complaints about its sales team.
Crown Merchants offers standard payment processing services
Crown Merchants Customer Reviews
Here's What Their Clients Say
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Online Complaints | <10 |
| Live Customer Support | Yes |
| Most Common Complaint | N/A |
Clean Complaint Record
As noted above, we are unable to locate any negative Crown Merchants reviews, which indicates that the company is not a scam or a ripoff. In one older complaint (which is no longer publicly visible), a merchant claimed to have asked for more time to decide whether to sign up for service, only to have had their application processed anyway by a sales agent. This complaint is the only negative Crown Merchants review that we have ever found online, and we are therefore inclined to regard it as an isolated incident.
Crown Merchants Lawsuits
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Crown Merchants. However, merchants should be aware of the company’s partnership with LADCO Global Leasing Solutions.
In 2012, LADCO settled a lawsuit alleging that their Thousand Oaks’ office had misrepresented the terms and lengths of lease agreements. The suit went on to assert that the company went as far as forging signatures to execute leases. LADCO paid $418,000 as part of the settlement agreement. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
Crown Merchants Customer Service Options
It is possible that some complaints intended for Crown Merchants are instead redirected to its processor, Elavon, but in the absence of any evidence that this is occurring, we are awarding the company an “A” in this category for now.
We have located multiple Crown Merchants customer service numbers:
(828) 459-9991 – Claremont Office
(305) 240-5795 – Key West Office
Crown Merchant also lists a customer service email at [email protected].
The Crown Merchants website lists 24/7 live support contact information for merchants, which is close to what we expect from top-rated merchant accounts for great customer service.
Crown Merchants Online Ratings
Here's How They Rate Online
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Complaints | 0 |
| Resolved Complaints | 0 |
No BBB Complaints
Crown Merchants is not an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. As of this review, the company has no rating with the BBB and has had 0 complaints filed against it in the last 36 months. Crown Merchants has also had 0 negative informal reviews posted to its BBB profile.
What Merchants Say
Previously, Crown Merchant had 1 review on its profile. The review expressed the company’s attentive customer service:
Great company to work with. Always on top of business.
Merchant account providers who cultivate positive relationships with their customers often do so by providing excellent customer service.
An “A” Rating
Given the company’s clean complaint record, we agree with the BBB’s former rating in this instance. Merchants should be aware that there is good reason to view the BBB’s ratings with skepticism.
Crown Merchants Fees, Rates & Costs
A Closer Look at The Contract
| Item | Result | >
|---|---|
| Swiped Rate | 2.65% + $0.19 |
| Keyed-in Rate | 3.50% + $0.19 |
| Virtual Terminal Rate | 1.00% - 4.99% |
| Payment Gateway Fee | Undisclosed |
| Monthly Service Fee | $10 |
| Early Termination Fee | None |
| PCI Compliance Fee | $7.50 Per Month |
| Equipment Lease Terms | 60 Month (locked) |
Contract Pricing
Crown Merchants is a reseller of Elavon’s merchant services. Like Evalon, the standard Crown Merchants contract offers either tiered or interchange-plus pricing but does not include an early termination fee.
A typical Evalon contract charges a swipe rate of 2.65% plus $0.19 and a keyed-in rate of 3.5% plus $0.19. Crown Merchants charges a monthly service fee of $10 and a PCI Compliance fee of $7.50 per month, but it does not enforce any monthly minimum fees. There is also an account maintenance fee of $20 that is charged per incident (e.g. DBA change or DDA change).
As an Evalon reseller, it is possible that Crown Merchants may offer an equipment lease through LADCO Global Leasing Solutions. LADCO ranks among our worst-rated merchant accounts.
Prospective customers should review their contacts with Crown Merchants thoroughly to avoid an expensive, non-cancellable equipment lease through LADCO that could last up to 60 months.
Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing
In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Crown Merchants also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. However, pricing is not disclosed on either of those services. Additional Crown Merchants rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these e-commerce services.
No Contract Complaints
The total absence of complaints regarding these or any other fees associated with a Crown Merchants contract indicates that most of the company’s clients are satisfied with the service they are receiving. Although we do not consider Crown Merchants to be one of the cheapest merchant accounts, we are awarding the company an “A” here due to its low complaint volume and the fact that merchants can cancel without penalty. We still encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.
Crown Merchants offers e-commerce solutions including access to virtual terminals
Crown Merchants Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs
Should You Work For Them?
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Employs Independent Resellers | Yes |
| Advertises Deceptive Rates | No |
| Discloses All Important Terms | Yes |
Crown Merchants Sales Approach
Crown Merchants appears to market itself through its website and through traditional advertising. The company does employ independent sales agents, but it is not showing any recent public complaints related to nondisclosure or misrepresentation by its sales staff. That said, if you suspect that you are being charged undisclosed Crown Merchants fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden charges. This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.
No Deceptive Advertising
At the time of an earlier review, we found one Crown Merchants complaint that described apathetic and deceptive conduct by one of the company’s sales agents. However, this Crown Merchants complaint appears to be an isolated incident from over three years ago, and the company does not engage in deceptive advertising strategies in its official materials. We therefore award it an “A” in this section.
Our Crown Merchants Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts
An Optimal Choice For Most Merchants
Crown Merchants rates as a reliable credit card processor according to our rating system. The company is showing zero complaints online and offers competitive, transparent contract terms despite its association with Elavon. Even when dealing with highly rated merchant account providers, merchants are advised to carefully examine their contracts and to compare the company’s costs to top-rated providers.
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