Three Different Contracts
eMerchant appears to sell merchant accounts through three different processors. The company’s website includes PDF copies of its contracts, which allows businesses to make limited comparisons between the three options. One eMerchancontract, which seems to have been through 1st NationalProcessing/iPayment, is no longer linked on the eMerchant site. We will therefore assume for now that the two companies are not currently affiliated.
eMerchant’s TransFirst Contract
eMerchant’s TransFirst contract is a three-year agreement with an automatic renewal for successive one-year terms unless the client cancels at least 90 days before the end of the initial term. This agreement also includes an early termination fee (ETF) that is calculated in two different ways. If the client has fewer than 12 months remaining in the contract, the ETF is $250. If the client has more than 12 months remaining in the contract, the ETF is $500. The processing fees and additional fees for this agreement are not made clear in the contract, but can instead be found on an attached eMerchant fee schedule that will be provided to the business.
eMerchant’s Moneris Contract
eMerchant’s Moneris Solutions contract (available below) is a one-year agreement that automatically renews on the one-year anniversary of its initiation. The contract provided describes that an early termination fee may be involved, but an exact amount for this fee is only available in a separate document. Client complaints indicate that there may be an ETF of $159 and a $99 annual fee associated with this contract. See eMerchant’s Moneris Agreement.
eMerchant’s Redwood Contract
eMerchant’s Redwood contract (available below) is an agreement of indefinite length that may be terminated at any time with 30 days’ notice, but merchants who cancel in the first 24 months will be assessed an early termination fee of $295. There is possibly a monthly minimum fee associated with this account as well. See eMerchant’s Redwood Merchant Services Agreement.
Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing
In addition to its storefront payment processing services, eMerchant also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. The company advertises its partnerships with eMerchant Gateway, USAePay,Authorize.Net, PayFlow Pro, and eProcessing Network for these services. As a reseller of these services, eMerchant reserves the right to alter the pricing of these payment gateway providers.
As a point of reference, Authorize.Net imposes a rate of 2.9% plus $0.30 for transactions made through virtual terminals its gateway serves while charging a gateway fee of $25 per month. USAePay charges a setup fee of up to $100. However, pricing on either of those services is not disclosed. Meanwhile, eProcessing Network charges an additional $0.05 per transaction as its gateway fee. In all, rates and fees for eMerchant’s e-commerce options vary greatly. Additional rates and fees, including technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these services as well.
Other Fees May Apply
Although these documents are informative with regard to the company’s contract lengths and termination fees, it remains unclear whether and how eMerchant enforces PCI Compliance fees, monthly minimum fees, statement fees, or other potential costs. Additionally, it is unknown whether eMerchant provides interchange-plus pricing to all of its clients. If you have any information regarding the standard costs of doing business with eMerchant, please share that knowledge in the comment section of this review. For now, businesses should assume that the company offers a range of options that could potentially compete with the cheapest merchant accounts.
We also encourage readers to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.
