GoEmerchant Review

Variable Contract Terms

GoEmerchant appears to use First American Payment Systems (FAPS) as its processor, and FAPS’s standard agreement has a three-year service agreement with a $495 early cancellation penalty. In some cases, however, GoEmerchant appears to have the freedom to waive these requirements for its merchants. We’ve seen at least one complaint that mentions a full $495 early termination fee, but some merchants who apply to GoEmerchant may receive month-to-month agreements with no cancellation fee. If you choose to sign up with GoEmerchant, be sure to read your merchant account agreement to make sure you are getting the best deal possible.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, GoEmerchant also dedicates a portion of its website that advertises its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. This portion of the website lists highly customizable e-commerce options thanks to the company’s experienced team of developers. Their comprehensive features include Apple Pay integration, recurring billing, and ACH eCheck acceptance, among others. However, pricing on either of those services is not disclosed. Additional rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these e-commerce services.

Other GoEmerchant Fees

GoEmerchant’s other pricing and fees will vary depending on the services the merchant requires. As of this review, it is unclear if GoEmerchant charges a PCI Compliance fee. It should be noted that a typical merchant agreement through FAPS enforced an annual PCI compliance fee of $120 as well as non-cancellable equipment leases through its leasing affiliate Merimac Capital. The limited information we have obtained about the company’s pricing does not suggest that it can compete with the pricing offered by the cheapest merchant account providers. If you have any information regarding GoEmerchant’s rates and fees, please leave it in the comment section below.

Low Complaint Total

We have found approximately six GoEmerchant negative reviews online, and none of these complaints specifically accuse the company of being a scam. Common complaints include hidden fees, difficulty cancelling service, and withholding of funds. This is a low complaint total for a company of GoEmerchant’s size and time in business, but it is possible that additional GoEmerchant complaints may have been mistakenly filed against FAPS instead of GoEmerchant. Despite this possibility, we have seen no proof that it is occurring.

GoEmerchant Lawsuits

We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against GoEmerchant. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

GoEmerchant Customer Support Options

GoEmerchant offers a phone number and email address for customer support on its website. These options are the bare minimum that we expect of top-rated payment processors for great customer service, and they seem to do a fine job of resolving complaints in-house for GoEmerchant.

Under 10 Complaints

GoEmerchant has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2001. As of this review, the BBB is reporting an “A+” rating with only 2 complaints filed in the last 36 months. Each of those 2 complaints were related to a product or service problem. 1 complaint was successfully resolved, while the other either was resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant.

What Merchants Say

The most recent complaint details describe difficulty canceling service:

In 2010 my company hired GoEmerchant Services to handle our merchant services. At the time, I agreed to the three year contract term for their services. I was not aware of yearly automatic renewal of services after the three year contract term. On May 8th, 2017, I called GoEmerchant to cancel my merchant service account with them. The representative told me I needed to send them an intent to close account letter, which I did. The representative went on to tell me that I needed to send them a cancellation letter on my anniversary date, which was September 13, 2017. I failed to do this, but assumed that the intent to close letter I sent would have deactivated the automatic renewal. It did not, and when I was charged another monthly service fee in September, I called them to find out why I was still being charged. They said I needed to send a letter to close my account, which I did, and my account was closed on October 11th. Now, I just found out that I had to pay a $495 close fee since I didn’t close my account on my anniversary date. I really don’t see what else I could have done to avoid paying this mysterious $495 fee. It has already been taken out of my account and I have no recourse. I am very dissatisfied with the unethical business practice of GoEmerchant.

Merchants can avoid this situation by taking proactive steps to cancel their merchant account without paying a fee.

An “A” Performance

Given the fact that the company has received only two complaints, we agree with the BBB’s rating at this time.

Incomplete Rate Quotes

GoEmerchant advertises a rate quote “as low as 0.89%” per transaction on the Mobile Payments page of its website. This quote is misleading because it does not include the Mid-Qualified and Non-Qualified surcharges that a high percentage of transactions receive, or the fact that only a minuscule percentage of a merchant’s transactions would receive the 0.89% rate. The company also hires independent resellers, which would normally be a strike against it, but GoEmerchant’s compensation program does not appear to encourage price gouging like many others do in this industry.

Few Sales Complaints

GoEmerchant is currently showing a handful of negative reviews online regarding its sales tactics, specifically concerning nondisclosure of monthly fees. Overall, the company’s marketing strategy appears to be neither exceptionally transparent nor exceptionally deceptive. If you are concerned that GoEmerchant is overcharging you, you can spot hidden fees in your statement with a third-party statement audit.