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Should You Trust Humboldt Merchant Services with Your Merchant Account?

Updated: September 24, 2025

Maintained Since: March 13, 2012

We take our role in providing guidance and education regarding the card payment industry very seriously. At our own expense, we have vigorously defended our right to continue expose unethical and predatory practices in the industry, successfully defeating every attempt to silence us. However, fending off frivolous lawsuits is costly. To sustain these efforts, one of the ways we generate revenue is through affiliate partnerships with ethical providers. This means that some of our outgoing links connect business owners to trustworthy, low-cost payment processors, which is what most of our readers seek. We see this revenue channel as a win-win-win for everyone involved. Business owners find good processors, processors get good clients, and we are able to continue to provide a valuable service to the small business community. We also recommend and link to many services that do not compensate us. Our priority is to guide you to the best solutions for your needs, regardless of potential revenue. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.

All mentions of rate and fee costs are estimations based on publicly available information and client feedback. Actual costs may vary based on a variety of factors unique to your business.

Humboldt Merchant Services

Rating

5/5

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Pros

High-risk specialization

International processing capabilities

Diverse payment solutions

Fraud prevention tools

PCI compliance support

Cons

Potential fund holds

Potential cancellation fees

Variable contract terms

Limited equipment options

No mobile app

Overview

In this review of Humboldt Merchant Services, we take a closer look at the company’s payment processing solutions, including credit card processing, point of sale systems, and e-commerce options. We examine their pricing, contract terms, and customer feedback to provide a clear picture of what the company offers. The review also evaluates fee transparency, the quality of customer support, and overall merchant satisfaction. By the end, you will know whether Humboldt Merchant Services is the right fit for your business’s payment processing needs.

About Humboldt Merchant Services

Screen Capture of Humboldt Merchant Services Homepage — Humboldt Merchant Services Homepage

Humboldt Merchant Services is a merchant account provider located in Tempe, AZ, that began doing business in 1993. HMS is a U.S. subsidiary of a Canada-based credit card processor called Moneris Solutions. HMS specializes primarily in providing credit card processing and electronic payment services for high-risk business types. The company’s primary website also contains a link to a separate, PCI compliance-related site (hbmspci.com) designed to provide PCI support for clients.

Products & Merchant Services

Payment Processing

Humboldt Merchant Services offers comprehensive payment processing solutions for businesses. Their services are designed to handle a variety of transactions securely and efficiently, accommodating all major credit and debit cards.

EMV Card Readers and Swipers

The company provides EMV card readers and swipers, which are essential for secure payment transactions. These devices support chip-enabled cards, reducing the risk of fraud.

NFC Payments

Humboldt Merchant Services also supports NFC (Near Field Communication) payments. This technology allows for contactless transactions, providing a convenient and fast payment option for customers using smartphones or contactless cards.

Check Processing

In addition to card payments, Humboldt Merchant Services offers check processing services. This solution enables businesses to accept and process checks efficiently, ensuring funds are quickly and securely transferred.

POS Solutions

The company delivers point-of-sale (POS) solutions that meet the diverse needs of businesses. These systems are equipped to manage sales transactions, inventory, and customer interactions.

Gift and Loyalty Programs

Humboldt Merchant Services provides gift and loyalty programs aimed at enhancing customer engagement and retention. These programs are designed to reward customers and encourage repeat business.

Payment Gateways

For businesses with an online presence, Humboldt Merchant Services offers payment gateways. These gateways facilitate secure online transactions, providing a reliable platform for e-commerce activities.

Virtual Terminals

The company also provides virtual terminals, which allow businesses to process payments online without the need for physical hardware. This solution is ideal for remote transactions, enabling payments to be accepted from any location with internet access.

Recurring Billing

Humboldt Merchant Services supports recurring billing, beneficial for subscription-based businesses.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Positive Customer Feedback

At the time of our review, only a limited number of Humboldt Merchant Services reviews were found on public forums, with some dating back to 2009 or earlier. The majority of complaints center around fund-holds or denied applications, issues commonly associated with high-risk providers like Humboldt. However, there is no indication of systemic problems with the company’s fraud prevention policies. Considering its size, Humboldt Merchant Services maintains a relatively low review rate. If you have your own experience with HMS, we encourage you to share it in the comments below.

Legal History and Penalties

Our search has not uncovered any ongoing class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Humboldt Merchant Services. Customers seeking alternative avenues for resolution are advised to report their concerns to relevant supervisory organizations.

Humboldt Merchant Services Customer Support

Humboldt Merchant Services provides a dedicated phone line and email address on its website, along with live chat support for PCI compliance queries. Given this range of support options, we assign HMS a rating of “A” in this category.

Humboldt Merchant Services Customer Service Number

(877) 387-5642 – Toll-Free Customer Support

Other Support Options

Support form
Customer service via email at customerservice@hbms.com

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop	5
BBB Rating	N/A

PaymentPop Rating for Humboldt Merchant Services

Negative Feedback

There are no negative reviews published about Humboldt Merchant Services on the PaymentPop website.

Positive Feedback

What stood out about Humboldt Merchant Services was how steady everything has been since we signed on. We don’t have to chase down answers or worry about missing deposits. We’re happy and satisfied.

Humboldt Merchant Services BBB Rating

Humboldt Merchant Services received Better Business Bureau accreditation in September 2011 and has an “A+” rating. Within the past 36 months, 1 complaint has been filed against Humboldt Merchant Services. The 1 complaint was resolved to the satisfaction of the merchant.

What Merchants Say

In addition to the 1 complaint, Humboldt has also received 1 negative informal reviews to its profile. The most recent review describes being rejected for processing:

I started the application with them on 7/28/2021, they kept asking for paperwork I kept getting them paperwork that they requested. On 8/6/2021 they finally came back and said no to the account.So if you need a merchant account don’t waste your time, they will drag your account out and then waste your time.

An “A” Performance

Humboldt’s overall complaint total is well within the “A” range for a provider of its size. We agree with the BBB‘s rating.

Processing Rates & Fees

Overview of Humboldt Merchant Services Contract

An archived version of the Humboldt Merchant Services (HMS) contract from 2007 indicates a one-year term with a $20 monthly minimum fee, a $10 monthly maintenance fee, a $159 early termination fee, and a variable annual fee. While it’s unclear if there have been substantial changes to HMS’s rates and contract terms since then, variations are likely, particularly for high-risk accounts.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Costs

Humboldt Merchant Services extends its offerings to include virtual terminal and payment gateway services. Specific pricing for these services isn’t publicly detailed. Usually, additional fees like gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and extra transaction rates are part of such e-commerce services.

Customer Satisfaction and Contract Acceptability

The scarcity of complaints regarding HMS’s contract terms suggests a general acceptability among its clients, earning HMS an “A” in this aspect. However, it’s important to recognize that high-risk merchant account providers may not align with the pricing of the most economical merchant accounts due to differing risk profiles. If you have current insights into HMS’s contract terms, sharing your experience in the comments would be valuable.

For a comprehensive comparison, explore our list of top merchant account providers.

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

Inside/Outside Sales Team

Humboldt Merchant Services appears to offer an independent agent/reseller program, which suggests that the company employs independent sales agents to market its services. The use of independent sales agents can often result in a pattern of nondisclosure at the point of sale, which usually leads to numerous complaints from clients. However, the Humboldt Merchant Services review record is nearly spotless. It therefore appears that the company either doesn’t rely heavily on an independent sales team or that it oversees its agents with an uncommon degree of diligence for this industry.

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

No Deceptive Quotes

Humboldt also does not list any misleading rate quotes or unrealistic guarantees on its website. If you suspect that Humboldt has added hidden fees to your monthly statement, you can check your pricing with a third-party statement audit.

Humboldt Merchant Services Competitors

Compare Humboldt Merchant Services to competitors that earned top marks.

Pricing

Bottom Line

All available information points to Humboldt Merchant Services (HMS) as a trustworthy credit card processing provider. The company maintains an impressive record with very few complaints in public forums, and there is no evidence to suggest that it engages in any deceptive practices. This transparency and customer satisfaction underscore its reliability, providing peace of mind to businesses considering its services.

Though more detailed information about HMS is yet to surface, we are confident in assigning it an overall “A” rating. Standard-risk businesses should still compare HMS’s pricing with that of top-rated merchant account providers to secure the most advantageous deal. Evaluating multiple options is essential to ensure your processing needs are met with the best possible value and service.

Read Actual User Reviews

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All user reviews have been moved to our partner, PaymentPop.com

Contact Humboldt Merchant Services

Contact & Customer Support
President	Adam McDonald
Headquarters	1600 N Desert Dr #101, Tempe, AZ 85281
Customer Service	877-387-5642
Website	hbms.com

About Us

CardPaymentOptions.com

Established 2009

My name is Phillip Parker, and I started this website back in 2009 as a simple blog to call out shady credit card processors that were taking advantage of small business owners. At the time, I had no idea this side project would grow into a leading voice pushing for transparency and integrity in the payment processing industry. I also didn't anticipate just how far some of these companies' owners would go to try to silence me.

I was recruited out of college for a sales role with a credit card processor. At the time, I didn't realize the “training” was really about tricking me... into selling business owners expensive processing with hidden fees and long-term service agreements. In my first few sales, I unknowingly cost friends and family thousands of dollars after they trusted me to switch their services. When it finally clicked that something was seriously wrong, I was furious. I quit immediately and made a promise to expose that company and any others operating the same way. That promise is what led to the creation of this website.

As I wrote about these processors, their tactics, and the people behind them, the articles started to spread among business owners. News organizations picked up the stories, readers shared them online, and traffic to the blog took off. Unsurprisingly, that also caught the attention of the companies and individuals I was exposing.

Over the last 17 years, I've received several anonymous death threats and defeated four lawsuits meant to intimidate me into taking my blog down. Their efforts to muzzle me only made my determination to expose them even stronger, leading me to work with state authorities to help shutdown some of the worst offenders.

I'm proud to say that of the millions of people who have read my work, thousands have taken the time to write and thank me for helping them narrowly avoid a very costly mistake. This blog has played a small role in pushing the industry toward more ethical practices - but there are still bad actors out there, which means the work isn't done.

If I can offer one piece of advice, it's this: get every promise in writing, and take the time to review contracts carefully. Tools like ChatGPT can help surface red flags and uncover expensive surprises buried in the fine print.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I truly appreciate you being here, and I wish you every success with your business.

Our Research Methodology

Pricing & Fees

We analyze all costs including rate structures (interchange-plus, tiered, flat-rate, etc), monthly fees, equipment costs, early termination fees, and hidden charges. This data is gathered from service agreements, statements and client feedback.

Features & Technology

Evaluation of POS systems, e-commerce integrations, mobile capabilities, reporting tools, recurring billing..., and developer resources. When possible, we directly test services and hardware. Otherwise, we rely on client feedback and public information.

Customer Support

We evaluate availability across phone, email, chat, and social channels. Measuring hold times, night and weekend availability, and client feedback regarding effectiveness, professionalism, and resolution rates.

Contract Terms & Conditions

We review service agreements and equipment contracts for reasonability, transparency, and fairness. We focus on uncovering any predatory clauses, such as unjustified early termination fees, hidden costs, and unclear cancellation policies.

User Experience

We comb the internet and interview current and former clients to evaluate the overall user experience and identify any common pain points that may impact the user experience.

Sales & Marketing Practices

We evaluate sales tactics, marketing materials, and client feedback to determine the level of transparency and ethical nature of the provider's approach. Does the provider publicly disclose pricing? Do they use teaser rates? We score based on these and other factors.

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