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Intuit Merchant Services Review: Fees, Complaints & Lawsuits

  • January 6, 2022
  • By Payments Industry Analyst, Phillip Parker
  • 270 User Reviews
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Rating

 2/5
Website
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(877) 683-3280

Most Recent Comment

  • Cameron: says:
    May 16, 2022
    "Holding large amounts of payments for a small business. Causing overdraft in bank account. Outrageous! Similar to the United Healthcare scandal.
See All User Comments

See All 5-Star Recommendations

Rating:
 2/5

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View Pricing
(877) 683-3280

Most Recent Comment

  • Cameron: says:
    May 16, 2022
    "Holding large amounts of payments for a small business. Causing overdraft in bank account. Outrageous! Similar to the United Healthcare scandal.
Leave a Comment

The Company Behind QuickBooks

Intuit Merchant Services, also known as QuickBooks Payments, is a merchant account provider based in Mountain View, California. Intuit first entered the merchant services industry in order to package credit card processing services with its QuickBooks accounting software. To make this easier, the company established a partnership with Innovative Merchant Solutions. In 2003, Intuit acquired Innovative Merchant Solutions, and in recent years the company has restructured its merchant services division under the QuickBooks Payments brand. In fact, it’s possible that Intuit Merchant Services is no longer a distinct unit within the QuickBooks family of products, but we will continue updating this review until the company officially scraps it.

Intuit Merchant Services Payment Processing

Intuit Merchant Services processes all major credit and debit cards for most business types. Their services include ACH and check processing, pay-enabled invoices, mobile payments, scheduled and recurring payments, next-day deposits, bookkeeping, invoice tracking, QuickBooks cash bank accounts, and payment links. They appear to focus exclusively on payments out of a store, though their mobile options may work for in-store payments for small businesses.

Seamless QuickBooks Integration

The vast majority of merchants learn about Intuit Merchant Services through QuickBooks, a small business accounting software program developed by the company. Intuit has done a great job of packaging its credit card processing service into QuickBooks. The integration makes it very easy for merchants to seamlessly charge cards and track the sales in essentially one step. In fact, we have found that many merchants will accept higher processing rates with Intuit (rather than switch processors) to keep the easy, integrated accounting functionality. Intuit’s primary merchant account product at this time is QuickBooks Payments. The company uses First Data (now Fiserv) as its processor but handles its customer service and operations in-house.

Intuit Location & Ownership

The president and CEO of Intuit is Sasan K. Goodarzi. Intuit is located at 2700 Coast Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043.

Video Summary

https://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Intuit_Merchant_Services_Review.mp4

 

Intuit Merchant Services Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: Intuit Merchant Services offers swipe rates of up to 2.4% plus $0.30 and keyed-in rates of 3.5% plus $0.30 with options between…
  • Complaints & Service: Has received more than 250 public complaints regarding…
  • BBB Rating: Has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau as Intuit, Inc. and has received 2,295 complaints and 327  reviews and…
  • Sales & Marketing: Does not hire independent sales agents but has received some complaints about its…
Intuit Merchant Services payment processing
Intuit Merchant Services is a QuickBooks brand payment processing company

Should You Trust Intuit Merchant Services?

Lawsuits, Reviews & Complaints

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Complaint Summary

Total Online Complaints 250+
Live Customer Support Yes
Most Common Complaint Fund Holds

Moderate Complaint Total

We are currently able to locate over 250 Intuit Merchant Services negative reviews, many of which characterize the company as a scam or a ripoff. One thing merchants should keep in mind is that Intuit is a huge company and that because of this the company will have more complaints than smaller companies. That being said, Intuit Merchant Services has a moderate amount of complaints filed against it. On a positive note, it appears that the company’s overall complaint rate has decreased or held steady for the last few years.

Merchant Complaint Details

The majority of complaints center on issues relating to hidden and surprise fees, poor customer service, and sudden account holds and freezes. One such complaint, found here, mentions that although “at no time since we have done business with Intuit Merchant Services or Intuit Payment Network Services were we aware that there was any type of limit,” the merchant still had a valid $30,000 transaction frozen by the company indefinitely. A large number of similar complaints can be found in the comment section of this review. It appears that Intuit needs to do a much better job of disclosing fees and hold policies during the sales process instead of embedding that information in the merchant account contract, which is apparently confusing to most merchants.

Intuit Merchant Services Lawsuits and Fines

We have seen evidence that Intuit, Inc. was fined $11 million in 2014 as part of a scheme to keep employee salary levels suppressed. As of 2019 Intuit is facing major allegations and a class-action suit filed by California’s Santa Clara County that the company allegedly duped low-income taxpayers to pay for free tax preparation online. This case is still in litigation, with the most recent update coming in March 2021, when a judge ruled that a $40-million settlement was not enough for consumers in the class, and then in July 2021, when Intuit attempted to send arbitration for class-action cases against itself to small claims court, which was denied.

Intuit Merchant Services Service Options

Intuit provides phone and email support to all of its users, but the complaints about long waits and ineffective replies have prevented the company from ranking among the top merchant accounts for great customer service.

Intuit offers a large number of customer service phone numbers for each of its offices around the world, but it has one primary customer service number:

(877) 683-3280 – Toll-Free Customer Support

Is the BBB Rating for Intuit Merchant Services Accurate?

Better Business Bureau Profile

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BBB Summary

Product & Service Complaints 1,192
Billing & Collection Complaints 345
Advertising & Sales Complaints 189
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints 46
Delivery Complaints 523

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

Over 2,200 Complaints

Intuit currently has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau was formerly accredited since 2010 but is no longer accredited. The company has received 2,295 complaints in the past 36 months. 1,192 of the complaints were due to a problem with a product or service, 345 were billing or collections issues, 189 were due to advertising or sales problems, 46 were issues with a guarantee or a warranty, and 523 were issues with delivery. Only 1,022 of these 2,295 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 1,273 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response

What Merchants Say

Intuit has also received 327 informal reviews from users, with an average rating of one out of five. One recent review describes problems with difficult customer service and withheld funds:

Such a horrible experience!!!!They owe me $9000 that a client paid into my intuit/quickbooks account and are holding it but refused to approve me as a vendor. They have had my money since Feb 2020, told me I would be paid by the state on Dec 5th and now changed their mind and said I have to wait until June 2022. Basically they are making interest from a start up company that nearly went under because they refuse to allow anyone to speak to a manager – they should be ashamed, I would love it if anyone could help me ******

This merchant might have avoided this issue by working with a top-rated provider for customer service.

A “C” Performance

The BBB‘s profile for Intuit covers the entire company, including its merchant services department. Since Intuit’s payment services are typically integrated with its other products, it seems reasonable to consult the company’s BBB profile as a reflection of its customers’ satisfaction. We have therefore adjusted the BBB’s rating to a “C” according to how we would interpret the current volume and content of the complaints.

How Expensive is Intuit Merchant Services?

Rates, Fees, and Contract Terms

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Cost Summary

Swipe Rate 2.3% + $0.25
Keyed-In Rate 3.2% + $0.25
Early Termination Fee $0
PCI Compliance Fee $9.95 per month
Equipment Lease Terms None

Complicated Pricing

Intuit’s costs and fees have always been murky at best. As of this update, the company currently offers four separate pricing schedules depending on when the merchant was approved for a merchant account through QuickBooks Payments or Intuit. The company also offers an evergreen merchant agreement that applies to all pricing schedules. The rates and fees currently advertised on the QuickBooks Payments website correspond to the company’s most recent pricing schedule. All QuickBooks Payments pricing schedules are linked below:

  • Merchants approved on or before 8/1/14 or considered “Legacy customers”
  • Merchants approved after 8/1/14 but before 12/7/16
  • Merchants approved after 12/6/16 but before 9/1/17
  • Merchants approved after 8/31/17

Point of Sale Pricing

QuickBooks Point of Sale Payments offers merchants two plans to choose from, a “Basic” and a “Pro” plan. This option from Intuit Merchant Services is likely the most practical option for businesses as it syncs information into QuickBooks automatically without the manual entry necessary under the company’s other options. The “Basic” plan offers a swiped rate of 2.7% and a keyed-in rate of 3.4% without any monthly charges. The “Pro” plan costs $19.95 each month with a swipe rate of 2.3% plus $0.25 and a 3.2% plus $0.25 for keyed-in transactions. Though Intuit Merchant Services doesn’t charge any early termination fees, the company reserves the right to charge up to $2,500 for canceling accounts due to merchant misconduct.

Intuit’s array of pricing plans is needlessly complicated and frustrating, and numerous merchant complaints have expressed confusion with the rates and fees they are expected to pay. It seems that Intuit’s decisions to phase out its conventional merchant account branch and its mobile app GoPayment, as well as its piecemeal rollout of QuickBooks Payments over the past few years, have left it with a patchwork of contracts that apply to various sectors of its user base.

Reported Intuit Contract Terms

At the time of previous updates, representatives told this reviewer that Intuit has no early termination fee and offers month-to-month contracts. Intuit’s website also makes no mention of a service agreement length. However, there are numerous old reports from merchants stating that they had a two to four-year service agreement with a $295 early termination fee and a PCI Compliance fee of up to $100. Other complaints suggest that the Intuit Merchant Services contract has been structured so that the company does not have a specified termination fee but instead makes a large withdrawal from a merchant’s bank account at its own discretion upon cancellation, returning the funds after all outstanding debts have been settled.

Month-to-Month Contracts

It seems that Intuit’s current policy across its merchant accounts is to provide month-to-month contracts with no early termination fee. This pricing is competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts available. However, merchants are encouraged to determine which set of contract terms will apply to them and to ask about the specific details of those terms. We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant services.

QuickBooks Intuit Merchant Services rates
Part of the Intuit rate structure

Does Intuit Merchant Services Use Deceptive Marketing?

Advertising & Sales Strategy

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Key Points

Uses Independent Resellers No
Advertises Deceptive Rates No
Discloses All Important Terms No

Multiple Marketing Channels

Intuit uses various methods for marketing its credit card processing services, including email, direct mail, and telemarketing. Based upon many of Intuit’s complaints, there is evidence to suggest that the company uses deceptive advertising when it comes to rate and fee quotes. Numerous complainants describe undisclosed fees and confusing pricing structures through Intuit. Many of these complaints are probably the result of the company’s frequent pricing changes over the last few years (more on this in the next section). This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Previous Rate Quotes

In the past, the Intuit website listed misleading rate quotes by only showing the “Qualified” fee tier for swiped and keyed transactions and making no mention of the more expensive “Mid-Qualified” and “Non-Qualified” tiers. Now that the company is primarily selling merchant services under QuickBooks Payments, it does not utilize these types of tiered rate quotes. As a further point in its favor, Intuit does not appear to hire independent outside sales agents. If you suspect that the company is charging you undisclosed fees, you should consider seeking a third-party statement audit.

Does Intuit Merchant Services Deserve Your Business?

Review Summary & Our Thoughts

A Standard Option for Most Businesses

Intuit Merchant Services rates as an average merchant account provider according to our rating system. The company can improve its rating by reducing its complaint count significantly. This can be accomplished by improving its pricing and contract term transparency, reducing or eliminating its early termination fee, and improving its customer service. On the bright side, Intuit does a good job of resolving complaints through the BBB, and most of its customers appear to be satisfied when you take into account the size of the company. If you are looking for an alternative to the QuickBooks accounting environment, you might want to consider using a FreshBooks-integrated merchant account.

5-Star Rated Intuit Merchant Services Competitors

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About The Author

Phillip Parker is a Payments Industry Analyst and creator of this blog, CardPaymentOptions.com. Phillip is passionate about researching merchant service providers and payment industry trends. He is often quoted as an expert source in national publications such as INC Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Entrepreneur, and many others.

“I started this blog because I was disgusted by the business practices of the merchant services industry. I wanted to empower business owners by providing insight on how to avoid shady merchant account providers and costly credit card processing mistakes.” 

Phillip’s Processor Comparisons

Picking a credit card processor can be a headache, but we’ve made it easy. Phillip recommends comparing the best merchant services providers we’ve researched.

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