Home > Processor Research > Merchant Account Solutions

What to Watch Out for With Merchant Account Solutions

Name: Merchant Account Solutions
Item: Merchant Account Solutions
Rating: 2.5
Author: Phillip Parker

October 15, 2025

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.

Merchant Account Solutions

Rating

2.5/5

Leave User Review Compare Ratings

Overview

Founded in 2007, Merchant Account Solutions is a merchant account provider that is simply a DBA of International Card Services and Integrated Card Service. Integrated Card Service is rated as low as some of the worst merchant account providers on CPO. Merchant Account Solutions is located at the same address as Integrated Card Service and resells iPayment/First Data (Fiserv) products and services such as Clover POS. It is also powered by POS Pros, a seller of point-of-sale systems that may simply be a DBA of Merchant Account Solutions. As of our most recent update, the Merchant Account Solutions profile on the BBB website has been renamed to POS Pros and the MAS website is listing the company as "Powered by POS Pros".

Merchant Account Solutions Point of Sale

Merchant Account Solutions offers extensive point-of-sale solutions. These include Clover tablets, SmartSwipe iOS and Android-based terminals for retail and restaurant businesses, LightSpeed iOS and Mac-based terminals for restaurants and bars, PC America PC-based terminals for restaurants and bars, and Verifone Ruby PC-based terminals for gas stations. They also offer credit card machines (swipers) and mobile swipers from PAX, Ingenico, and Verifone, and the Poynt POS system.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Moderate Complaint Total

We are currently able to locate over 50 negative Merchant Account Solutions reviews on this and other consumer protection websites, and some of these complaints accuse the company of being a ripoff or a scam. We have included reviews posted about Integrated Card Service because there does not appear to be a significant difference between the two entities.

What Merchants Complain About

Common themes found across all complaints include nondisclosure of fees, misrepresentation of rates, excessive cancellation penalties, and poor customer service. These issues are cited so consistently that they most likely stem from the company’s standard policies rather than a few unscrupulous salespeople.

Merchant Account Solutions Lawsuits

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

Merchant Account Solutions Customer Service Options

Merchant Account Solutions offers phone and email support, but it does not list its hours of availability.

We have located a single Merchant Account Solutions customer service number:

(800) 457-2507 – Toll-Free General Customer Service

Merchant Account Solutions also offers a customer support form on its website and a customer service email at support@merchantaccountsolutions.com.

In any case, the company does not rank as a top merchant account for great customer service at this time. Due to its moderate-to-high complaint total and the content of the available complaints, we have given it a “D” rating in this section.

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
Product & Service Complaints	3
Billing & Collection Complaints	9
Advertising & Sales Complaints	3
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints	0
Delivery Complaints	0

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.

15 Complaints

Merchant Account Solutions has a profile under POS Pros and has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since May 2015, currently holding an “A+” rating. The company’s profile is currently showing 15 complaints in the last 36 months. 3 of the complaints were due to a problem with a product or service, 9 were billing or collections issues, and 3 were due to advertising or sales problems. 8 of these 15 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 7 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.

What Merchants Say

In addition to those 15 complaints, Merchant Account Solutions has also received 51 informal reviews on its BBB profile. 43 of those reviews are positive while only 8 are negative. However, it should be noted that these reviews are not authenticated by the BBB. Many of the negative reviews are recent, and the most recent details “bait and switch” tactics for pricing:

Awful…buyer beware. Bait and switch with hidden fees but they will tell you otherwise. Nice salespeople to lute you in but they are full of it. Zero stars should be put out of business.

Merchants who are unsatisfied with their current payment solutions should take the proper steps to cancel their merchant account without a cancellation fee.

A “C” Performance Overall

In light of the company’s complaint total and resolution ratio, we have adjusted the BBB’s rating to a “C.”

Processing Rates & Fees

Contract-Free Plans

At the time of our last update to this review, the standard Merchant Account Solutions contract appears to be a three-year agreement through iPayment with a monthly minimum fee of $25, an annual fee of $99, and a monthly minimum fee of $4.95. However, the company’s website now advertises month-to-month plans without a contract. It is unclear if the company still utilizes iPayment and if the monthly minimum applies, but it seems the company no longer charges early termination or annual fees.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Merchant Account Solutions also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services through Authorize.Net. A standard Authorize.Net agreement charges a rate of 2.90 plus $0.30, a monthly gateway fee of $25, and a batch fee of $0.10. However, as a reseller of these services, Merchant Account Solutions may reserve the right to alter these terms and conditions.

Merchant Dissatisfaction

In general, merchants consistently report that Merchant Account Solutions charges more than advertised for its services and imposes a sizable early termination fee for all accounts. These complaints align with public complaints filed against Integrated Card Service and other iPayment resellers and are compounded by allegations that the company’s terms are inadequately disclosed by sales agents. We have therefore given Merchant Account Solutions a “D” rating in this section, and we do not consider its pricing to be competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts available. We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of thebest merchant accounts.

merchant account solutions products — **The array of products offered by Merchant Account Solutions.**

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

Independent Sales Agents

Like Integrated Card Service, Merchant Account Solutions primarily utilizes independent sales agents to market its products. This practice usually results in complaints, and, predictably, we have found a significant number of Merchant Account Solutions complaints related to misrepresentation and nondisclosure of fees. Merchants specifically state that their actual rates are much higher than the rates quoted by sales agents and that a large number of undisclosed fees appear on their monthly statements after they begin processing. These reports are consistent with complaints filed against Integrated Card Service. This does not compare favorably to our list ofbest credit card processors.

Incomplete Rate Quotes

The Merchant Account Solutions website currently advertises rates “starting at 0.35%.” This rate is likely the company’s “Qualified” debit rate and does not apply to the “Mid-Qualified” and “Non-Qualified” transactions that make up the majority of payments. We consider this type of selective rate quoting to be deceptive because it could give merchants an unrealistic expectation of the rates they will pay. If you suspect that Merchant Account Solutions is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking an independent, third-party statement audit.

Average Performance

Due to the company’s industry-average sales approach and complaint record across three brand names, we have assigned Merchant Account Solutions the same grade as Integrated Card Service in this category: a “C.”

Merchant Account Solutions Competitors

Compare Merchant Account Solutions to competitors that earned top marks.

Pricing

Bottom Line

A Below-Average Payment Processor

Merchant Account Solutions rates as a substandard merchant services provider according to our rating criteria. The company is simply a DBA of Integrated Card Service (an iPayment reseller with a very low rating on CPO), and the available merchant feedback regarding Merchant Account Solutions suggests that nothing has changed under the new brand. Merchants are advised to request and review all contract terms and to compare them to top-rated options before signing up with any provider.

Read Actual User Reviews

See User Reviews Write a Review

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

Processor Leaderboard

Merchant Education

More Merchant Education

Popular Reviews

See All Reviews