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Is Merchant One Trustworthy? Customer Reviews and Complaints are Catching Attention

Name: Merchant One
Item: Merchant One
Rating: 2
Author: Phillip Parker

Author: Phillip Parker

Updated: June 10, 2025

Maintained Since: April 10, 2011

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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 One

Rating

2/5

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Pros

Quick account setup

Low rates, cost-effective

Supports modern hardware

Cons

Potential hidden fees

Misleading contract terms

Potential cancellation fees

Longer payout times

Unresponsive customer service.

Overview

In this review of Merchant One, a payment processor recently acquired by Fiserv, we’ll take a detailed look at their services. We’ll cover their in-store, online, and mobile credit card processing, as well as their fraud prevention tools and how their software integrates with other systems.

We’ll also review their rates and fees, contract terms, and customer feedback, including common complaints and industry ratings. Additionally, we’ll evaluate their marketing strategies and customer support options. This review will give you a balanced view of Merchant One’s services and performance, helping business owners understand their options in credit card processing.

About Merchant One

Screen Capture of Merchant One Homepage — Merchant One Homepage

Merchant One is a Miami, Florida-based independent sales arm of United Bank Card that uses First Data (now Fiserv) as its backend processor. Merchant One has recently rebranded its logo and revamped its website to make the claim that it serves more than 100,000 merchants. In December 2022, Merchant One was purchased by Fiserv, the largest company in the credit card processing industry.

Products & Merchant Services

Payment Processing

Merchant One offers a range of credit and debit card processing services, suitable for various business needs. Their offerings include an iPhone app for wireless processing, POS systems, swipers, a virtual terminal, recurring payments, a customer vault, analytics and reporting, gift and loyalty programs, marketing campaigns, PCI compliance, check processing, e-commerce solutions like shopping carts, cash advances, B2B programs, and 24-hour support.

POS Systems and Countertop Card Readers
- For physical retail businesses, Merchant One provides point-of-sale (POS) systems that support various industries.
Online Credit Card Processing
- Merchant One offers an internet payment gateway for businesses operating online. This feature facilitates secure and efficient online transactions and is compatible with numerous shopping cart systems.
Mobile Payment Processing
- Merchant One provides a mobile payment solution that enables businesses to accept payments via smartphones or tablets.
Fraud Prevention Measures
- Merchant One promotes that it employs various fraud prevention measures to ensure secure transactions.
Gift Card Programs
- Merchant One offers customizable gift card programs, enabling businesses to design their own gift cards and track sales data in real-time. Such programs are intended to boost sales and customer loyalty.
Merchant Cash Advance
- For businesses seeking quick access to capital, Merchant One provides merchant cash advances. These advances are an alternative to traditional loans, designed to be easier to qualify for and to supply businesses funds quickly that are repaid with future sales.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Comprehensive Review of Merchant One Feedback

An extensive examination reveals over 120 negative Merchant One reviews on various consumer protection sites, with accusations ranging from labeling the company as a scam to allegations of deceptive practices. This volume of complaints is notable compared to other providers of similar size, with many businesses expressing dissatisfaction with perceived misrepresentations in Merchant One’s advertising and sales strategies. Common grievances include undisclosed fees, unclear contract terms at the point of account setup, and substantial cancellation fees. We invite those with personal experiences with Merchant One to share their insights in the comments section below.

Evaluating Merchant One’s Customer Support

Merchant One offers a dedicated customer support hotline, though it remains ambiguous whether this service is directly managed by Merchant One or outsourced to First Data (Fiserv). This uncertainty, coupled with the volume and nature of complaints, impacts the company’s reputation for customer service.

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
Payment Pop	1
BBB Rating	1.02
Trustpilot Rating	4.8
Yelp Rating	1.4
ComplaintsBoard Rating	N/A
Average Rating	2.4

PaymentPop Rating for Merchant One

Negative Feedback

Merchant one is a terrible company to deal with. They lie about fees and total cost, they never call you back when you leave call back number, can never get assistance, hey took out thousands of dollars out of my account without disclosing why. Run don’t walk away from Merchant one. TERRIBLE

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about Merchant One on the PaymentPop website.

Merchant One BBB Rating

Merchant One has an average customer review rating of 1.02/5 stars on BBB based on 50 customer reviews. The company has also received 82 complaints closed in the last 3 years, with 48 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Common themes in the reviews and complaints include issues with billing and collection, dissatisfaction with services provided, and challenges in communication with the company.

Negative Feedback

Horrible customer service. Sitting on my money and will not release it. Jumped through hoops of fire to no response.

Not good customer service and fees not agreed upon. I canceled my service and have had to call the bank to stop them charging me a monthly fee that was much higher than quoted.

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about Merchant One on the BBB website.

Trustpilot Rating for Merchant One

Merchant One has an average customer review rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, based on 11,673 customer reviews. The majority of reviews (94%) are 5-star, indicating a high level of customer satisfaction. Common themes in the reviews include appreciation for excellent customer service and efficient problem resolution.

Negative Feedback

I canceled my merchant account after only using them for 1 month back in September of 2024 after I found out my account representative lied to me about charges and fraudulently filled in my application with false information. Today- 3 months later I saw where merchant one just took $99 out of my bank account on Jan 2 out of nowhere. They have not responded to emails or phone calls. This has got to be illegal and I will file a fraud report with the Federal trade commision.

Positive Feedback

Anthony Guglielmo…was AWESOME in solving my issues. He made sure I was good with holding on the phone, he even offered to call me back so I wouldn’t have to wait any longer. But, after reassuring him I was good with holding, he was determined to make sure what I needed handled was going to get done today! He was very polite and knowledgeable! I wish more customer service reps were like him! It’s so hard to find good customer service nowadays, but Anthony was Super Awesome!!

Yelp Rating for Merchant One

Merchant One has a 1.4 out of 5 star rating based on 31 user reviews on Yelp.

Positive Feedback

Been in business for over 9 years always have someone to answer my phone calls and swap equipment if needed. Don’t understand with the negative reviews unless they were expecting free credit card processing.

Negative Feedback

100% scam run away!!!! This company will force you to leave a positive review before approving you and will ghost you afterwards.

ComplaintsBaord Review Analysis

The content from the Merchant One page on ComplaintsBoard.com reveals various customer experiences. The page includes multiple complaints, each detailing specific issues faced by customers. Common themes in these complaints include unexplained settlements from bank accounts, high monthly fees, and issues with contract transparency.

Negative Feedback

In late July 2023, we had 4 fraudulent transactions via our website web portal. The money has been returned via a chargeback. Merchant One is currently holding $60,000 plus in processed charges. Merchant One has not indicated when this money will be released. Our company does not have a contract stating funds will be held indefinitely. Funds have been held for 16 days as of today.
– Complaint from August 24, 2023

I had identified two separate settlements from my bank account that have not been identified by Merchant One. I emailed the department that had handled a previous complaint where monies were removed from my account that was later explained as being an error from the credit card company paying double the amounts and later removing the overpayment caused entirely by the CC companies, not me. So, I was told. The person who handled this investigation is a Felix in security at the Merchant One firm. I accepted his explanation on face value. However, I have since written to him on more recent settlements that he has not yet responded to. I have written three times beginning on April 20, 2022, April 21, and April 22, and April 29th, yet to date, he has not responded to my inquiry. The two deductions are as follows: April 19, 2022, $299.00 and March 28, 2022, $499.00. Neither of these deductions from my bank have been explained by Merchant One as to why they were deducted from my account.
– Complaint from April 29, 2022

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about Merchant One on the ComplaintsBoard.com website.

Source: ComplaintsBoard.com

Processing Rates & Fees

Merchant One Pricing

Pricing and fees for a Merchant One business account can vary depending on factors such as business type and processing volume. The standard merchant account contract typically ranges from three to five years. Early termination fees may apply, with a charge of $25 per month for the remaining contract months or $295, whichever is greater. Despite the advertised early termination fee of $0.00 on the company’s homepage, recent complaints suggest a fee increase to $750. Additionally, the agreement may include a non-cancellable lease for the contract term. For more options, business owners can explore our list of the best merchant services.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

Apart from storefront payment processing, Merchant One offers virtual terminal and payment gateway services, although pricing for these services is not disclosed on the website. The company provides over 175 shopping cart integrations to clients. Additional fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, and batch fees, may apply to these e-commerce services.

Nondisclosure Complaints

Several client complaints highlight issues regarding nondisclosure of contract terms and cancellation fees during the application process. Business owners are advised to review the contract document, particularly the early termination fee (ETF) section, to ensure clarity. There also appears to be a conflict regarding the annual PCI Compliance fee, which is around $100 despite the advertised $0.00 fee. As more information becomes available about Merchant One’s contract policies, updates will be provided. It’s recommended for business owners to compare pricing with other merchant account providers for potential cost savings. Refer to the Merchant One Program Guide for detailed information.

Lawsuits & Legal History

In March 2021, Merchant One faced a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, specifically accusing the company of inaccurately reporting a disputed debt. This legal matter is currently unresolved. Clients seeking non-litigious resolutions to their disputes with Merchant One are encouraged to report their issues to appropriate oversight bodies.

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

Misleading Rate Quotes

We have found a few instances of misleading marketing and reports of deceptive sales tactics attributed to Merchant One. In the past, Merchant One promoted processing rates starting at 0.39% on its homepage as well as through online advertisements we found. Currently, the company’s homepage quotes low rates “starting at 0.29%.” Not only do these quoted rates set unrealistic expectations, but only a tiny fraction (if any) of a client’s transactions would qualify for them. The site fails to mention what type of transaction qualifies for this transaction rate or whether businesses will experience additional fees outside of that rate. This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Widespread Sales Complaints

In addition to the misleading rate promotion, Merchant One’s website used to state that merchants “will not be subject to any long-term agreement” and “are absolutely free to cancel their services with us at any time—for any reason.” Based on Merchant One complaints describing cancellation fees ranging from $200-$300, this claim was either a new policy or a complete falsehood. As of this update, these claims appear to have been removed from the Merchant One website, indicating that they might not have been completely truthful. Although the company has removed these specific claims, we are still awarding it a “D” based on the large number of complaints that the company has received and the rate quotes described above. If you suspect that Merchant One is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden charges.

Merchant One Competitors

Compare Merchant One to competitors that earned top marks.

Pricing

Bottom Line

Merchant One, a prominent credit card processing provider, is currently rated as a below-average processor. Numerous reviews raise concerns about high fees and deceptive marketing tactics, leading to a lower rating in this review. While a considerable number of Merchant One customers are likely satisfied, the company has a disproportionately high complaint volume compared to other processors of similar size. The prevalence of non-disclosure issues and misleading rate promotions complicates the company’s reputation, making it challenging to score favorably.

Business owners considering a Merchant One account are strongly encouraged to carefully review and understand the contractual terms before committing. Those seeking greater transparency and peace of mind might prefer exploring top-rated credit card processors as alternative options.

Read Actual User Reviews

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

Contact Merchant One

Contact & Customer Support
CEO	Jim Saka
Headquarters	524 Arthur Godfrey Rd 2nd and 3rd floor, Miami Beach, Florida 33140
Toll-Free General Customer Service	(800) 910-8375
New Account Inquiries	(800) 610-4189
Additional Support Channels	Online Support Form
Website	merchantone.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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