card-payment-options-logo
card-payment-options-logo

MerchantPlus Review

Phillip Parker

I'm the creator of this website and a professional merchant account rate and fee negotiator. I help businesses drastically lower their processing costs with existing or new merchant account services. I've also appeared in popular publications such as INC Magazine, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Computer World Magazine, and several others. Contact me if you need advice with your credit card processing.

Schedule a call with me today. I don’t sell merchant accounts but I can help you:

  • Choose the right processor for your business.
  • Lower your fees with your current processor.
  • Offer guidance with funding holds and TMF Match List.
  • And more! Just ask!

MerchantPlus Overview

Rating

3.5/5
MerchantPlus Logo

Connect

Website

Most Recent Comment

  • Garry Marino:

    "Taking $196 from me 2 months in a row, over and above all of my authnet fees ($30), Merchant Plus ($30 monthly) and fee and about $70 in per..." Read More

    Reply Leave Your Own Comment

Rating

3.5/5
MerchantPlus Logo

Connect

Website

Most Recent Comment

  • Garry Marino:

    "Taking $196 from me 2 months in a row, over and above all of my authnet fees ($30), Merchant Plus ($30 monthly) and fee and about $70 in per..." Read More

    Reply Leave Your Own Comment

*Earning your trust is our highest priority. We live by the same values we expect to see from the companies we review: Honesty, transparency and respect. With this in mind we wish to inform you that we may in some cases, but not all, receive referral income if you choose a provider that we recommend. This income does not influence our strict editorial standards or our recommendations. Our mission is to provide you with the best information regardless of generating income.

Serving Multiple Business Types

MerchantPlus, founded in 2003, is a U.S-based merchant account provider focusing primarily on multi-platform, enterprise solutions, small-businesses, mobile payments, and global currency. The company offers its own payment gateway which is compatible with Authorize.Net.

MerchantPlus Location and Ownership

The company website lists its headquarters at 30 Vesey St., 9th Floor New York, New York 10007. MerchantPlus, LLC is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, California. Its international/high risk processing is offered through Global Card Solutions. Zachary Smith is listed as the founder and president of MerchantPlus.

MerchantPlus Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: MerchantPlus offers 2 plans without any contracts and interchange-plus pricing through its proprietary payment gateway which is compatible with Authorize.Net
  • Complaints & Service: MerchantPlus has received fewer than 10 public complaints.
  • BBB Rating: MerchantPlus currently has a “C” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 4 complaints in the last 3 years.
  • Sales & Marketing: MerchantPlus does not appear to rely on independent sales agents and has received a few complaints about its sales practices.
  • Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With MerchantPlus

Highest Rated & Lowest Cost Processors

Fattmerchant Logo
See Our Review
VIsit Their Website
Payline Logo New
See Our Review
Visit Their Website

MerchantPlus Rates, Fees, and Costs

MerchantPlus Rates, Fees, and Costs

Key Points

Swiped Rate Interchange + 0.30% + $0.25
Keyed-in Rate Interchange + 0.30% + $0.25
Enterprise Plan Rate Interchange + 0.20% + $0.20
Payment Gateway Fee Undisclosed
Advance Plan Fee $30 Per Month
Enterprise Plan Fee $299 Per Month
Early Termination Fee $295+
PCI Compliance Fee Undisclosed
Equipment Lease Terms 36 Month (locked)

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

The Merchant Plus advertises its virtual terminal and payment gateway services called the NaviGate Gateway. Though the gateway is compatible with Authorize.Net, the pricing listed on the company’s website discloses interchange-plus pricing in place of the 2.90% plus $0.30 rate charged by Authorize.Net. The Plans & Pricing page on the MerchantPlus website lists two tiers of service for different monthly rates. For $30 per month, merchants can receive the Advanced plan, which offers interchange-plus pricing at a markup of 0.30% plus $0.30 per transaction. For $299 per month, large merchants can receive the Enterprise plan, which charges a smaller Interchange-plus markup beginning at interchange plus 0.20% and $0.02 According to the company, neither plan comes with a contract or early termination fee.

Both plans are also subject to MerchantPlus’ RateAssure program, which gradually reduces merchants’ interchange-plus markup from 0.30% for merchants processing under $100,000 per month down to 0.10% for merchants processing over $5,000,000 per month. The program terms and conditions also enforce a long-term, non-cancellable equipment lease.

Industry-Average Pricing

Overall, the company’s terms appear to hover around the industry average, and a good portion of available MerchantPlus reviews specifically complain about unexpectedly pricey contract terms. The low overall number of complaints suggests that many merchants do not encounter difficulties with their service, but the terms themselves have lowered the company’s score in this category. We do not consider MerchantPlus to be competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts at this time.

Highest Rated E-Commerce Processors

host merchant services logo
See Our Review
VIsit Their Website
Fattmerchant Logo
See Our Review
Visit Their Website

MerchantPlus BBB Rating Summary

MerchantPlus BBB Rating Summary

Key Points

Product & Service Complaints 2
Billing & Collection Complaints 2
Advertising & Sales Complaints 0
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints 0
Delivery Complaints 0

Unaddressed Complaints

MerchantPlus is not an accredited business of the Better Business Bureau and scores a “C” rating at the time of this review. 4 complaints have been filed against the company in the past 36 months, with 2 relating to billing/collection disputes and 2 due to problems with a product or service. 1 complaint was resolved to the merchant’s satisfaction while 3 was either resolved to the complainant’s dissatisfaction or did not receive a final response from the complainant. However, the 1 remaining complaint received no response whatsoever.

A “C” Performance Overall

It appears that the unaddressed complaints and the lack of accreditation are most responsible for the BBB‘s rating at this time. While we do not look favorably upon a company that fails to address complaints, we agree with the BBB’s rating of a “C” in light of the company’s low complaint volume.

Highest Rated Online Store Creators

shopify logo
See Our Review
VIsit Their Website
Selz Logo
See Our Review
Visit Their Website

Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Key Points

Employs Independent Resellers Yes
Advertises Deceptive Rates No
Discloses All Important Terms No

Some Sales Complaints

MerchantPlus appears to utilize an affiliate program and its website to market its services. It is unclear as of this review whether the company employs independent sales agents. We are currently able to locate a handful of negative MerchantPlus reviews that accuse the company’s sales agents of nondisclosure of fees.

Issues with iPayment

In most of the company’s sales complaints, it seems as if the MerchantPlus sales agents were helpful and forthright when setting up the account, but once it was handed over to iPayment, the merchants saw a dramatic shift in quality of service and rates. This would seem to reflect poorly on iPayment more so than MerchantPlus, but it must be noted that MerchantPlus is the party that is actively setting up merchants with these accounts. Complaints that mention iPayment tend to be over three years old; it is possible that MerchantPlus only resells for BluePay now that iPayment has been absorbed into Paysafe.

Interchange-Plus Pricing

As a point in its favor, MerchantPlus promotes interchange-plus pricing for all merchants, which is the most transparent pricing model available. However, if you suspect that MerchantPlus is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to eliminate those costs.

Sales & Marketing Example

Our Opinion Of MerchantPlus

MerchantPlus Logo

An Average Processor for Most Merchants

MerchantPlus rates as an average merchant services provider according to our rating system. The company’s use of iPayment as its credit card processor appears to be responsible for the bulk of its complaints, and the BBB has dramatically lowered its grade for the company in the last two years. The company’s overall rating could improve once it corrects the issues cited on its BBB profile and elsewhere. MerchantPlus does not qualify as a top-rated merchant account provider at this time.

Phillip Parker - Creator of CardPaymentOptions.com
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
Instagram

Why I'm Qualified to Write About Credit Card Processing

I’m a small business owner who previously worked in the credit card processing industry. I started this blog in 2009 to help other business owners by exposing credit card processors that engage in unethical marketing, rate and fee trickery, and fine-print-contract schemes. Over the last decade, I’ve reviewed hundreds of merchant services providers which has helped to educate over 5 million businesses on the nuances of credit and debit card acceptance. I’ve appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Inc. Magazine and a host of other publications to offer insight on the subject of card acceptance. 

I offer merchant account and credit card processing consultation for the following needs:

  • Selecting the right credit card processing services for your business.
  • Reducing credit card processing fees with your current merchant account provider.
  • Negotiating credit card processing fees when changing merchant accounts.
  • Strategies for reducing and recovering funding holds and chargebacks.

 

Schedule a call with me today!

 

Get Your Processing Fees Refunded

In this article we explore a little known tactic for recovering excessive merchant account fees. Did you know that... Read more.
View Article
Checklist

How to Report Bad Credit Card Processors

July 28, 2020 22 Comments

Before you jump straight to reporting a merchant account provider, be sure you have exhausted all of your options with the company itself. Take notes and record the names of with whom you spoke, their titles and what they told you. This is important because most agencies will not get involved unless you have made a good faith effort to settle the disagreement directly.

Read More »

Best Providers for Web Developers

July 21, 2020 No Comments

Are you looking for a simple payment processing solution for your clients? This list of the best payment tools for web developers includes online providers that offer basic APIs as well as full-service providers with broad integration options… Learn more in this list of the best payment processors for web developers.

Read More »
Accounting on a computer

Top Processors for QuickBooks

July 21, 2020 7 Comments

Do you need a merchant account provider that integrates with QuickBooks? We have compiled the following list of top merchant services providers that offer QuickBooks integration. Most of these credit card processors have highly rated customer service and low pricing, and all of them allow you to export data to QuickBooks either directly or indirectly… Learn more in this list of best merchant account providers for QuickBooks integration.

Read More »
Credit card payment

Best All-Purpose Merchant Accounts (U.S.)

May 7, 2020 3 Comments

This list of the best merchant accounts in the United States will help you choose the right credit card processor for your small business. These merchant services companies serve all general business types and are known to offer transparent pricing and quality customer service… Learn more in this list of the top U.S. merchant accounts.

Read More »
High Risk image

Best High Risk Merchant Accounts

December 30, 2019 2 Comments

If your business requires a high risk merchant account, then this list of the best merchant accounts for high risk will help you find the best high risk credit card processor for you… Learn more in this list of best high risk merchant accounts.

Read More »
Insurance image

How to Fight Chargebacks and Win

September 10, 2018 13 Comments

Find out how to successfully dispute customer chargebacks. You can contest chargebacks by supplying evidence that counters the customer’s chargeback claim and then submitting the following evidence to your merchant account provider. Learn more about how to fight chargebacks in this article.

Read More »
High Risk image

How to Get Out of a Merchant Account Contract

July 20, 2018 13 Comments

Cancelling a merchant account contract without paying an Early Termination Fee (ETF) can be one of the most difficult problems a small business owner can face. In fact, most business owners who encounter this issue are often caught by complete surprise because the cancellation fee was never revealed during the account setup process. Learn more about how to cancel a merchant account in this article

Read More »
Scam

Worst Merchant Accounts

July 5, 2018 26 Comments

This list of the worst merchant account providers will help you avoid merchant account scams and credit card processing ripoffs… Learn more in this bad merchant accounts article.

Read More »

Leave Your Review For MerchantPlus

2 Responses

  1. Taking $196 from me 2 months in a row, over and above all of my authnet fees ($30), Merchant Plus ($30 monthly) and fee and about $70 in percentage charges. Then out of no where $196. Have called and left 3 messages with this office in NY
    Merchant Plus, LLC
    30 Vesey Street, 9th Floor
    New york, NY 10007
    (800) 546-1997

    No response. Charged my $196 2 months in a row, no explanation, no call back. Stay away from these people. Contesting the charges now.

    From The Editor
    This Post Might Help: Let Us Eliminate Fees From Your Contract For You

    Reply

  2. Never do business with company, lots hidden charges and you can never cancel their services. This is the second month I am trying to contact them and they are still charging me for Discovery even after closing the account with them. I mean big bucks. Zachary is a scam! I had to change my entire bank account because of these guys

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Or, you can subscribe without commenting.

  • Readers Choice of 2020

    Fattmerchant
    Why Fattmerchant
    Fattmerchant has passed our review with flying colors due to a highly-reviewed support, and rock-bottom fees, a month-to-month service agreement, no cancellation fees, no hidden fees, and having wide variety of processing solutions. See our full Fattmerchant review. You can also visit Fattmerchant’s website, or call (866) 397-9826 for all the details on their services.

    Getting Declined?
    Are you getting declined because of your business type or credit history? Check out PaymentCloud for hard-to-approve merchant accounts, or call  (888) 506-7859.

    • We'd love to hear your thoughts on MerchantPlus

    Post a Comment Now
    Copyright

    Copyright © CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. (Digital Fingerprint: 0d38c6720f0d78a701b74d58653af608). Getting paid to re-write this page? Click here to earn a reward.

    Any unauthorized copying and reproduction of the content of this page, including all meta data and computer code, is strictly prohibited. While the information in the above article is believed to be accurate as of its publish date, the author and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material, which is provided “as is,” and without warranties. Any and all use of trade names and/or marks are for identification purposes only and shall not be construed as a claim of affiliation, or otherwise, with CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. ("CPO") in any form. The sole purpose of the material presented herein is to alert, educate, and inform readers. It is not intended as legal or financial advice. We may earn revenue if you obtain services from a provider that we recommend. See this page to learn how we support our operations.

    O% Markup + $0.08
    Per Transaction
    The highest rated processor on CPO. Month-to-month, no contract, no PCI Compliance fees, no batch fees, no statement fees, no downgrade fees, no junk fees of any kind.
    See Who It Is
    Facebook
    Instagram
    Twitter
    Linkedin
    © Copyright 2009 - 2020 CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.