Millennium Bankcard Review

Millennium Bankcard Overview

Millennium Bankcard is a merchant account provider that offers credit card processing services to small and mid-sized businesses. The company provides a range of payment solutions including credit and debit card processing, POS systems, and e-commerce payment solutions.

Millennium Bankcard is led by Kent Stiritz, who serves as a principal of the company. The company operates as a registered ISO/MSP of various banking partners and provides merchant services through its sales network.

Millennium Bankcard Products

According to our review, Millennium Bankcard offers the following payment processing products and services:

Credit and Debit Card Processing: Standard card acceptance services for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover transactions.

POS Systems: The company offers point-of-sale hardware and software solutions for brick-and-mortar businesses, including countertop terminals and integrated systems.

E-Commerce Solutions: Payment gateway services for online businesses needing to accept e-commerce payments.

Mobile Payment Processing:Mobile payment acceptance solutions for businesses that need to process transactions outside of a fixed location.

Clean Complaint Record

We are unable to locate a couple of negative Millennium Bankcard reviews. This means that there are no accusations of the company being a scam or engaging in fraud. Given the relatively low rates advertised by the company, it reflects well on the company that there are no public complaints accusing the company of misrepresenting its pricing structure.

Millennium Bankcard Lawsuits

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

Millennium Bankcard Customer Support Options

Millennium Bankcard provides telephone support to merchants through a call center operating between 10 am to 6 pm EST from Monday through Thursday and from 10 am to 5 pm on Fridays. The company also discloses an email address and automated contact form on its website but it is unclear how those channels correspond with dedicated customer support and what the turn around time for responses is through them.

Few Red Flags

Though there is no evidence to suggest that merchants are having negative experiences with the company. The lack of complaints, reasonable customer service options, and clean legal history are the reasons behind the company getting an “A” rating in this category.

Clean Complaint Record

Millennium Bankcard is not currently accredited with the Better Business Bureau. As of this review, the company has an “A+” rating with the BBB and has had 0 complaints filed against it in the last 36 months. The company does not have any informal reviews on its BBB profile either.

An “A” Performance Overall

In keeping with our policy that “A” ratings should typically be reserved for companies with 0 complaints. However,we agree with the BBB’s rating at this time given Millennium Bankcard’s clean complaint record. Merchants should be aware, however, that there are reasons to be skeptical of the BBB’s reviews.

Millennium Bankcard Contract Terms

There is not much information available about Millennium Bankcard contract terms. No sample merchant agreement is readily available that would cover the length of the contract, as well as any other important terms. The company does not disclose any early terminations fee, PCI compliance fee, or monthly minimums either. Though the company states that it resells the services of Authorize.Net for its payment gateway, no such mention is made of any payment processing services it could resell that would allow for an approximation of those vital terms and conditions. The company’s website does list rates of 1.65% plus $0.20 for swiped transactions and 2.10% plus $0.20 for key-in transactions.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Millennium Bankcard also dedicates a portion of its website that advertises its virtual terminal and payment gateway. The company offers those services through Authorize.Net. The standard Authorize contract includes a transaction rate of 2.90% plus $0.30, a payment gateway fee of $25 per month, and a batch fee of $0.15. However, as a reseller of these services, Millennium Bankcard reserves the right to alter these terms and conditions. This in part is why it is imperative for merchants to understand how to effectively negotiate rates and fees.

Difficult to Assess Unclear Pricing

Though Millennium Payments does transparently disclose its pricing and its relationship to other merchant account providers like Authorize.Net it is difficult to gauge the company’s pricing. Without a sample merchant agreement or understanding of who backs its payment processing, it is difficult to understand what fees may be attached to its contracts. Nevertheless, without being able to see all of the company’s rates and fees, we award the company a “B” based on the rates it does disclose and the pricing of its gateway providers and ownership.

No Known Legal Actions

We have not identified any significant lawsuits, regulatory actions, or legal complaints directly involving Millennium Bankcard or its principal Kent Stiritz at the time of this review. Merchants who believe they have been the victim of unfair business practices should consider filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or the relevant regulatory authorities.

Millennium Bankcard Sales Tactics

Millennium Bankcard appears to hire independently contracted sales agents to market its services. The company’s website advertises partnership programs by which other businesses or individual agents can sign up to sell their services. However, the company’s automated telephone directory lists that the company offers an affiliate program. This is a common hiring practice within the credit card processing industry that often results in a sales team composed of poorly trained or unregulated agents. However, there are no complaints about the company’s sales practices despite it running an affiliate program.

No Misleading Quotes

To its credit, Millennium Bankcard does not appear to list deceptive rate quotes in its official materials. The company discloses its transaction rates for in-store payments. While it does not disclose a dedicated virtual terminal rate, it does convey that it is a reseller of Authorize.Net, whose terms and conditions are readily available.

It is possible that the company alters Authorize.Net’s standard contract terms but that is unclear. The company does not provide a readily accessible merchant agreement listing any additional fees though. If you suspect that the company is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden charges.

Given its transparent rate structure, dependable payment gateway, and lack of issues with sales practices, we award Millennium Bankcard an “A” in this category.

A Solid Option for Mail Order Merchants

With a keyed-in rate of 2.10% plus $0.20 for mail order and telephonic transactions, Millennium Bank Card is a solid option for merchants whose businesses rely on those sales. The company’s swipe rate of 1.65% plus $0.20 is reasonable as well for retail merchants relying on in-store payments. Its partnership with Authorize.Net as a gateway provider provides industry average rates and fees for e-commerce merchants as well. The only grey area, which is of some cause for concern, is the undisclosed fees that may apply to the company’s contracts.