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.
UPDATE 10/05/2022: The National Bureau of Merchant Services appears may now be operating as National Internal Processing Center. It appears that National Bureau of Merchant Services may also still be in operations but without an active website. If you have any information about and merchant services companies operated by Michael Salman or Suzanne Salman, please share it in the comment section below this review.
National Bureau of Merchant Services, Inc. (internalresourcenetwork.com, internalprocessingcenter.com & merchantservicebureau.org), also known as the Merchant Services Bureau, is an Arizona-based company that is commonly linked to another entity named Internal Resource Network in merchant complaints. In fact, it seems as though the website for National Bureau of Merchant Services (merchantservicebureau.org) is designed to resemble a consumer protection or watchdog site, but according to complainants, it is actually a site for a merchant account provider that also operates under the name of Internal Resource Network. Merchants are advised to keep in mind that there is no privately owned or government-run watchdog group known as the Merchant Services Bureau. Additionally, it has been reported that a new ISO has been formed under the DBA, "National Internal Processing Center." National Bureau of Merchant Services was founded in 2004 and is headquartered at 3003 W Northern Avenue #1, Phoenix, Arizona 85051. The company's website does not list an Acquiring Bank. NBMS is owned by Michael and Suzanne Salman.
Micheal and Suzanne Salman mugshots
On April 9, 2014, we were contacted by Jennifer Portillo, a representative of Internal Resource Network. She stated that Internal Resource Network and the National Bureau of Merchant Services are two separate companies, that Internal Resource Network is not owned by Michael or Suzanne Salman, and that Internal Resource Network is based in New York. However, numerous online complaints and other consumer protection websites posit some kind of link between NBMS and Internal Resource Network, so the exact relationship between the two companies remains unclear at this time. It is also unclear whether "Internal Resource Network" and "IRN Payment Systems" are the same company.
As of this update, Jennifer Portillo is the managing member of Internal Processing Center (internalprocessingcenter.com), a company that maintains offices in Arizona and names Internal Resource Network as one of its divisions. The Internal Processing Center website also displays the Merchant Services Bureau logo on all of its pages.
In February 2013, Michael Salman pleaded guilty to felony theft and felony forgery and was convicted of defrauding the state of Arizona's Medicaid program of more than $118,000. The following is taken from an announcement by the Arizona Attorney General's office:
Michael and Suzanne Salman lied about their household income to the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) and received health insurance benefits through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) for themselves and their children.
Between 2008 and 2012 the Salmans submitted false information regarding their household income on applications for AHCCCS benefits and also submitted false statements about their employment with Bureau of Merchant Services – an entity whose initial board of directors consisted only of Michael and Suzanne Salman.
Between May 2007 and March 2012, Frank Salman misrepresented his income to DES in order to receive AHCCCS health insurance benefits for himself, his spouse and his children. He also reported to AHCCCS that he was employed by NBMS.
According to this bulletin from the Arizona Department of Real Estate, Michael Salman also has a previous felony conviction for aggravated assault in 1992 and a 2002 misdemeanor conviction for impersonating a police officer.
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
We were able to locate approximately 15 complaints about National Bureau of Merchant Services on this and other non-BBB consumer protection websites. Most complaints report unauthorized debits, nondisclosure of contract terms, and an inability to reach National Bureau of Merchant Services representatives. The company’s website provides a 24/7 service number and live chat, although both appear to be outsourced to other, unknown companies. Despite the fact that there are direct customer service numbers provided by the company, multiple complainants cite difficulty reaching company representatives or reaching resolutions in a timely fashion.
As of October, 2022, we have also received messages complaining of calls from National Internal Processing Center demanding large sums of money regarding merchant account cancellation fees despite business owners reporting that they have never had accounts with National Internal Processing Center. Such calls also threaten legal action if the fees are not paid, which indicate that these demands may be high pressure scam. If you have received such a call, please report it in the comment section of this page. Below is an excerpt of the email that we received regarding this activity.
Reader Submitted Statement
“I recently had a new merchant of ours send me an email that is demanding almost $1,300 to cancel with this company. This NIPC is not a processor and the merchant was signed up through the old Cpay. Cpay had no contracts with him and we were able to close the account. I took the lead on contacting NIPC after our customer reached out worried he was out 1300. I emailed the guy who was harassing the merchant, Fred Garcia, Naonal Internal Processing Center, Ph: 1‐877‐441‐4599, Fax: 1‐877‐286‐9165, Email: nbms@nbmsUSA.com. That is when Michael came out of hiding. He called me and identified himself as the owner of NBMS and said that NIPC was another division of their company…
All he did was yell at me and say that I can’t tell them to go away and that his agreement is 100% enforceable by law. I encouraged him to test that theory. I did send all kinds of stuff his way at first to show how many holes can be poked into his “contract”. Michael got pissed and hung up but called back a few minutes later telling me that I now have to pay their fees. Yeah, not going to happen. I mentioned that they have no ACH agreement so if they take any more funds out of the merchants account they would be reported. They did send me an email offering me a discount off the fees and that they would take 495. They also sent the merchant another email threatening them and demanding funds to be paid by check ASAP.”
Industry Scores & User Ratings
Online Ratings Summary
Product & Service Complaints
3
Billing & Collection Complaints
4
Advertising & Sales Complaints
1
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.
National Bureau of Merchant Services is not an accredited business of the Better Business Bureau and currently maintains an “A+” rating. The company has received eight complaints in the last 36 months, with three of these complaints related to the product or service, four having to do with billing and collection, and one due to an advertising or sales issue. Three of these complaints were resolved with the assistance of the BBB, while the remaining five either were not resolved to the satisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant. In light of these figures, we have adjusted the BBB’s rating to a “B.” For more on why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.
Processing Rates & Fees
According to complaints listed on this site and elsewhere, the standard National Bureau of Merchant Services contract is a 48-month agreement with an early termination fee of $300, although multiple merchants report having $1000 debited from their accounts after cancellation. It is unclear how National Bureau of Merchant Services explained the $1000 debit in these instances, but it appears to be a Liquidated Damages cancellation fee. Merchants also report a monthly minimum fee of $15 and a statement fee of $9.95. NBMS appears to resell long-term, non-cancellable lease agreements provided by Northern Leasing Systems.
These contract terms are far less competitive than industry averages, and the habit of debiting $1000 from a merchant’s bank account without authorization or explanation is especially troubling. We therefore award the company a “D” in this section.
Employee Reviews & Sales Practices
National Bureau of Merchant Services appears to utilize telemarketing to market its services, and it is unclear as of this writing whether the company hires independent sales agents. One complaint in the comment section of this review mentions receiving a call from National Bureau of Merchant Services in which the caller posed as the merchant’s current provider and tried to sign the merchant up for services, a tactic known as “slamming.”
In general, locating information about National Bureau of Merchant Services is especially difficult because the company’s website explicitly states that it is not a merchant services provider, even though the Better Business Bureau lists it as such. After taking a closer look, it seems that the website for National Bureau of Merchant Services is constructed to look like some kind of consumer assistance or watchdog group, when in fact we were only able to locate one company that has received any rating from the “Merchant Service Bureau”: the aforementioned Internal Resource Network.
At the time of previous updates to this review, Internal Resource Network (internalresourcenetwork.com) boasted an “A+” rating from the Merchant Services Bureau; this was unsurprising, as they seem to be related enterprises. The rating has since been removed from the NBMS website. To be clear, our research indicates that this company formerly posed as a consumer protection entity in order to give its affiliated business an “A+” rating. In our opinion, this is extremely deceptive. Merchants should be advised that contacting National Bureau of Merchant Services for any kind of financial guidance or to obtain agent recommendations would likely result in referrals to Internal Resource Network, and we would similarly suggest that merchants disregard the “A+” rating listed on the Internal Resource Network website. We give the company’s sales and marketing tactics a rating of “F.”
National Bureau of Merchant Services Competitors
Compare National Bureau of Merchant Services to competitors that earned top marks.
National Bureau of Merchant Services rates as a very poor merchant account provider by our standards. The company’s owners, Michael Salman and Suzanne Salman, appear to use a highly deceptive sales strategy of posing as a consumer protection group in order to give its affiliated provider a positive rating. In addition, National Bureau of Merchant Services’s contract terms don’t appear to be especially desirable, and its complaint rate is average for a company of its size. It is also worth mentioning that merchants looking for the company’s affiliated site (irnsystem.com or internalresourcenetwork.com) may confuse the company with IRN Payment Systems (irnpayment.com), but it is unclear at this time whether these two companies are related to each other. Merchants are advised to read the terms of any contract they are given very carefully.
It appears that National Bureau of Merchant Services may now operating as National Internal Processing Center and demanding large cancellation fees over high pressure phone calls with business owners. If you have any information regarding the companies or individuals above, please report it in the comment section below.
