National Merchants Association Overview
Offering Merchant Services Since 2004
Established in 2004, National Merchants Association (nationalmerchants.org) is a merchant account provider based in Temecula, California. The company often markets itself as a “merchant advocacy group,” which may give some merchants the impression that it is a non-profit organization or a third-party entity. However, it is a for-profit credit card processor. There is some evidence that the company is an ISO of Global Payments and First Data.
Headquarters and Ownership
National Merchants Association is headquartered at 43620 Ridge Park Dr Ste 310, Temecula, California 92590-5520 and is a registered ISO/MSP of Synovus Bank, Columbus, Georgia; Commercial Bank of California, Los Angeles, California; and Citizens Bank, N.A. Heather Altepeter is listed as the CEO of National Merchants Association.
National Merchants Association Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: National Merchants Association appears to offer variable contract terms that may include a multi-year commitment with an early termination fee of $395 or more.
- Complaints & Service: National Merchants Association has received more than 10 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: National Merchants Association has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received three complaints in the past three years.
- Sales & Marketing: National Merchants Association hires independent sales representatives and has received some complaints about its sales practices.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With National Merchants Association
National Merchants Association Statement Analyzer
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Our Opinion of National Merchants Association
An Average Rating Despite Negative Signs
National Merchants Association rates as a slightly better-than-average merchant services provider by our standards. The company is showing a lower complaint volume than expected for its size and time in business, but some of the available information about its contract appears to specify a high cancellation fee and a 36-month standard agreement. The publicly posted complaint rebuttals from company representatives also appear to vary in terms of tone and accuracy. We will continue to monitor the company’s reputation to determine whether it will become one of the worst-rated providers or eventually on par with the top-rated providers.
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About Phillip Parker
Thank you for reading my review. I hope that it has helped you with your research.
My Qualifications
I'm a former credit card processing sales director who left the industry to start my own a small business. From the time that I starting working in the merchant services industry to when I left to write about it, I've been on the pulse of payments for nearly 15 years. It didn't seem fair to keep this insider knowledge to myself, so decided to build this website to help you research which providers to use and how to save money on rates and fees. I've reviewed hundreds of companies, read thousands of user reviews, and learned the pricing tricks of every provider. If you have questions about credit card processing, you can find the answers here. Simply scroll to the top of the page to find the search bar. You can also message me if you need any guidance.
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This is the worst company every. We were their largest office (the owner Heather, lied and told us we were in the 10-15 range), sent them a lot of business and caught them not paying us our residuals per a signed and executed contract. The first time we caught it, the COO agreed, and got Heathers approval and paid it. The second time we caught it(the same exact thing so precedence set), Heather ignored several requests to address it and upon threats to go to the card associations and banks to complain, she cancelled our contract. Now 14 months later the amount owed is over $200,000 and she blocks any communication to address it. In addition, she ran from us when we tried to come up to her at a trade show to address.
We have now sent her a final bill and plan on going to a collection agency to follow through. We are not the only ones as several other offices have called me to complain about similar issues with her. Unfortunately, through her reputation of doing this to offices and increasing rates and putting garbage fees onto merchants, her business has dropped by about 90% and we have a small chance of getting our money.
Gouging customers, cheating offices, and a toxic work environment is just sad.
I am a small business owner who was looking to connect with a credit card processing company with low transaction fees. After signing up with the National Merchants Association (NMA), I realized that I was being charged an exorbitant rate of fees (much higher than what our contract had stated or what the rep had communicated). I was charged 42% (it was supposed to be 1.2% – 3.25%) in service fees (authorization/transaction/card brand fees) by the NMA. Additionally, I was also told directly from NMA, as it was outlined in the Account Setup Form and Agreement, that I would be charged $10/month with a 1.2% – 3.25% service fee per transaction. I was charged $40.42 last month for a total of $0.01 in charges from one transaction (I only had a “test” charge done using their hardware/software from my personal credit card into my business account). Could you imagine how much this would’ve cost me, if I had ran a “real” transaction for several thousands of dollars!! This type of fraud is alarming and I do not want to see this happening to other unwitting victims.
To date I have not done business with this company. My review is based on the application I have sitting in front of me:
Annual fee $99.00
Website monitoring: monthly $150 per URL
Fraudcast monthly $19.95/mo
Termination fee $395
Membership fee (monthly) $19.95
Application fee $250
High Risk app processing fee (monthly) $79
Risk mgmt fee (monthly) $25
Site survey $100
TOTAL: $3976 for the first year of service — NOT INCLUDING actual fees on transactions.
I don’t think further comment is required.
National Merchants Association is neither an “association” nor an “advocacy group” as they claim. They are a for-profit payment processor. According to the CA Franchise Tax Board: the National Merchants Association is not a tax exempt 501a, 501c or 527. The use of the words “association” and “advocacy group” in the company name and branding is misleading to the public and should cause consumer concern about the company’s business practices and ethical standards.
I want to point out to the public that National Merchant Association is a fraudulent company. They have taken over $1,000 from my account without my permission, i called and speak to some guy that called himself the Manager, his Name is “Tim Reynolds” he is not a nice guy and a complete butt head without understanding.
I had to dispute these charges with my bank, at no time i have authorized “National Merchant Association to take money from my account.
I contacted David Ortiz and he is very polite and I thank god I spoke to David he helped me a lot. I all would say awesome people and awesome service.
Good service and a quick reply to my question about microchip card processing service after I have spoken with Terron: a staff of National Merchants Association. The service fee and discount rate are very cheaper than my old credit processing provider. I can save thousands of dollars when comparing with the old one.
Hi Nukrong,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
I absolutely agree with what Heather says, and this will not be a fake review Phillip. Before you have any other thoughts in your mind, the Co. will be Fortune Solutions, Inc., Dipan Patel, Director, for additional detail get back to me. We don’t have a long history going back with NMA; however, but our experience says the company is by far the best choice out of so called PSPs prevailing in the US market. We provide consultative services and specialize in assisting eCommerce and MOTO companies in getting them the volume they need to process their more complicated products. Apparently, we have never been mislead by any of the staff members at NMA, may it be a pre-sales query or about merchant services agreement.
Lets talk about the turn-around-time to your emails, try it and let me know, i’ll wait for your response…!!!
The providers you have rated above as “Top by Specialty” are actually not bothered to reply despite of sending them several emails, been 2 months now………..STILL WAITING!!……….. I wonder what happens to the emails in their INBOX..
There are several processors operating who would not even blink before terminating merchant or the agent agreement, it would be pointless blaming National Merchants Association who is actually so committed to this industry, and drives you to the right path.
Keep going Heather, we are with you!!
I am including emails from them and am deleting their contact information and names:
I got a charge on my Wells Fargo account for $994.00 on 9-27-13. It listed National Merchants Association as the company who charged me. I contacted them that day and left messages. No Calls Returned. Then I got in touch with them Monday they said I was charged for an Application fee, Underwriting Fee, and Termination fee. Since I never applied with them I asked them for the information they had and they sent me some information but no application with my signature and they said it was applied for online. There was an email from First Data saying they were canceling the account for Confirmed ID Theft. I asked them for the IP address where the application came from. They would not give me any of that information but I have the name of the Rep that most likely attempted to steal my identity.
Here are the first few email exchanges: The first from me:
Hello,
I found this email from you. If you can send me all the info on the account as far as how much was processed and what bank account the funds were put into. Also not only how much was processed in total but how much was charged back. Also if there is an outstanding balance for charge backs. If you have the IP address that the online application was sent in from that would be great as well.
Thanks,
Tony
She replied with:
Tony,
Before I can send you all of this information, please send your Drivers License for verification purposes.
Thanks,
A
I complied and sent my Drivers License. She then sent back all the information they had to run the application including my Drivers License. Pretty Slick Mover there. Unfortunately for them I have the email asking for the DL and it shows that it was added to the file on Oct. 1st long after the account was terminated by first date for suspected ID theft.
For about 2 days they never answered or returned repeated messages. Then I get this email:
Tony,
We cannot give out IP addresses of the people who use our system. Also, after speaking with First Data, they terminated the account not only for excessive CB’s on a related account, but also because of suspected ID theft. Without being able to verify your identity and the business, we do not feel comfortable giving you any more information about the account.
Thanks,
A
I replied with:
A,
I sent you my ID upon request. It should be pretty obvious to you guys that it was my ID that was Stolen which is why I’m filing charges with the police.
I’m out $994 because of this issue. What is your companies plan to reimburse me for this?
Thanks,
Tony
The CEO then replied with:
Mr. Swiantek,
As you’ve been made aware, First Data has terminated the merchant account opened in your name due to confirmed ID theft. For more information, you must contact First Data directly as this was their decision and discovery, not NMA’s.
Under the circumstances, our bank has advised us not to issue any refunds. For your protection, if you have been charged, I suggest you issue a chargeback with your bank.
If you have any further questions, please present those only in the form of a letter mailed to our office. At this time, the staff at NMA will no longer be discussing these matters with you. I am sorry this has happened to you and I wish you the best of luck in getting this resolved.
Best Regards,
H
So basically this email was a “Sorry your ID was stolen but we got your cash and we ain’t going to give it back!” Now fortunately for me my bank will more than likely succeed at getting the money back in my account and even if they don’t I have Life Lock with a lot of resources actually they will use up to $1,000,000 to get my funds back in my account.
The one thing that really worries me about National Merchants Association is with this response I wonder if they were part of the ID Theft Fraud and working with the guy who attempted to steal my ID?
I wouldn’t want NMA having my information if I was looking for a merchant account. God only knows what they would do with it and how much they would hit your account for.
My company was paying over 4% for processing services for the past 5 years. We came across the National Merchants Association (NMA) through a google search. The staff was very knowledgable and eager to save us money. We signed up with the company and have been processing with them for two years now. We have saved thousands of dollars on our processing bill, and the company has help us to generate more business to our door.
I would fully recommend the National Merchants Association to ANY business that is tired of being ripped off by other credit card processing companies. They are truly on our side!
Hi Vince,
Due to several recent attempts we’ve had from different providers attempting to post bogus positive reviews about themselves, can you please reply to this comment with you business’ contact information in order to verify that its a legitimate review?
Ok so I’m a little biased since I am the CEO, but I will say that working at The National Merchants Association has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my career. We are constantly improving the bankcard industry through educating our merchants and agents alike and truly stand by our motto, A Merchant Account That Works For You! With an eye on philanthropy and service, we proudly support the communities in which we live and work. The newly released, Give-it-Back program in which merchant fees are donated back to local charities has been rewarding and a huge success! We are excited to keep giving!
These comments must be fake because this company has done nothing but screw up my account and rip me off on a monthly basis.
The website claims and sales claims are exactly as stated on here , only I don’t even use this merchant account and they charge me at least $144.00 a month in fees.