National Processing Review

National Processing appears to market its services primarily through traditional advertising and strategic partnerships. There is no evidence that the company employs independent sales agents at this time, and we haven’t found any National Processing negative reviews that accuse the company’s sales agents of unethical conduct.

At the time of our previous update, the National Processing homepage listed a couple of teaser quotes that promised “rates as low as $.10 for ACH” and “rates as low as .15% for credit cards.” These rates were significantly lower than the costs that were listed on the company’s Pricing page, which lowered its score in this section.

Since then, National Processing has changed its marketing to promote either the company’s clearly listed interchange-plus pricing or its zero fee program, both of which are much more transparent plans. These plans are plainly described with accurate sample rates, which has improved National Processing’s grade to an “A.”

According to the National Processing website and a sample copy of the company’s standard contract (available below), National Processing offers multiple pricing structures depending on a merchant’s processing needs.

National Processing charges a rate of interchange plus 0.20% plus $0.10 for swiped transactions and a rate of interchange plus 0.30% plus $0.10 for keyed-in transactions, although it can modify these rates for specific industries such as restaurants. The company also charges a $4.95 monthly PCI compliance fee, a $9.95 monthly fee, an AVS fee of $0.05 per transaction, a batch fee of $0.10, and no monthly minimum fees or annual fees. National Processing does charge an early termination fee in the event that a merchant goes out of business or does not give National Processing an opportunity to match a competitor’s offer.

At the time of our previous update, the company’s ACH processing service included a monthly fee of $15, a per-transaction fee of $0.24, and a per-return fee of $2. These appeared to be the only costs associated with its ACH plan, although these costs may vary.

The National Processing website advertises no annual contracts, and there are no complaints about the company that mention early termination fees or other hidden fees. In light of all of the known rates and fees charged by the company, we are awarding National Processing an “A” in this category. If you have any knowledge of the company’s current standard contract terms, please share that information in the comment section of this review. See an older version of the National Processing Merchant Application.

We have found only two negative National Processing reviews, and these complaints do not explicitly refer to the company as a scam or a ripoff. In one case (found here), the merchant claims that National Processing has refused to deliver funds totaling $14,013.50 to the merchant. According to the merchant, National Processing stated that the funds were being held by a third party called iCheckGateway, and that National Processing did not have the funds in question. To support this claim, National Processing filed a rebuttal stating that it has not ever received funds from the merchant. The merchant then responded to this rebuttal by including documentation supporting the merchant’s claim that National Processing was serving as the merchant’s processor. The merchant’s second post received a second denial.

The details of this complaint are unclear. If the merchant is correct, then National Processing appears to have signed the merchant up for a third-party gateway without the merchant’s knowledge, resulting in a fund hold by iCheckGateway and no clear way for the merchant to recover his funds. On the other hand, it could be that the merchant’s very large sum was held in accordance with iCheckGateway’s policy, and the lack of communication from iCheckGateway has resulted in National Processing wrongfully taking the blame for the situation. Without any way to verify the exact facts of the case, we will refrain from penalizing National Processing too harshly for this complaint. It should be noted, though, that the company’s rebuttal to the merchant’s post seems more interested in denying culpability than in finding a solution for the merchant. In addition, the merchant’s supporting documentation indicates that National Processing was at the very least in communication with the merchant over the issue but could not resolve the problem in a timely fashion.

The other complaint filed against the company can be found in the comment section below this review. It describes sudden account cancellation and poor customer service.

National Processing currently maintains an “A+” rating with the BBB and has been accredited since 2008. The company is showing two complaints in the past three years, both of which are related to a product or service problem. Both complaints either were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant. National Processing has also received 37 positive or neutral informal reviews, although it’s worth mentioning that these reviews are not subject to BBB verification. Given the company’s low complaint total and the fact that it has had a BBB profile since at least 2008, we agree with the BBB’s rating.