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Sam’s Club Merchant Services Review

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Sam’s Club Merchant Services Overview

Rating

3.7/5
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Website
888 723 2417

Most Recent Comment

  • James Rundell:
    "I used Sams Club Merchant Card Processing for a number of years. The charges were very high, but the services was good. Our bills were alwa..." Read More
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Rating:
3.7/5
Sam's Club Logo
View Rates & Fees
888 723 2417

Most Recent Comment

  • James Rundell:
    "I used Sams Club Merchant Card Processing for a number of years. The charges were very high, but the services was good. Our bills were alwa..." Read More
    Reply Leave Your Own Comment
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A First Data Reseller

Sam’s Club Merchant Services is the merchant services division of Sam’s Club, a membership-only wholesale retailer owned by Walmart. As its website prominently advertises, Sam’s Club Merchant Services is actually a reseller of First Data (now Fiserv) contracts and Clover products. This means that merchants who sign up for a merchant account through Sam’s Club will receive the processing services of First Data (Fiserv).

Note: The Sam’s Club Merchant Services website appears to be no longer functioning as of July 2021. We are unsure if this is related to a pivot in the availability or structure of the service at this time, but will update when we have more information.

Sam’s Club Merchant Services Location and Ownership

Founded in 1983, Sam’s Club’s headquarters are located at 608 SW 8th St, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712-6207. Sam’s Club Merchant Services is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank Concord, CA, and the company’s CEO is Kathryn McLay.

Sam’s Club Merchant Services Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: Sam’s Club Merchant Services offers two different pricing plans which are advertised as having no termination fees.
  • Complaints & Service: Sam’s Club Merchant Services has received more than 15 public complaints.
  • BBB Rating: Sam’s Club Merchant Services does not have a dedicated Better Business Bureau profile at this time.
  • S4ales & Marketing: Sam’s Club Merchant Services does not appear to hire independent sales agents but has received some complaints about its sales practices.
  • Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Sam’s Club Merchant Services
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Sam’s Club Merchant Services Rates, Fees, and Costs

Sam’s Club Merchant Services Rates, Fees, and Costs

Cost Summary

Swiped Rate 2.29% + $0.19
Keyed-in Rate 3.29% + $0.19
Monthly Minimum Fee $5 (Value Rate Plan Only)
Early Termination Fee Up to $90
PCI Compliance Fee $49.95 Per Year
Equipment Lease Terms Up to 60 Months (locked)

Sam’s Club Merchant Services Rates

Sam’s Club has previously offered two standard pricing plans that feature tiered pricing. It currently advertises multiple Clover products available for purchase with rates starting at 1.29% plus $0.15 per transaction through its “Value Rate Pricing.” The company’s “Simplified Pricing Model” offers rates of 2.29% plus $0.19 and 3.29% plus $0.19 for swiped and keyed-in transactions, respectively.

Sam’s Club Merchant Services Fees

We found two reviews citing an early termination fee of $90, which is fairly low for the industry but contradicts the company’s claim that there are no cancellation fees. Another consistent fee seems to be a PCI compliance fee of $49.95 per year, which was not disclosed on the former Sam’s Club Merchant Services website. This is cheaper than the standard First Data PCI compliance fee of $19.95 per month. The company’s former “Value Rate” plan also included a $5 monthly minimum fee.

Industry-Average Terms

A few Sam’s Club merchants express disillusionment with their effective rate paid, which may be the result of incomplete rate-quoting by sales representatives. Some merchants also report long-term equipment leases that can cost thousands of dollars, likely through Clover or First Data Global Leasing. Sam’s Club provides a Sam’s Club membership for the duration of its merchant account contracts, although most complainants seem to think that this doesn’t do very much to offset costs. In general, Sam’s Club does not appear to offer pricing that can compete with the cheapest merchant accounts.

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Sam’s Club Merchant Services BBB Rating Summary

No Profile Available

The Better Business Bureau does not provide a profile specifically devoted to Sam’s Club Merchant Services, and the complaints on the BBB page for the larger Sam’s Club entity are not limited to any one department. In addition, it is likely that many of Sam’s Club’s dissatisfied clients have filed their reports with the First Data (Fiserv) BBB profile rather than that of Sam’s Club. It would therefore be unhelpful to consult the BBB for information about Sam’s Club Merchant Services, and we will not factor the BBB’s rating into this review.

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Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Key Points

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

Inside Sales Team

Sam’s Club appears to utilize its existing channels of promotion to market its merchant services, including mail, email, and in-store advertisement. As of this update, it is unclear whether merchants who sign up for a Sam’s Club merchant account will deal with a First Data (Fiserv) sales representative or a Sam’s Club Merchant Services representative, but most evidence suggests that First Data (Fiserv) services these accounts. Multiple Sam’s Club reviews complain of nondisclosure or misrepresentation of contract terms, and complainants also state that agents often become unreachable after signing.

Previous Rate Quotes

At the time of a previous update, the “Pricing” page on the former Sam’s Club Merchant Services website promoted two pricing plans. For merchants on the “Value Rate” plan, the quoted rate for swiped transactions started at 1.29% plus $0.15. For merchants on the “Simplified” plan, the quoted rates started at 2.29% plus $0.19 for swiped cards and 3.29% plus $0.19 for keyed-in transactions. These rates are no longer visible, but they may still apply.

Current Rate Quotes

One page advertising Clover products mentions rates “starting at 2.3% + 10¢ per transaction.” As with the company’s previous rate quotes, this falls short of full disclosure. The most important thing to bear in mind with regard to these rate quotes is that they are just the “Qualified” rates that merchants will see for very few swiped transactions. The “Mid-Qualified” and “Non-Qualified” transaction rates (which comprise the majority of transactions) are not listed on this page. We have found more than one merchant complaint expressing confusion about the rates that were advertised versus the effective rate paid. If you have had the same experience, you can double-check your monthly bill against your contract with a third-party statement audit.

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Sales & Marketing Example

Our Opinion Of Sam’s Club Merchant Services

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An Average Option for Most Merchants

Sam’s Club Merchant Services rates as an average merchant account provider by our standards. Although the company’s partnership with First Data (Fiserv) allows it to offer a wide variety of pricing plans, it also seems to have resulted in poor customer support and misleading sales strategies. Sam’s Club offers special pricing to large retailers, but small businesses will likely be better served by a top-rated credit card processor.

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About Phillip Parker

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!

 

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Leave Your Review For Sam’s Club Merchant Services

8 Responses

  1. I used Sams Club Merchant Card Processing for a number of years. The charges were very high, but the services was good. Our bills were always paid on time. This spring I sold our business and cancelled our contract. Because we also sold the name of our business we closed our bank account to avoid problems.
    That left a bill due to Sams club. Instead of billing us or calling us we were charged $150,00 for a collection fee. This is just wrong to treat a long term customer this way!!

    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

    Reply

  2. Sam’s club merchant services where to start. Was misslead about fees, they record the conversation but do not go back to hear what sales had promised. will tackle your batch , with out in going in to your bank account, you will not know untill you see bank statement. Each months fees donot stand alone, there are fees not charge form past months . That’s crazy, unless you’re just trying to confoun your customers. They are worse than most , look elsewhere for a merchant service company. Very dissatisfied.

    Reply

  3. After paying 4 1/2 years on a lease agreement for two business’s to tune of almost $6000.00, they are charging me to end the lease. They are absolute rip off artists. Despite all the money that Sam’s Club has, they should rip off the small business as much as they possibly can. And, it only took me 2 1/2 weeks to end this agreement because they couldn’t find paperwork so I had to keep calling back. NEVER do business with this credit card company. You will be highly disappointed at their customer service.

    Reply

  4. Avoid this merchant service. I was led to believe that my fees would be less than 2%. Over the last two months, before I dumped these guys and went with Square, my fees averaged nearly 6%.
    Run. Don’t walk away.

    Reply

  5. I’m not sure where the above person gets his info but I was charged all of the fees he says are not charged and the effective rate is MUCH higher than almost everyone I have looked at
    I wish I would have seen some of the reviews before I tried it.
    SNEEKY pricing and billing and many hidden charges.
    DON’T USE SAM’S CLUB PROCESSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  6. Sam’s has a $0 cancelation fee and no PCI Yearly Compliance. Also Sam’s has a much lower effective rate than many processors. Couldn’t be more happy with them.

    Reply

    1. Hi Cliff,

      To authenticate your testimonial, please reply to this comment with your business name and location.

      Reply

    2. Happy for you, your sales.person was not trying to cheat you. Wish my story was the same. 4 months in with them.

      Reply

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