I will say I was a little hesitant by all the negative reviews after signing up with Merchant One. I have a very small business and mostly do all my retail at craft shows. However, I signed up for Merchant One for two reasons:
1. Another reputable vendor that I met at a local craft show uses merchant one and said they were a good company to deal with.
2. Their rates were considerably low for the type of business I have.
I made sure to read all the fine print before I signed. I even called back many times to make sure I understood what I was signing. I have yet to talk to someone who is rude. I was actually surprised that they were giving me exceptional customer service. I can probably only name one other company that has as good customer service.
If you do decide to go with Merchant One read everything and ask every single question so that you understand the terms.
As far as peoples complaints about PCI compliance, from what I have researched, they are doing that in all companies accepting credit cards. For me, Merchant One, divided that payment up into 12 months and reduced the total fee by $50. Will they do that next year? I don't know. They may have only reduced it for me b/c I was a new client, which would be pretty typical.
Just so you know, they do have an annual fee of $99.00, and as with any contract there is a buyout. The guy I talked to specifically placed me on a 1 year agreement, and made sure it was in the contract I signed. Then just to make sure that was legit, I called a couple days after joining to see what type of lease term I was locked into, they let me know it was 1 Year.
So again, read everything and know what your are going to be paying before you sign on the dotted line.
Just as an FYI, I only use their dial pay program, so I am not familiar what is involved with leasing their other equipment.
Pros: Great Customer Service, Low rates
Cons: Annual Fee
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