Total Merchant Services Reviews

Total Merchant Services Overview

Total Merchant Services is a mid-size merchant account provider that resells the contracts and services of Global Payments. The company claims to have served over 500,000 merchants and to process over $12 billion in transactions per year. Founded in 1996, Total Merchant Services prides itself on having been named “ISO of the Year” by the Electronic Transactions Association in 2012.

Total Merchant Services’s products include NFC- and EMV-compatible countertop terminals, mobile phone payment processing, a virtual terminal, an online payment gateway, online shopping cart integration, and gift and loyalty programs. The company has also launched its own proprietary credit card terminal called the “Groovv Terminal One,” a smart device designed to meet current EMV requirements and accept the payment methods of the near-future. Total Merchant Services offers 24/7 phone support and email support. Joe Kaplan is the CEO of Total Merchant Services.

In 1996, Total Merchant Services entered the credit card processing industry and was acquired by North American Bancard in 2017.

Total Merchant Services contracts include a $295 early termination fee, varying PCI compliance fees and expensive equipment leases with high termination fees.

There is confusion among Total Merchant Services’ own agents over whether there is a termination fee. Some agents claim that they were told that there was no such fee, and others claim that there is still a termination fee.

Over 100 complaints about Total Merchant Services accuse them of being a scam and a ripoff. Most of the complaints stem from poor sales tactics and customer service.

In November 2018, a class action lawsuit against Total Merchant Services was resolved. The lawsuit alleged that the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by purchasing telephone numbers from an unknown source.

Despite its dedicated phone lines and email address, Total Merchant Services does not rank among our top processors for great customer service.

The Better Business Bureau currently rates Total Merchant Services as “A+” and has received 31 complaints in the past 36 months, 11 of which have been resolved to the merchants’ satisfaction.

Total Merchant Services appears to employ independent sales agents and sub-ISOs to market its services. The majority of these complaints describe deceptive sales strategies by sales agents across the country.

At a previous update, Total Merchant Services advertised a $100,000 signing bonus for new sales partners. This bonus offered $100 per new account on top of the existing bonus structure, but it was unclear how many new accounts would be needed to reach the $100,000 bonus.

Total Merchant Services is an average merchant account provider. It is not likely that merchants will be able to obtain competitive pricing through a top-rated credit card processor.

At a glance

Founded: 1996

Location: Woodland Hills, California

Acquiring bank: Wells Fargo Bank

Website: totalmerchantservices.com

Phone number: 888-848-6825 x9400

E-mail: support@merchantserviceshq.com

Total Merchant Services Promotional Video

Online reputation and reviews

Total Merchant Services has received over 300 negative reviews across all consumer protection websites. This is a disproportionately large amount of complaints compared to similar-sized competitors. Complainants describe undisclosed fees, misrepresented rates, difficulty closing accounts, and withheld funds. On several websites, there is an active debate between the company’s sales agents and merchant complainants about whether Total Merchant Services charges an early termination fee. The available information seems to suggest that not all agents with the company charge an early termination fee, but some merchants are subject to an early termination fee of up to $395.

Legal actions and lawsuits

There are no outstanding or recently resolved legal actions related to Total Merchant Services at this time.

Have you used Total Merchant Services for your business? Rate the company at the top of this post and tell us about your experience in the comment section below: