ProMerchant Review (2024): Unique Payment Models

Clear and Transparent Payment Processing

ProMerchant is one of the few payment processors on the market that will truly support almost any small business. In addition to the standard point-of-sale (POS) functionality you’d expect, this credit card processor also offers software for e-commerce and phone/mail order businesses.

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Not only that, but ProMerchant is one of the few credit card processing companies that offer high-risk merchant accounts. These accounts come with additional fraud protections, providing a financial lifeline to businesses that may otherwise struggle to accept payments.

It’s not as feature-rich as some other processors like Stax, but what it lacks here it makes up for in customer support. ProMerchant’s customer service has a great reputation for being knowledgeable, attentive, and transparent. With account approval within 24 hours and 24/7 phone and email support, this company makes it easy to get paid as quickly as possible.

Promerchant’s standout feature, though, is the unique choice of payment models it gives you. You can pay primarily by transaction, with the cost borne by your business, or you can pay primarily by subscription, with per-transaction fees borne by customers.

I’ve spent a lot of time scouring customer reviews, talking to customer support, and investigating what this company has to offer. Keep on reading to decide if ProMerchant is right for you and your business.

Something for Every Business Size, Type, and Risk Level

ProMerchant offers a comprehensive range of solutions for retail, restaurants, e-commerce, and even phone/mail-order merchants. With the rise of e-commerce, I don’t often see much support for this latter type, so it’s great that ProMerchant offers it.

Unlike some other providers, ProMerchant focuses solely on payment processing, which helps to keep its overall price down. If you’re looking for a payment service provider without any frills, ProMerchant is a solid option.

Point-of-Sale Features

ProMerchant offers over 50 different point-of-sale (POS) options, including credit card terminals, Bluetooth credit card readers, and cash drawers. Depending on your business needs, you’ll even get a free Verifone, Payanywhere, PAX, or Ingenico terminal with no ongoing rental or maintenance fees. You can also use the Payanywhere app for mobile terminals.

While it’s not explicitly stated on the website, getting a free terminal usually means you’ll have to return it if you cancel your account. Still, if you’re just starting out, this bonus is still a great way to keep your costs down.

ProMerchant also has a range of Clover devices for purchase, which is good news for larger businesses that need additional functionality like inventory tracking, employee management, and cash drawers. Again, the website isn’t clear on this, but you should keep in mind that purchasing Clover devices outright from a payment processor often means they’ll be locked to that provider.

E-commerce Features

ProMerchant uses the Authorize.Net payment gateway for e-commerce. This comes with fraud protection features, digital invoicing, and the ability to set up recurring payments for subscriptions or payment plans.

E-commerce and phone or mail order businesses can also use the Payments Hub Virtual Terminal to manually key in transactions. This tool doesn’t come with any additional monthly fees, so it’s a good option for businesses on a budget.

Accepted Payment Methods

ProMerchant can process debit, credit, Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, Visa Click to Pay, and ACH transfers (e-checks).

The payment methods you will be able to accept yourself may be more limited than this, as some are only supported through the Authorize.Net gateway. Also, some POS devices may not accept certain types of credit cards or contactless payments.

ProMerchant offers next-day funding as standard for every merchant account. Every transaction that’s processed and settled by 8:30 pm EST is released on the following day. Most other payment processors charge extra for this, so it’s nice to see ProMerchant include it for free.

High-Risk Merchant Accounts

As a merchant, you may be classed as high risk if you have a poor credit score, a history of excessive chargebacks, sell to countries known for high levels of fraud, or sell certain types of products or services. Many payment processors don’t offer accounts to these sorts of merchants as they carry a higher risk of fraud.

ProMerchant is one of the few payment processors that offer accounts for high-risk merchants. What’s more, high risk accounts have access to all the same features and services as low risk accounts, plus additional fraud mitigation tools to help reduce chargebacks.

ProMerchant’s Application Process is Quick and Painless

ProMerchant advertises high approval rates regardless of your risk status. Typically, you’ll find out if you’ve been approved within 2-24 hours, and you’ll be able to start processing credit cards within 48-72 hours of approval.

However, you can only apply by contacting ProMerchant customer services directly. This probably explains why there’s so little information on the website about what documentation is requested and what requirements you’ll need to meet.

Getting Started With ProMerchant

Use one of the forms on the website or call ProMerchant customer services to start the application process. As applications are handled over the phone, the support agent will be able to explain the details of the process to you, including the required documentation.

Once your account has been approved, you’ll be assigned a dedicated support team. This team will handle the onboarding process and help you to set up your online account. ProMerchant’s support team will also take any hardware orders from you.

Next-Day Processing

ProMerchant promises next-day access to any online processing solutions you need. In addition, it ships your free terminal and any additional hardware using overnight shipping. This means you’ll be ready to process transactions online – and in person – very promptly.

E-commerce Integrations

Authorize.Net works with most popular e-commerce platforms, which is extremely useful if you’ve already got an online store set up. It also has a pre-built checkout feature that you can add directly to your website with no coding knowledge required.

In addition, Authorize.Net has additional integrations for industry-specific software solutions like Clock PMS for hotels, Checkfront for tour operators, and Doubleknot for non-profits. This makes it easy to tailor your e-commerce payment gateway to your customers’ needs.

Payment Models for Every Business

ProMerchant offers both a per-transaction and a subscription-style payment model called Interchange Plus Fixed Rate and Zero Cost Processing, respectively.

With Interchange Plus Fixed Rate, you pay a fixed interchange fee and transaction fee per payment, plus “low monthly fees.” Unfortunately, I was unable to pin down precise fees for this payment model, which are likely to vary significantly from merchant to merchant.

Zero Cost Processing doesn’t charge you processing fees because it passes these onto card-present customers via a fixed percentage, normally around 4%. Instead, you pay a fixed monthly fee with no additional costs. This option is only available to retail and restaurant accounts, however.

When I called customer services, the Zero Cost Processing plan was recommended to me at a rate of $7.95/month. However, this price is likely to change depending on your business, risk level, and whether or not you need any additional software or hardware.

ProMerchant doesn’t charge any account setup, application, cancellation, or PCI compliance fees. The amount it charges for chargebacks or PCI non-compliance is unclear. I did ask customer support about this, but unfortunately I didn’t get a response.

While it’s difficult to compare ProMerchant’s overall pricing against our other top 10 credit card processors in 2024, it appears on the surface that small businesses stand to save a lot of money with ProMerchant.

Interchange Plus Fixed Rate

3% + 10¢ (credit) / Month

3% + 10¢ (debit) / Month

Monthly Fee:$7.95

No Hardware Fees

No Software Fees

Payout Time:1 day

Accepted Payment Methods: Credit/Debit Cards, ACH, PayPal

Get Started

PCI Compliance With No Added Fees

ProMerchant is fully PCI compliant and only offers hardware and software that meets those requirements. It also offers additional fraud protection features for high-risk merchant accounts.

PCI Compliance & More

While some other merchants advertise the level of PCI compliance they have, ProMerchant isn’t quite so enthusiastic. Nor is it clear if it holds any additional security certifications. ProMerchant only states that it is PCI compliant, and that it charges PCI non-compliance fees if merchants don’t complete the process.

It’s also not clear what support ProMerchant offers to merchants who seek to achieve PCI compliance.

Fortunately, all of the advertised hardware devices on ProMerchant’s website are PCI compliant, and many also offer EMV compliance, in-built encryption, and fraud prevention measures for added protection.

Additional Security Features

ProMerchant provides strong fraud protection. High-risk merchant accounts get special fraud mitigation capabilities aimed at reducing chargeback rates, for example.

In addition, ProMerchant e-commerce merchants can use Authorize.Net’s advanced fraud protection suite that uses configurable fraud filters, IP detection, and shipping address verification to prevent many forms of duplicitous transactions.

ProMerchant’s Phone Support is Great

ProMerchant doesn’t offer many support channels, but the support you do get is mostly excellent. You can get in touch with the support team 24/7 via email or phone, and I had no issue getting through, even outside of typical work hours.

I called ProMerchant’s customer support team and an agent answered in less than a minute, despite it being the middle of their working day. The customer service representative was super friendly and asked me a ton of questions about my business before recommending which payment method and hardware would work best for me.

All in all, I got my questions answered over the phone in less than ten minutes with no hassle.

However, my experience with the email support channel wasn’t as positive. I utilized the form on the Contact page of the website to initiate contact with customer services. Approximately two hours later, I received an email requesting more information about my business.

Despite me providing everything they asked for, ProMerchant never responded to my reply. It’s a shame, because up until then I’d had a fantastic experience with ProMerchant’s support service.