ProMerchant Review

Pros & Cons

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ProMerchant Overview

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If you’re a small business, a brand new business, or a low-volume merchant, it can be tough to find reliable, cost-effective merchant services that don’t spike your rates and lock you in to a long-term contract.

However, ProMerchant is one of the few that has effective solutions for higher-risk businesses, including those that are new and those in sensitive industries like CBD, alcohol, and firearms.

There are two payment structures to choose from, including interchange plus and zero cost processing. Both are great options for smaller businesses that don’t want their profit eaten up by high processing fees.

On top of that, ProMerchant lets new customers choose between two free credit card terminals, so you don’t have to worry about expensive equipment costs.

Perhaps most importantly, ProMerchant won’t lock you into any long-term contracts. You can cancel anytime as your agreement will be entirely month-to-month. You’ll also find no early termination fees, no startup fees, and no hassle as your needs change.

Whether you’re starting an online store, opening a retail shop, or taking your local services on the road, ProMerchant checks all the boxes for small and new businesses.

ProMerchant Plans and Pricing

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ProMerchant offers two flexible pricing models to fit your needs. The best one for your business depends on your sales volume and average transaction size. However, if you’re unsure which pricing model works for you, ProMerchant’s team will gladly assess your situation and make a recommendation.

Interchange Plus Pricing: With interchange plus pricing, you pay each credit card’s interchange fee, which is set by the cards themselves, plus a small per-transaction markup that goes to ProMerchant. This model provides predictable fees and typically costs less than a typical tiered pricing structure.

Zero Cost Processing: This unique model is ideal for retail shops, restaurants, and other types of businesses with a high volume of low-value transactions. With it, your customers cover the transaction fees for credit cards, so you pay zero processing costs to accept credit. You’ll still have to pay fees for debit card transactions, but those are lower than credit cards.

Both pricing models come with a low monthly fee that varies based on your business. Either way, you won’t get locked into anything long-term.

Payment Options

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You’ll have no problem accepting all the latest payment methods with ProMerchant’s solutions. The available terminals easily handle contactless payments, chip cards, magstripe swipes, digital wallets like Apple Pay, PINs, gift cards—you name it.

For mobile payments on the go, you’ll be able to use the PayAnywhere app and Bluetooth card reader to turn the phones and tablets you already own into processing machines.

You’ll also get handy features like email and text receipts, basic tipping, e-signatures, and more.

If you prefer virtual terminals without hardware, you’ve got a few different options. You can key in transactions via phone, text, email, or in person with Payments Hub—it’s basic but it’s free and it gets the job done at no extra cost. You can also upgrade to Authorize.Net for robust ecommerce features like invoicing, recurring billing, accounting software syncing, and secure payment info storage.

ProMerchant also offers Clover’s advanced POS systems that incorporate scanners, employee management tools, loyalty programs, and insightful analytics if you need a robust system.

The bottom line? ProMerchant equips you with everything needed to get paid, no matter how you do business. You’ll get the right hardware, software, and payment types for your needs.

When it’s time to get paid, your funds arrive within a few business days, or you can opt for next day funding for a small fee.

Ecommerce Functionality

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ProMerchant doesn’t have it’s own proprietary software. Instead, it leverages partnerships with third-party software providers to offer robust solutions. The company offers ecommerce functionality specifically through its partner, Authorize.Net.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a merchant services provider that doesn’t use it, so this isn’t anything unique or special about ProMerchant in particular.

The good news is that the software supports virtually all payment methods out there, including credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, electronic checks, and more. No matter how your customers want to pay, you’ll be able to process it without any added friction.

It also seamlessly integrates with just about every shopping cart and ecommerce platform—whether you already have one or plan to use one in the future, Authorize.Net won’t limit your choices.

If you don’t yet have a store, the software offers a basic but free shopping cart that lets you start selling products or accepting donations and tips online with minimal setup.

You can use it to embed buy buttons just about anywhere. However, it’s best if you only have a few products and you’ll have to know a bit of coding to customize it.

The software also comes with a virtual terminal, allowing you to securely key in credit card transactions when customers call to place orders.

Aside from the standard ecommerce features, Authorize.Net includes tools for recurring billing, invoice management, enhanced fraud detection, and customer payment profiles for faster checkouts. There’s also a robust API you can tap into for advanced customization to your online checkout and payments flow.

Depending on your agreement with ProMerchant, there may be some additional costs to factor in. You may have to pay a monthly gateway fee, an extra transaction fee, and a daily batch fee. But overall, the Authorize.Net integration gives you a powerful, flexible, and secure ecommerce solution.

Customer Support

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If you’re a new or small business owner, you need a merchant services provider that truly cares about your success. With ProMerchant, you get that and more through their exceptional customer service.

Rather than an impersonal 800 number, you’ll have a dedicated support team ready to assist when you need it. No matter what your question or issue may be, you can count on speaking to knowledgeable, thorough, and empathetic agents. Your needs will be addressed quickly and professionally, whether it’s immediately over the phone or through a timely callback.

Navigating phone trees and waiting on hold will become a thing of the past. The streamlined support process gets you to the right person right away. ProMerchant also provides technical specialists to walk you through website integration, shopping cart setup, or other complex configurations. A lot of other providers aren’t able to help with technical issues, so this is a great bonus.

We were disappointed by the lack of live chat and self-service knowledge base for DIY troubleshooting. However, ProMerchant’s excellent phone and email support more than make up for what’s lacking.

Analytics

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As a small or new business owner, robust analytics for your merchant services can seem like an unnecessary luxury. However, having detailed insights into your sales, customers, inventory, and more is invaluable for making smart decisions to grow your business.

Unfortunately, ProMerchant falls a bit short when it comes to built-in analytics and reporting—the company itself provides nothing more than the basics and relies solely on what its partners give you. So, the type, depth, and customization of the reports you get depend entirely on the hardware and software combinations you end up with.

With basic terminals, you likely won’t get any additional analytics or reporting tools. However, the PAX A920 smart terminal (available for free) does include a full reporting and inventory system, so you’ll get more information if you go that route.

If you use Clover’s advanced POS systems or terminals, you’ll get access to its stellar analytics and extremely detailed reporting dashboards. Clover makes it easy to filter and segment data to get high-level insights into key metrics like total sales, returns, tips, and more.

For mobile and online payments, the PayAnywhere mobile app and Payments Hub offer an aesthetically pleasing dashboard that breaks down your sales by method, customer, employee, item, and category. You’ll also see unique metrics like tips, new customers, top employees, inventory, and more. You can even schedule automated reports to any inbox and sync everything with QuickBooks.

Ease of Use

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ProMerchant’s application process takes just two to 24 hours for approval, so you won’t be left waiting around before you can start accepting payments. Once approved, any hardware you order will be rushed to your door overnight.

Even with the shipping time, most merchants are up and running within three days of first contacting the company.

However, the simplicity doesn’t stop there. Because ProMerchant partners with trusted tech companies like PayAnywhere, Authorize.Net, Clover, and Payments Hub, their dedicated teams handle the heavy lifting when it comes to usability.

Companies like these have been around for years—because they have dedicated developers with the capacity to focus on the user experience, the tools’ intuitive interfaces are constantly iterated on to make setup and daily use as seamless as possible.

If you ever hit a snag, ProMerchant’s support team is ready to help get you back on track.

With quick approvals, overnight hardware delivery, and integration with user-friendly partners, ProMerchant makes it easy for aspiring business owners to get their payment systems off the ground fast.

Final Thoughts

While ProMerchant doesn’t have its own proprietary software, it partners with the industry’s best providers to deliver seamless and hassle-free payment processing solutions to even the riskiest of businesses—including those that are brand new or in industries like alcohol, vaping products, and outbound telemarketing that usually struggle for approval.

With two payment structures, free hardware, and low monthly fees, you can get started without breaking the bank, too.