SunTrust Merchant Services Review

Rates and Fees
70/100
Truth in Advertising
65/100
Consumer Reviews
55/100
Customer Support
55/100
4

Best for

SunTrust Merchant Services is suited for online and in-store businesses, specializing in B2B transactions for Retail, MOTO, Mobile, and eCommerce. The company also serves high-risk merchants.

Specializes in

SunTrust Merchant Services assists businesses in debit card processing, credit card payment processing, and checks. The company facilitates mobile, online, and in-store payment gateways and virtual terminals. The company also provides POS systems, business analytics tools, fraud protection software, loyalty programs, and other supporting hardware.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: Undisclosed

Swipe Rate: 2.69% + $0.19

Keyed-in Rate: 3.69% + $0.19

Early Termination Fee : Up To $495

Contract Terms:

3 Years
Visit SunTrust Merchant Services

SunTrust Merchant Services offers back-end payment processing through First Data Corporation and has partnered with Clover for their POS solutions. The company uses SunTrust Bank for acquiring bank services. Equipment leasing is available in partnership with First Data Global Leasing.

SunTrust Merchant Services Overview

 

SunTrust Merchant Services (SMS) is a SunTrust Bank division, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It's mainly a reseller of merchant account services for First Data Corporation. SunTrust also provides POS solutions to different sectors of the market through its partnership with Clover.

SMS has a tiered pricing plan, which is not as transparent as interchange-plus and may not be as competitive, given the services are simple repackaged offerings of First Data.

SMS does not provide much information on its website about the offerings. It appears that most of the merchant services and processing are outsourcing entirely to third parties; processing to First Data and POS solutions to Clover.

There is a considerable lack of guidelines for the setup and support available to clients. Nor is there any interest by the company to invest in resources to educate clients about the vagaries of payment processing and SMS's value add in the market. As a result, SMS generally suffers from poor customer feedback available online and various reporting outlets.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

Richmond, VA

Year Founded

2002

CEO

Eric Mann

Employees

1000

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

No setup fee is required.

Has a loyalty program.

Equipment leasing is available.

Uses fraud protection tools.

Has a full line of Clover terminal, mobile and point of sale processing systems.

What We Don't Like

Early termination fee.

Three year contract term.

Has a tiered pricing plan.

Most of its merchant services and processing is outsourced entirely to third parties.

All pricing is not transparent.

Industries Served

  • Accounting & Tax Prep
  • Cigars & Tobacco
  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Electronics
  • Gaming
  • Gas Station
  • Healthcare
  • Hunting & Outdoor Equipment
  • Marketing Agency
  • Medical
  • Personal Service
  • Property Management
  • Restaurant / Bar
  • SAAS
  • SEO & SEM Services
  • Telemedicine
  • Thrift Store
  • Web Design Services

Business Types Served

  • B2B
  • Ecommerce
  • High Risk
  • High Volume
  • Information
  • Low Risk
  • Mobile
  • Mom & Pop
  • MOTO
  • Online
  • Retail / Card Present
  • Small Business

SunTrust Merchant Services Products & Services

 

SMS provides payment processing services for merchants and is a reseller of First Data Corporation's merchant services. The company offers several options to facilitate payment acceptance, including Mobile and Telephone Orders (MOTO), check payment, magnetic stripe terminals, online payment gateways, and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). SMS also has mobile processing via ApplePay or other Android-based NFC payment options with PAYware Mobile from Verifone, 

SMS provides the following product solutions for merchants;

Gift Cards – SMS offers customizable gift cards that allow merchants to track spending patterns and overall consumer trends.

Perka Loyalty Program – Customer digital loyalty program offers customizable rewards and provides rewards to target either new or repeat customers.

TransArmor – First Data's fraud detection offering employs tokenization and encryption technology for consumer data protection and drives efficiency in PCI compliance.

Insightics – Another First Data offering to gauge consumer spending habits and competitive trends to help businesses retune operations.

Several pricing plans are available for the payment processing service; however, the standard package offered is the tiered payment plan, which includes a multiyear contract with a monthly PCI compliance fee of $19.95. There is also a hefty early termination fee of $495. The agreements also have an inexpungible policy for the long-term leases for equipment acquired from the First Data Global Leasing.

SunTrust Merchant Services Payment Processing

  • Chargeback & Fraud Prevention
  • Check Services
  • Credit Card Processing
  • Credit Card Terminals
  • Debit Card Processing
  • EBT Acceptance
  • eCheck & ACH Processing
  • Gift & Loyalty Program
  • High-Risk Industries
  • Mobile Card Reader
  • Mobile Payments App
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Gateway
  • POS Equipment
  • Virtual Terminal

SunTrust Merchant Services Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Online Invoicing
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Processing

SunTrust Merchant Services Advertising & Sales

 
SunTrust Merchant Services uses outside sales agents and relies heavily on cross-selling efforts with its existing banking clients in offering their merchant services and products.

There seem to be many complaints regarding hidden charges and the company being a scam. Hidden fees are a constant theme for most customer complaints, particularly fees that popped-up suddenly and without reason.

The company's pricing plan data is limited, as there is no clear information available on their website. As such, there is uncertainty on all the fees applicable for their merchant services.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

SunTrust Merchant Services Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

SMS offers merchants tiered pricing, which is much less transparent than interchange-plus. The merchants processing services are available at two rates;

Transactions up to $50,000/ month

Swiped –2.69% + $0.19/ transaction

Keyed-in – 3.69% + $0.19/ transaction

Transaction > $50,000/ month

Swiped –2.29% + $0.19/ transaction

Keyed-in – 3.29% + $0.19/ transaction

SunTrust doesn't explicitly state payment charges on the company's website. There have been complaints of dishonesty when it comes to payments, hidden costs, and additional fees.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

UnknownTiered Pricing

Swiped Rate

2.69% + $0.19

Keyed-in Rate

3.69% + $0.19

Mobile Payment Rate

Undisclosed

Virtual Terminal Rate

3.69% + $0.19

Monthly Fee

Undisclosed

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

Undisclosed

Early Termination Fee

Up To $495

PCI Compliance Fee

$19.95

Equipment Lease Terms

48 Month (locked)

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Undisclosed

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

Undisclosed

Annual Fee

Undisclosed

Monthly Minimum

Undisclosed

Statement Fee

SunTrust Merchant Services Contract & Terms

SunTrust Merchant Services contract terms are expensive compared to industry standards. The company's contracts are usually multiyear and have hefty early termination fees. SunTrust uses tiered pricing plans, which are less transparent and charges additional fees, such as PCI compliance charges. Compared to payment processors, SunTrust's contract is more expensive and offers more stringent propositions compared to what's available from First Data.

Contract Length

3 Years

Early Termination Fee

Up To $495

SunTrust Merchant Services Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)

SunTrust Merchant Services Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

SunTrust is not separately accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which gives the parent company an A+ rating. Thereby, the rating is misleading since it's not solely for the merchant services business but the banking giant's entire operations. The BBB lists the company as Truist Financial Corporation, the newly formed entity after the merger between BB&T and SunTrust.

BBB has received 773 complaints in the past three years against Truist about products, hidden charges, and sales practices.

SunTrust Merchant Services contract terms are expensive compared to industry standards. The company's contracts are usually multiyear and have hefty early termination fees. SunTrust uses tiered pricing plans, which are less transparent and charges additional fees, such as PCI compliance charges. Compared to payment processors, SunTrust's contract is more expensive and offers more stringent propositions compared to what's available from First Data.

SunTrust Merchant Services contract terms are expensive compared to industry standards. The company's contracts are usually multiyear and have hefty early termination fees. SunTrust uses tiered pricing plans, which are less transparent and charges additional fees, such as PCI compliance charges. Compared to payment processors, SunTrust's contract is more expensive and offers more stringent propositions compared to what's available from First Data.

Ripoff Report lists many negative reviews about SMS for strict canceling policies, early termination fees, and other hidden charges. There are no existing lawsuits or outstanding FTC complaints against SunTrust Merchant Services.

Ratings

BBB

N/A

Google

N/A

Facebook

N/A

Yelp

3.5 Stars / ‎3 reviews (SunTrust Bank)

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

900+

Total Online Complaints

800+

Lawsuits

None

SunTrust Merchant Services Alternatives

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