Best for
Merchants in various industries, including e-commerce, restaurants and many types of retailers in need of payment processing services for multiple payment types.
Specializes in
Bank Associates Merchant Services specializes in Level 2 and Level 3 payment processing solutions through its own proprietary software. This company also offers chargeback defense and dispute assistance to help merchants keep their chargebacks as low as possible.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: N/A
Monthly Fee: N/A
Swipe Rate: Unknown
Keyed-in Rate: Unknown
Early Termination Fee : $595
Contract Terms:
Bank Associates Merchant Services often shortens its name to BAMS, which is an acronym that is also used for Bank of America Merchant Services.
The company is located in Brooklyn, New York and its founder and CEO is Dimitri Akhrin. Benjamin Abel is BAMS’ director of sales.
BAMS was founded in 2006 as a premier payment processing solution for merchants all over the United States.
Bank Associates Merchant Services has been around since 2006 when the company was founded by Dimitri Akhrin, who also serves as its CEO. The company’s headquarters is located in Brooklyn, New York.
This company takes a personal approach to payment processing services, and they claim to carefully decide to establish relationships with new merchants only if the fit is right for both sides.
BAMS offers tailored payment processing services to businesses of all sizes, but the company specializes in Level 2 and Level 3 processing. The company offers POS systems and various virtual gateways in order to meet their merchant customers’ needs.
The company is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA and of Merrick Bank, South Jordan, UT.
Head Quarters
413 86th St Fl 2 Brooklyn, NY 11209-4707
Year Founded
2007
CEO
Dimitri Akhrin
Employees
Unknown
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Takes a personal approach to each merchant account.
Primarily works with low-risk businesses.
They have a value-added service to help small businesses secure growth loans.
They accept all major payment types.
Quick setup for their integrated software.
Standard pricing is not clearly stated.
Unclear as to whether they require a contract and what it may look like.
No chat for customer support.
No mention of whether hardware is leased or purchased.
Hardware setup can be a lengthy process.
Hardware & Software
Bank Associates Merchant Services can provide merchants with their choice of hardware for payment processing. The company offers terminals and POS systems that are equipped to process EMV payments, as well as several other types of transactions.
BAMS also offers merchant service accounts that require payment gateways. The company website states that they offer easy integration with any virtual gateway, but they also have their own proprietary gateway.
Dispute Assistance Manager is a type of software that is designed to eliminate problems with dispute management and reduce chargebacks for merchants.
Value Added Services
Bank Associates Merchant Services can also assist merchants with obtaining business funding. They offer small business loans and business cash advances to qualifying merchants. Their website indicates that merchants only need to have been in business for three months as well as meet other specifications in order to receive as much as $500,000.
BAMS offers a gift card program and a loyalty card program, next-day funding and a competitive price guarantee as well.
Supported Payment Types & Services
Bank Associates Merchant Services can assist merchants in accepting many different payment types, including:
Payments with all four major credit cards
Checks and e-checks
ACH payments
MOTO payments
Debit cards
Mobile wallet payments, including Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay
BAMS has a program called OptBlue, which offers lower rates for American Express payments and quicker payouts for merchants.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
BAMS most likely offers tiered pricing, which is common, but it can also be used to hide the cost of services. The prices and fees the company advertises are as follows:
Application fee - None
Setup fee - None
Qualified discount rate - as low as 0.70%
Key-in/online transaction rate - 1.99%
Transaction fee - as low as $0 per month
Statement and support fee - $5 per month
Bank Associates Merchant Services has a section on their website for price comparisons. It explains their process for helping merchants save money on their fees, but it is not clear about what their standard prices are.
Pricing Model
Tiered Pricing
Swiped Rate
Unknown
Keyed-in Rate
Unknown
Mobile Payment Rate
Unknown
Virtual Terminal Rate
N/A
Monthly Fee
N/A
Payment Gateway Fee
Unknown
Batch Fee
$0
Early Termination Fee
$595
PCI Compliance Fee
Unknown
Equipment Lease Terms
Unknown
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Unknown
Application Fee
Free
Account Setup Fee
N/A
Gateway Setup Fee
Unknown
Annual Fee
$0
Monthly Minimum
Unknown
Statement Fee
$5 per month
The BAMS website is not clear about whether the company requires merchants to enter into a contract with them when starting services. It is possible that equipment leases and contracts for payment processing are two different agreements.
Contract Length
Unknown
Early Termination Fee
$595
Bank Associates Merchant Services advertises quick setup for merchants who want to integrate with BAMS using their current POS systems. However, for merchants who also need hardware, setup can take a bit longer. Most merchants should find that they are ready to start accepting payments within a week or so.
BAMS offers several options for customer service, including two phone numbers and an email address for support, which are prominently listed on the company website.
BBB Rating
Bank Associates Merchant Services is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB website gives the company an A+ rating, and customer reviews give it an average of 4.99 out of 5 stars.
Other Online Reviews
There are several other online reviews available for Bank Associates Merchant Services; most of which are positive. Google gives the company a 4.4/5-star rating and Yelp offers 5 stars for excellent customer service.
BBB
A+ and has been Accredited since 2012. (100 Reviews; 0 Complaints)
4.9 Stars / 221 Reviews
Rating 0.0 (89 Reviews)
Yelp
4.5 Stars / 22 Reviews
Total Online Reviews
440+
Total Online Complaints
Unknown
Lawsuits
No
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