Bank of America Merchant Services Review

Rates and Fees
75/100
Truth in Advertising
80/100
Consumer Reviews
90/100
Customer Support
95/100
4

Best for

Bank of America Merchant Services (BAMS) caters to all business types. It's best for large and medium-sized enterprises, mainly in retail, restaurants, and local and multinational e-commerce.

Specializes in

BAMS provides payment processing in partnership with various back-end processors for cards, checks, and mobile payments. The company offers POS hardware and software but allows merchants to integrate their POS systems with BAMS payment processing.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: $0

Swipe Rate: 2.50% + $0.20

Keyed-in Rate:  3.50% + $0.15

Early Termination Fee : $500

Contract Terms:

3 Years
Visit Bank of America Merchant Services

BAMS is an ancillary of Bank of America and offers merchant processing services as a reseller of Fiserv, previously known as First Data Corporation and TSYS. It provides payment processing for credit and debit cards, checks, keyed-in transactions, MOTO, and direct-transfer staff salaries. The company's POS solutions are available through Clover. BAMS also has a security suite offering fraud protection through the Telecheck and MobilePay apps.

Bank of America Merchant Services Overview

 

In 2009, Bank of America and First Data (now Fiserv) founded the Bank of America Merchant Services as a joint venture. The joint venture contract ran through June 2020, which the companies did not renew. The company is mainly a reseller of products and services from Fiserv, TSYS, and Clover. It provides both hardware and software solutions for processing cashless transactions. BAMS facilitates the merchants in the integration of their POS with its card processing mechanism. It also provides its own POS terminals from Clover readily compatible with their payment processing solution.

Currently, Bank of America assists approximately 66 million small and medium-sized businesses. It is known to serve individuals, private and public companies, and the government sector. Given Bank of America's banking reach and its partnerships with third-party merchant processing providers, the BAMS division ensures payments processed through its service are cleared into merchant accounts one day sooner than peers. As a result, BAMS is one of the largest payment processors in the U.S., according to The Nilson Report.

The company provides pricing plans for customers with a three-year contract on auto-renewal and a $500 early termination fee. Based on the BAMS website, the company offers tiered pricing, which is less transparent than the Interchange-plus pricing plan. The company also provides long-term non-cancelable equipment leasing through one of its POS equipment partners.

There have been some complaints against BAMS regarding hidden fees, and we found mislabeling of charges in our research. Regardless, the number of complaints against BAMS is relatively low compared to their transaction volume and the merchants they serve.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

Charlotte, NC

Year Founded

2009

CEO

Tim Tynan

Employees

1000

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

No monthly fee.

No setup fee.

Has a security suite offering fraud protection.

Multiple hardware and software options are available.

Checks are accepted.

What We Don't Like

Early termination fee.

Has a three contract that renews automatically.

Has long term non canceling leasing.

Offers a tiered pricing plan.

Not all fees are stated.

Industries Served

  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Education
  • Electronics
  • Gaming
  • Gas Station
  • Healthcare
  • Medical
  • Personal Service
  • Property Management
  • Restaurant / Bar
  • SAAS
  • Self Defense, Tasers & Stun Guns
  • SEO & SEM Services
  • Thrift Store

Business Types Served

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

Bank of America Merchant Services Products & Services

 

Merchant Services

BAMS utilizes Fiserv for back-end payment processing for debit and credit cards. The company also offers a PCI compliant global payment gateway integrated with merchant websites for e-commerce through Compass. Through the BAMS and MobilePay partnership, merchants can integrate mobile payment processing.

Point-of-Sale

BAMS offers POS solutions through partnerships with Clover POS and First Data Global Leasing. Their POS offering includes tablets, cash drawers, LCD touchscreens, check readers, USB ports, credit card machines, and other required hardware compatible with those systems.

Tertiary Services

BAMS has numerous service offerings, including TransArmor for data protection and paper and e-check processing through Telecheck. Additionally, the company markets its time-tracking, payroll, inventory management, and reporting solutions for the retail sector.

Bank of America Merchant Services Payment Processing

  • Chargeback & Fraud Prevention
  • Check Services
  • Credit Card Processing
  • Debit Card Processing
  • eCheck & ACH Processing
  • Gift & Loyalty Program
  • Mobile Card Reader
  • Mobile Payments App
  • Online Payments
  • Online Shopping Cart Integration
  • Payment Gateway
  • POS Equipment
  • Recurring Billing
  • Shopping Cart Integration

Bank of America Merchant Services Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Multi-Currency
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Processing
  • Recurring/Subscription Billing

Bank of America Merchant Services Advertising & Sales

 
A detailed analysis of BAMS pricing shows it confusing and unclear regarding many of their fees. BAMS does not employ an independent sales team but instead hires them internally. Nonetheless, the relatively few complaints that BAMS has been consistently about hidden charges or not being forthcoming about its various fees.

Another sales practice merchants should be aware of is BAMS bundling leasing equipment into its payment processing services. These leases are costly and lock in merchants into a four-year contract.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

Yes

Bank of America Merchant Services Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

BAMS pricing varies based on the merchant's transaction volume and type of business. Some fees include:

Swiped rate

Transaction volume less than $5,000/ month - 2.5% + $0.20/ transaction

Transaction volume less than $5,000 and $9,999/ month - 2.3% + $0.20/ transaction

Transaction volume less than $10,000 and $24,999/ month - 2.05% + $0.20/ transaction

Transaction volume more than $25,000/ month - 1.89% + $0.20/ transaction

Keyed-in transactions rate - 3.50% + $0.15/ transaction

The company offers POS equipment leasing through either Clover POS or First Data Global Leasing. Merchants should keep in mind that the leases are four years long and are non-cancelable.

There are other fees associated with BAMS' e-commerce processing, such as payment gateway and virtual terminal services, along with batch fees and tech support fees. None of these service fees are available on the company's website.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Flat Rate

Swiped Rate

2.50% + $0.20

Keyed-in Rate

3.50% + $0.15

Mobile Payment Rate

Undisclosed

Virtual Terminal Rate

1.00% - 4.99%

Monthly Fee

$0

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

Undisclosed

Early Termination Fee

$500

PCI Compliance Fee

Up To $95 Per Year

Equipment Lease Terms

48 Month (locked)

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

Undisclosed

Annual Fee

Monthly Minimum

Statement Fee

Bank of America Merchant Services Contract & Terms

BAMS offers a 3-year contract with auto-renewal and an early termination fee of $500. The company's pricing includes software payment plans with additional charges and non-terminable leasing contracts for procuring hardware. BAMS offers monthly swipe rates and standard rates for cashless transactions. The company's website displays a tiered pricing plan and unclear additional charges and outsourced processing charges for customers.

Contract Length

3 Years

Early Termination Fee

$500

Bank of America Merchant Services Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)
  • Offshore Tech Support (After Hours)

Bank of America Merchant Services Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

BAMS does not have a registered profile with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Instead, BBB provides a rating for the parent company, Bank of America, mainly for its banking solutions, technically rendering it unusable for BAMS. There were no outstanding lawsuits or FTC complaints found against BAMS. Based on our research of multiple only platforms and forums, we believe that BAMS is sufficiently consumer-friendly.

Ratings

BBB

A+ (5,639 complaints)

Google

N/A

Facebook

N/A

Yelp

1 Star / ‎11 Reviews

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

200+

Total Online Complaints

100+

Lawsuits

None

Bank of America Merchant Services Alternatives

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