Best for
Small to medium-sized retailers looking to expand their services to increase what they can give to their customers.
Specializes in
Helping merchants step beyond the traditional credit card processing and start increasing their brand awareness and loyalty through extra services that set them apart from their competitors. As an information services company first, Community Merchant Solutions takes their business on a different trajectory than conventional credit card processors.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: Undisclosed
Monthly Fee: Undisclosed
Swipe Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%
Keyed-in Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%
Early Termination Fee : Undisclosed
Contract Terms:
The company headquarters is located in Mission Viejo, CA.
They were founded in 2007.
Wain Swapp is the CEO.
There is very little information to be found on Community Merchant Solutions. They have been in business for fifteen years, but 90% of their website leads to dead pages with nothing beyond a tagline stating … This is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?
There are several professional reviews to be found that paint a different picture of the company, but things may have changed since their writing.
The one thing that can be deduced from the website is that Community Merchant Solutions focuses on added value services to set themselves apart from other credit card processors.
According to a couple of other review sites, there were a dozen or so complaints that mysteriously disappeared without any indication of resolution.
Head Quarters
Mission Viejo, California
Year Founded
2007
CEO
Wain Swapp
Employees
15
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Hardware andSoftware
There is no way to determine what Community Merchant Services has to offer. There is a dead page under the card terminals link. There is no indication whether the company specializes in brick-and-mortar retailers or eCommerce merchants.
It appears that they focus on brick and mortar stores, but they do not specify anywhere on their website.
It is stated that they have a wide selection of registers and terminals and that all leasing is handled in-house. Unfortunately, there is no information available beyond the link description.
Value-Added Services
Most information to be found on the company website revolves around the extra services Community Merchant Solutions offers. It appears this is what they use to set themselves apart from their competition.
Loyalty Card Programs offer a wide range of gift cards, loyalty cards, and community connect cards to help build a brand and client base.
Check processing offers customers the use of their checkbook.
Outbound email marketing campaigns can potentially help build customer awareness and draw new customers into the business.
Community Merchant Solutions advertises the ability to help set up an express lane in the retail store to speed up transactions and thereby increase business. Also bundled into this is a potential high-speed terminal that can run a credit card transaction in under three seconds. Once again, this is stated without anything on the website to support the claim.
Lastly, they claim to offer cash advances to merchants to help upgrade stores and inventory.
Supported Payment Types and Services
There is no accurate list of payment types accepted, but it is safe to assume these are on their list:
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
Debit
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
Once again, there is no information. Their website deadends when the link is clicked and there is no indication whether they keep their merchant accounts in-house or resell them to a larger processor.
There is some reference in old complaints about hidden fees, early termination fees, and lack of transparency on how their fees are transacted.
Pricing Model
Tiered Pricing
Swiped Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Keyed-in Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Mobile Payment Rate
Virtual Terminal Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Monthly Fee
Undisclosed
Payment Gateway Fee
Batch Fee
Early Termination Fee
Undisclosed
PCI Compliance Fee
Undisclosed
Equipment Lease Terms
36 Month (locked)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Account Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Gateway Setup Fee
Annual Fee
Monthly Minimum
Undisclosed
Statement Fee
Undisclosed
There is no reference to contracts on their website. This could mean they are a reseller of merchant accounts, or it could simply mean their contracts are completely negotiable and based on a client-by-client basis.
There is a link to terminal leasing on their website that once again goes nowhere. This could have led to a hardware contract of some sort, but at this point that information is unavailable. This could also be the source of some of the complaints about early termination fees. Companies who lease equipment often have a noncancelable lease on the equipment or hefty early termination fees.
Contract Length
3 Years
Early Termination Fee
Undisclosed
Since they do not disclose what sort of equipment they offer, it is impossible to even present a rough estimate on setup.
Support looks to consist of a phone number and a form message on their contact page. Complaints are referring to poor customer support.
BBB Rating
NR
Community Merchant Solutions has a profile on the Better Business Bureau, but it is not rated. This is most likely because there is no information to be found on the company.
There is one complaint making allegations of several lawsuits in the process against both the company and Mr. Swapp.
Other Online Reviews
There have been many complaints over the years, but most of these have mysteriously disappeared from the internet.
BBB
A+ but is not BBB Accredited. (1 Review; 0 Complaint)
No Reviews
N/A
Yelp
1.5 Star / 7 Reviews
Total Online Reviews
10+
Total Online Complaints
>10
Lawsuits
None
If you're in the market for a merchant account provider, be sure to check out our user reviews, our merchant accounts guide and our top popular merchant provider picks