Best for
Low risk, mom and pop, restaurant and bar, small businesses.
Specializes in
Mercury Payment Systems (reacquired by Vantiv and merged into Worldpay Integrated Systems) is a merchant account provider specializing in servicing smaller businesses and processing payments for low-risk companies like restaurants, bars, and small stores.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: $0
Monthly Fee: Variable
Swipe Rate: Variable
Keyed-in Rate: Variable
Early Termination Fee : $295-$495+
Contract Terms:
Matt Taylor founded Mercury Payment Systems in Durango, Colorado, in 2001. It had over a thousand employees before Vantiv absorbed it. Mercury Payment Systems’ acquiring bank is HSBC Bank of Buffalo, New York. Mercury Payment Systems (MPS) primarily services small businesses.
MPS was founded in 2001 by Matt Taylor and proceeded to begin its business and acquire clients. Its pricing model varies depending on the type of business it is servicing and the kinds of processing that the company does. Its industry focuses on small businesses, restaurants, bars, and other kinds of small retail and small stores. Its overall reputation is mixed, with a total of over 60 online complaints, which is a noticeable amount even for a company of its size. Most of the complaints seem to revolve around the fact that MPS used independent resellers (more on that in the Advertising and Sales section, below), and this is a thing that most merchants should be wary of if they see it.
Head Quarters
Durango, CO
Year Founded
2001
CEO
Matt Taylor
Employees
1000
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Zero setup fee.
Documentation knowledge base.
Domestic telephone support during normal business hours.
Low risk business tolerance.
Focus is on small businesses, restaurants and bars.
Early termination fee.
Public pricing is not available.
Not all important terms are disclosed.
PCI compliance fee assessed.
Employs independent resellers.
Mercury Payment Systems is no longer active as a company, but similar businesses offer similar products and services. Those services and products are below. This is the most accurate mockup of what it provided to merchants and customers.
Point 1: Credit and Debit Processing, Cash Advances
Being a merchant using MPS means that you’d be able to process debit and credit cards, taking them as a form of payment instead of physical cash. Credit and debit cards are the lifeblood of any modern business, and not taking them is a problem. Cash advances are also usually available with companies like MPS, where it gives you an advance of money and collects it over time through small fees.
Point 2: POS Systems, Integrated Payments
Integrated payment and POS systems mean things like card readers, card terminals, all-in-one terminals, tablets, and other kinds of devices that are specifically created to be able to take cards and process payments. These devices are either bought or leased from the merchant account provider and have software and connections to make it so that they function correctly and process cards. These can be very convenient for a merchant to have.
Point 3: Online Gateways and Virtual Terminals
Online gateways and virtual terminals are ways of taking payments online. If you have a small store but ship across a state, for example, or have a small online store, you would need it to do business. These kinds of technologies allow secure ways for customers to buy products and services through your business without worrying about fraud or card details leaking. MPS likely offered these as well.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
The exact pricing and fees of MPS are not all known. An early termination fee of at least $295 and an annual PCI Compliance Fee of $150--both high for this industry--are known, but the maximum rate, type of pricing, model, and other kinds of information are not known. Merchants have made complaints of other additional fees that MPS allegedly did not disclose.
Pricing Model
Interchange Plus
Swiped Rate
Variable
Keyed-in Rate
Variable
Mobile Payment Rate
Virtual Terminal Rate
Variable
Monthly Fee
Variable
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Batch Fee
Early Termination Fee
$295-$495+
PCI Compliance Fee
$150 Per Year
Equipment Lease Terms
Variable
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Account Setup Fee
$0
Gateway Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Annual Fee
Monthly Minimum
Variable
Statement Fee
Undisclosed
MPS offered a relatively standard multi-year contract, usually for 12-36 months, that had an early termination fee of $295 or higher, with some merchants reporting charges of up to $900. Besides this information, not much is known about MPS’ contracts.
Contract Length
Month-to-month3 Years
Early Termination Fee
$295-$495+
MPS had various complaints leveled against it, but most of them revolved around the fact that it was a merchant account provider that used independent resellers. Many merchants complain of the company being a ripoff, and you can find these in reviews of the company anywhere. On BBB, MPS has a 1 out of 5 stars based on 12 reviews. Many sites rate it negatively. Yelp has it ranked 1 out of 5 stars based on 25 reviews.
Strangely, while a class-action lawsuit has never hit Mercury Payment Systems, Heartland Payment Systems sued MPS over alleged false advertising and unfair competition. Heartland Payment Systems claims that MPS would contact known customers of Heartland and misrepresent fees to make them switch to Mercury Payment Systems. The lawsuit has no outcome as of yet.
BBB
A+
N/A
N/A
Yelp
1 Star / 24 Reviews
Total Online Reviews
120+
Total Online Complaints
60+
Lawsuits
2
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