Protec Merchant Solutions Review

Rates and Fees
80/100
Truth in Advertising
90/100
Consumer Reviews
50/100
Customer Support
85/100
4.5

Best for

Small to medium-sized businesses, both brick and mortar, and eCommerce.

Specializes in

Building a retail business from the front end with payment processing to connect through their gateway to a high-powered back-end merchant account provider. All-encompassing, Protec aims to be a one-stop-shop for merchants.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: N/A

Monthly Fee: Unknown

Swipe Rate: 1.70% - 3.49% + $0.10

Keyed-in Rate:  1.99% - 4.49% + $0.10

Early Termination Fee : Undisclosed

Contract Terms:

Unknown
Visit Protec Merchant Solutions

John Ryan is listed as the company CEO.

The company has been in business since 2012.

The headquarters can be found in Astoria, NY.

Protec Merchant Solutions Overview

 

Very little is available about the company online. Beyond the basic CEO name and headquarters location, there is little history available.

The Better Business Bureau has no profile on the company and as a result, offers no rating. In addition, there are only a couple of customer reviews to be found anywhere on the internet and while both reviews are negative, they are the only two in ten years.

It appears the company has not changed hands or acquired any assets in the past decade but has maintained a competitive marketing approach.

They keep their marketing in-house and have a clean record in that department.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

207 27th Ave, Astoria, NY 11102, United States

Year Founded

2012

CEO

Unknown

Employees

Unknown

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

Low Risk Businesses

What We Like

Provides services to brick and mortar and e-commerce companies.

Provides front end payment processing to back end merchant account services.

In house marketing.

Gift and loyalty programs.

Offer a cash advance system.

What We Don't Like

Public pricing not available.

Contract length not disclosed.

Early termination fee not disclosed

No separate contact numbers for technical support, helpline and contacting customer service.

Setup one to two days

Industries Served

  • Online Sellers

Business Types Served

  • Ecommerce
  • Mobile
  • Online
  • Retail / Card Present

Protec Merchant Solutions Products & Services

 

Hardware & Software

Their hardware options are simple. They offer one device for each area of need. From a physical POS system to gateway payment options, Protec tries to keep things straightforward.

The software integrates smoothly with existing systems and Protec boasts of merchants being able to take payment in minutes.

They offer:

Point of Sale Processing
Wireless Processing
Dual Comm Terminal
Dial-Up Terminal
Smartphone Solutions
Internet Solutions

Value-Added Services

On their website, Protec offers gift and loyalty card programs to help build and maintain the customer base. The program can be up and running within 24 hours and is advertised to help build brand awareness.

They also offer a cash advance system, but the link is broken on their website so no further information is available.

Last, they offer a check guarantee to help merchants protect themselves against bounced checks. The system allows checks to be processed instantly in the same manner that a debit card is processed against available funds in a checking account.

Supported Payment Types and Services

There is no list of actual accepted credit card types, but the general language indicates all major credit cards are accepted.

In addition, their check guarantee indicates that Protec will process checks.

Protec Merchant Solutions Payment Processing

  • Check Services
  • Credit Card Processing

Protec Merchant Solutions Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments

Protec Merchant Solutions Advertising & Sales

 
Their marketing department is in-house. There is no indication that they farm out any work to outside sources. This is a plus as they don’t entertain the possibility of deceptive rate promises from unqualified personnel.

Beyond their website and marketing department, it does not appear that they advertise anywhere else.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

Protec Merchant Solutions Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

Their major claim is to be able to beat any competitor’s rates by 20% or they will pay a $500 rebate.

Their rates start at 1.09% for swiped merchants and 1.79% for keyed merchants. These are their advertised starting points and go up from there depending on the specific requirements of individual merchants.

Both swiped and keyed transactions are broken down into qualified and non-qualified categories. Non-qualified charges add 1%-1.99% to each transaction.

The website does not advertise early termination fees or any fees beyond transaction fees and statement fees, both of which are stated to be well below the industry average.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Unknown

Swiped Rate

1.70% - 3.49% + $0.10

Keyed-in Rate

1.99% - 4.49% + $0.10

Mobile Payment Rate

N/A

Virtual Terminal Rate

1.99% + $0.10

Monthly Fee

Unknown

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

N/A

Early Termination Fee

Undisclosed

PCI Compliance Fee

Undisclosed

Equipment Lease Terms

Unknown

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Unknown

Application Fee

N/A

Account Setup Fee

N/A

Gateway Setup Fee

N/A

Annual Fee

N/A

Monthly Minimum

N/A

Statement Fee

$9.95 Per Month

Protec Merchant Solutions Contract & Terms

There are no contracts listed on the company website. This may be due to the individual contract negotiated for each client or it may be due to the company processors used on the back end.

Protec Merchant Solutions uses First Data and Chase Merchant Services to handle the processing. It may be that specific fees come directly from whomever the merchant is selected to work with.

It can be assumed that rates and fees accommodate both ends of the processing.

Contract Length

Unknown

Early Termination Fee

Undisclosed

Protec Merchant Solutions Setup & Support

 

Setup is listed as taking roughly 24-48 hours. This, however, does not specify if it includes mail time for equipment to arrive or just covers the underwriting time to get a merchant account up and running.

Support seems to be limited, but an industry standard. On their website, Protec lists a telephone number, a fax number, and an email address. However, there is no differentiation between helpline, tech support, and customer contact.

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)
  • Email Support

Protec Merchant Solutions Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

BBB Rating

The Better Business Bureau does not have an account for Protec Merchant Solutions.

Other Online Reviews

There are very limited reviews to be found online. There are two negative reviews listed, both under the listing of fraud, but the reviews are very hard to track down.

In addition, Protec has a Facebook account with no real content or reviews.

The lack of online feedback could be cause for concern, especially when stacked against companies that have hundreds if not thousands of customer interactions. Whether this is because the company has maintained a low profile or because they have intentionally maintained a small business approach to the field is undetermined.

Ratings

BBB

N/A

Google

1 Stars / 2 Reviews

Facebook

No Reviews

Yelp

N/A

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

Unknown

Total Online Complaints

Lawsuits

Unknown

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