Best for
SunTrust Merchant Services is suited for online and in-store businesses, specializing in B2B transactions for Retail, MOTO, Mobile, and eCommerce. The company also serves high-risk merchants.
Specializes in
SunTrust Merchant Services assists businesses in debit card processing, credit card payment processing, and checks. The company facilitates mobile, online, and in-store payment gateways and virtual terminals. The company also provides POS systems, business analytics tools, fraud protection software, loyalty programs, and other supporting hardware.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: $0
Monthly Fee: Undisclosed
Swipe Rate: 2.69% + $0.19
Keyed-in Rate: 3.69% + $0.19
Early Termination Fee : Up To $495
Contract Terms:
SunTrust Merchant Services offers back-end payment processing through First Data Corporation and has partnered with Clover for their POS solutions. The company uses SunTrust Bank for acquiring bank services. Equipment leasing is available in partnership with First Data Global Leasing.
SunTrust Merchant Services (SMS) is a SunTrust Bank division, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It's mainly a reseller of merchant account services for First Data Corporation. SunTrust also provides POS solutions to different sectors of the market through its partnership with Clover.
SMS has a tiered pricing plan, which is not as transparent as interchange-plus and may not be as competitive, given the services are simple repackaged offerings of First Data.
SMS does not provide much information on its website about the offerings. It appears that most of the merchant services and processing are outsourcing entirely to third parties; processing to First Data and POS solutions to Clover.
There is a considerable lack of guidelines for the setup and support available to clients. Nor is there any interest by the company to invest in resources to educate clients about the vagaries of payment processing and SMS's value add in the market. As a result, SMS generally suffers from poor customer feedback available online and various reporting outlets.
Head Quarters
Richmond, VA
Year Founded
2002
CEO
Eric Mann
Employees
1000
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
No setup fee is required.
Has a loyalty program.
Equipment leasing is available.
Uses fraud protection tools.
Has a full line of Clover terminal, mobile and point of sale processing systems.
Early termination fee.
Three year contract term.
Has a tiered pricing plan.
Most of its merchant services and processing is outsourced entirely to third parties.
All pricing is not transparent.
SMS provides payment processing services for merchants and is a reseller of First Data Corporation's merchant services. The company offers several options to facilitate payment acceptance, including Mobile and Telephone Orders (MOTO), check payment, magnetic stripe terminals, online payment gateways, and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). SMS also has mobile processing via ApplePay or other Android-based NFC payment options with PAYware Mobile from Verifone,
SMS provides the following product solutions for merchants;
Gift Cards – SMS offers customizable gift cards that allow merchants to track spending patterns and overall consumer trends.
Perka Loyalty Program – Customer digital loyalty program offers customizable rewards and provides rewards to target either new or repeat customers.
TransArmor – First Data's fraud detection offering employs tokenization and encryption technology for consumer data protection and drives efficiency in PCI compliance.
Insightics – Another First Data offering to gauge consumer spending habits and competitive trends to help businesses retune operations.
Several pricing plans are available for the payment processing service; however, the standard package offered is the tiered payment plan, which includes a multiyear contract with a monthly PCI compliance fee of $19.95. There is also a hefty early termination fee of $495. The agreements also have an inexpungible policy for the long-term leases for equipment acquired from the First Data Global Leasing.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
SMS offers merchants tiered pricing, which is much less transparent than interchange-plus. The merchants processing services are available at two rates;
Transactions up to $50,000/ month
Swiped –2.69% + $0.19/ transaction
Keyed-in – 3.69% + $0.19/ transaction
Transaction > $50,000/ month
Swiped –2.29% + $0.19/ transaction
Keyed-in – 3.29% + $0.19/ transaction
SunTrust doesn't explicitly state payment charges on the company's website. There have been complaints of dishonesty when it comes to payments, hidden costs, and additional fees.
Pricing Model
UnknownTiered Pricing
Swiped Rate
2.69% + $0.19
Keyed-in Rate
3.69% + $0.19
Mobile Payment Rate
Undisclosed
Virtual Terminal Rate
3.69% + $0.19
Monthly Fee
Undisclosed
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Batch Fee
Undisclosed
Early Termination Fee
Up To $495
PCI Compliance Fee
$19.95
Equipment Lease Terms
48 Month (locked)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Undisclosed
Account Setup Fee
$0
Gateway Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Annual Fee
Undisclosed
Monthly Minimum
Undisclosed
Statement Fee
SunTrust Merchant Services contract terms are expensive compared to industry standards. The company's contracts are usually multiyear and have hefty early termination fees. SunTrust uses tiered pricing plans, which are less transparent and charges additional fees, such as PCI compliance charges. Compared to payment processors, SunTrust's contract is more expensive and offers more stringent propositions compared to what's available from First Data.
Contract Length
3 Years
Early Termination Fee
Up To $495
SunTrust is not separately accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which gives the parent company an A+ rating. Thereby, the rating is misleading since it's not solely for the merchant services business but the banking giant's entire operations. The BBB lists the company as Truist Financial Corporation, the newly formed entity after the merger between BB&T and SunTrust.
BBB has received 773 complaints in the past three years against Truist about products, hidden charges, and sales practices.
SunTrust Merchant Services contract terms are expensive compared to industry standards. The company's contracts are usually multiyear and have hefty early termination fees. SunTrust uses tiered pricing plans, which are less transparent and charges additional fees, such as PCI compliance charges. Compared to payment processors, SunTrust's contract is more expensive and offers more stringent propositions compared to what's available from First Data.
SunTrust Merchant Services contract terms are expensive compared to industry standards. The company's contracts are usually multiyear and have hefty early termination fees. SunTrust uses tiered pricing plans, which are less transparent and charges additional fees, such as PCI compliance charges. Compared to payment processors, SunTrust's contract is more expensive and offers more stringent propositions compared to what's available from First Data.
Ripoff Report lists many negative reviews about SMS for strict canceling policies, early termination fees, and other hidden charges. There are no existing lawsuits or outstanding FTC complaints against SunTrust Merchant Services.
BBB
N/A
N/A
N/A
Yelp
3.5 Stars / 3 reviews (SunTrust Bank)
Total Online Reviews
900+
Total Online Complaints
800+
Lawsuits
None
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