Best for
Small businesses, businesses with low volume/low annual transactions, mom and pop businesses, restaurants.
Specializes in
Wells Fargo Merchant Services, associated with the well-known Wells Fargo Bank, specializes in smaller businesses and stores that do less than $500,000 annually in sales. This service has several benefits for those who also use Wells Fargo to do their banking.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: $0
Monthly Fee: $9.95
Swipe Rate: 2.60% + $0.15
Keyed-in Rate: 3.40% + $0.15
Early Termination Fee : $500+
Contract Terms:
Wells Fargo Bank was founded in 1852, but the merchant services division is far more recent. That was started in 1971, and First Data is the processor behind WFMS. Some 100 odd employees are used in this division, whereas Wells Fargo has over 200,000 employees on its payroll. Its merchant services division mainly caters to mom and pop and small businesses. Its headquarters is in San Francisco, California.
Wells Fargo is a well-known bank that is one of the largest and oldest banking institutions in the United States. While having a massive size, a tremendous amount of branches and workers, and a ridiculous total asset value, Wells Fargo has been involved in several recent lawsuits and controversial behavior in the past decade or two. Hence, its reputation is on the lower side. Its Merchant Services division is mainly focused on small businesses. Still, the actual bank itself deals with almost any level of transaction or financial institution--personal accounts, business accounts, other banks, and more. Its pricing model is based on a three-year agreement, with a generic swipe and key-in rate that goes off a percentage plus a small fee.
Head Quarters
San Francisco, CA
Year Founded
1971
CEO
Charles Scharf
Employees
101
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Works with smaller businesses and stores that do less than $500,000 in sales.
No setup fee.
Has robust security features.
Extended support is available to its merchants.
Offers a contactless payment option.
Monthly fee.
Early termination fee.
Three year contract.
All fees are not transparent.
Employs outside sales agents.
Point 1: Credit and Debit Processing, Contactless Payment
Wells Fargo Merchant Services offers debit and credit card processing, but recently as of COVID-19, it has also started to offer Contactless Payment. The fast funding feature of WFMS means that the funds in the merchant's account can be available as quickly as the very next day. Other processors sometimes take several days to credit a merchant's account with a transaction fully. Some businesses may find this type of processing to suit their company better.
Point 2: All-In-One POS System, Mobile Payment Types
WFMS also offers an all-in-one POS system via Clover. There are a variety of different terminals, card readers, and other devices to choose from to process the payment. Some are better than others, but the number of choices means a merchant can choose which fits their business the best. In addition to this, mobile payment support is offered, so things like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and more are usable in a business with WFMS.
Point 3: EMV Chip Card Technology
Wells Fargo also offers EMV Chip Card technology, a far safer and more secure way of processing payments for consumers. EMV Chip technology makes it so that the information is changed with each transaction. This makes fraud incredibly difficult to pull off and safeguards any kind of data or card detail theft that could occur.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
The pricing for the services is on the higher end, but it is not always clearly available. Some digging generally has to be done to find the rates. Wells Fargo Merchant Services charges 2.60%+$0.15 for a swiped card and 3.40%+$0.15 for a keyed-in card. Its virtual terminal rate falls between 1% and 5%. It has a $9.95 monthly fee, or a $24.95 monthly fee if you are an eCommerce business. Its PCI Compliance fee is not disclosed.
Pricing Model
Interchange PlusFlat Rate
Swiped Rate
2.60% + $0.15
Keyed-in Rate
3.40% + $0.15
Mobile Payment Rate
Virtual Terminal Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Monthly Fee
$9.95
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Batch Fee
Early Termination Fee
$500+
PCI Compliance Fee
Undisclosed
Equipment Lease Terms
48 Months, (locked)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Account Setup Fee
$0
Gateway Setup Fee
Annual Fee
Monthly Minimum
$9.95 in-person; $24.95 online
Statement Fee
Wells Fargo Merchant Services offers a three-year standard contract, generally. Its early termination fee is noticeably high and has been the subject of more than one complaint, with the fee ringing in at $500 if the merchant has processed under $1,000,000 and $500 plus the merchant's most expensive month times six if they have processed over $1,000,000. All of these fees are per location, so this can add up very fast. Some of the terms of the contract are subject to change, which has also been the subject of merchants' complaints.
Contract Length
3 Years
Early Termination Fee
$500+
Wells Fargo has been involved in several lawsuits in just the past decade alone, and some of them were class-action. It has been involved in cases of fraud and other suspected criminal activity. Thus, its Merchant Services division is also subject to some of this legal action and has had many complaints.
Specifically, merchants complain of jacked-up rates, poor customer service, and mark-ups on specific fees. As of August 2017, Wells-Fargo is involved in a class-action lawsuit involving these accusations. It has merchants sign contracts they don't understand and proceed to jack-up rates in a very predatory manner. The case is unresolved.
BBB
F (3,247 complaints)
N/A
N/A
Yelp
1.5 Stars / 4 Reviews
Total Online Reviews
300+
Total Online Complaints
80+
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