Marketing
Axcess Merchant Services uses its website and Twitter to promote it services and products. Unfortunately, all of the information is vague. None of the marketing entices customers to seek out more information. Nevertheless, we found no deceptive rate quotes or unrealistic guarantees.
Honesty
We found it difficult to determine if Axcess Merchant Services is honest or not since its site and its employees offer up so little information. We did find it puzzling that testimonials offered on its site don’t include the names or the business names of its customers. Adding those details would boost the validity of these statements. Additionally, Axcess states that it works with numerous acquiring banks, however, it does not disclose any of them. Providing the names would be a more upfront approach since acquirers create the contracts and set the terms.
Nevertheless, we did not find a single complaint about dishonest sales members or failure to disclose terms. Interestingly enough, we found zero feedback about this company.
Support
Axcess Merchant Services can be reached via phone, email, and contact inquiry form. It does not offer a live chat option.
Staff Responsiveness
Axcess Merchant Services does not respond quickly to any types of inquiries. We submitted three emails and two contact forms before we received a single reply. The reply only stated that it had received our form and that someone would get back to us soon. We never received any additional correspondence. After multiple phone calls, we were patched through to a sales representative. The first several attempts were disconnected, and the other times, the calls were lost while be transferred by employees.
Staff Interaction
The little interaction we had with employees was useless. The sales team was only interested in starting an application and would not provide any ranges for contract lengths, pricing, or equipment rentals. We were told that they could not offer up any additional information without us providing several documents and more detailed information.
Staff Education
Based on our interactions, it was difficult to determine whether the staff was trained well since they were so short with their answers.
Pricing
Axcess Merchant Services offers no pricing information on its site. Therefore, it is unclear whether it charges monthly minimums, PCI compliance, set-up, and statement fees. The only way to find out the costs is to contact Axcess Merchant Services directly.
Hardware Costs
Axcess Merchant Services offers chip and PIN terminals. However, it provides no cost information, details about rental terms, or early termination fees. Merchants will need to discuss these issues with the payment service provider directly for a quote.
Though Axcess Merchant Services offers some hardware, it seems to focus most on its payment gateway for mobile and online transactions.
Early Termination Fees
There is no mention of contract terms on its site, and the agents we spoke to at Axcess Merchant Services would only say that they were variable, depending on business type, transaction volume, and processing history. Also, it is unclear whether there is a fee to cancel a contract before the end of the term.
In this industry, contracts range between one and four years. Also, it is not unusual for a merchant to pay an early termination or have to buy out the rest of the contract. Merchants will have to find out about the term and any early cancellation fees before they sign contracts.
Complaints
As previously mentioned, we could not find a single positive or negative review, other than the unattributed testimonials on its site. The reviews on the site tout the merchant’s communication, technology, and service. The few others also praise the complete transaction analysis it received. Otherwise, there is no other testimonials or feedback floating around in the digital space.
For a business that has been operating since 2007, we found this questionable. It is very likely that since it works with many acquiring banks, customers are leaving complaints about them. Since it doesn’t disclose any of its acquirers, it is impossible to dig any deeper. It is not rare for customers to leave complaints about acquirers because they are entities that hold the contracts, set the terms, and pricing.
However, it could mean that Axcess Merchant Services does a good job and lives up to its claims of providing customized services for every business worldwide.
