Am I Locked In a Contract?

Merchants have seen it all. Sadly, the merchant account and payment processing industry is known to pull some shady acts – like locking a merchant into a yearly (or longer) contract. The only way to get out? To a pay a hefty early termination fee, or ETF. With competition rising in the merchant account industry, providers are looking to keep customers locked in for a long as possible with the hopes that a merchant account contract early termination fee will keep the merchant on board with them instead of paying to leave.

Let’s assume you signed a 3 year contract with a monthly fee of $50. 1 year in you decide you want to close the account and switch to another provider. You’re left with 24 months with $50 fees. This comes out to $1200 that will be owed at the end of the contract. What a nightmare!

It’s important to note that every major processor in the US and Canada has a contract term. Providers like PayPal act a bit different because you are not supplied a merchant account. You aggregate transactions through their own merchant account. Because of this, most providers stick to their contacts.

Total-Apps is different. And to be fair, there are many providers on the market that avoid ETFs and instead focus on providing the service a merchant needs to stay on board.

Rey Pasinli, who was interviewed by eCommerce Radio, states, “The irony is that most of our competitors try and hold their merchants hostage. We have a different philosophy. We feel we have to earn your business every single day.”

Along with this mindset comes the leniency towards contracts with clients. If we ever (and it’s rare, trust us) come across a client that isn’t happy, we let them walk away – no questions asked. No ETF.

Do you have a nightmare story about being locked in a contract for an extended period of time? Share your story below. Hopefully you’re taken care of now. If not, head on over to our Total-Apps Merchant Account Sign Up to learn more about how we can take care of your processing needs on a month-to-month basis.