Bank of America Merchant Services

Bank of America Merchant Services (BAMS) is one of the largest credit card processors in the United States. It can be convenient to have your credit card processor also handle your banking, and BAMS offers next-day deposits which is appealing for many, and will exempt you from your $30 monthly business checking account fee. Because of their size, they offer help with credit card processing across many industries, and can handle swipe, chip, online payment processing, and check or e-check processing. BAMS provides currency conversions as well; merchants can allow customers from other countries pay with their card in their currency, making it easier for both the customer and merchant.

For BAMS, however, that’s about the extent of the perks and assistance they provide for merchants. Because of the seamlessness of having them as your bank and credit card processor, it may seem like a great idea to use their merchant services. Unfortunately, they require long-term contracts, hit customers with several different hidden fees, and their early termination fee is one of the largest in the industry at $500.

Another issue with BAMS is their lack of transparency in regards to their rates and fees. Without speaking with a representative, it’s extremely difficult to nearly impossible to obtain accurate numbers for transaction fees and any additional fees they may charge. Their contracts are also a minimum of three years, and because of the expensive termination fee it’s likely better to look into some of the other credit card processing companies who offer month to month with lower (and fewer) additional fees.

Bank of America Merchant Services both sells and leases Clover products and POS systems for integration with their credit card processing services. Clover is a reputable system and offers several options depending on what you’re looking for in a terminal or POS system. Clover Go and Clover Go Bluetooth are options for merchants looking for additional mobility and are able to be connected to a smart phone or tablet device via Bluetooth or headphone jack. They aren’t large so if you have a brick and mortar store only, these aren’t likely the best option available, so you may want to consider a larger, more advanced system like the Clover Mini or the Clover Station. Both can accept swipe, EMV chip, and mobile payments, and other hardware can be added on, like a hand scanner or cash drawer.

Clover offers apps in their products that provide the tools to enhance varying aspects of your business, such as inventory, bookkeeping, marketing, and customer loyalty and promo programs. Customer data can be easily stored as well, and Clover terminals can even accept checks. All of the Clover products also include TransArmor Data Protection, ensuring the highest level of safety from fraud and other possible security breaches. If you want to keep your current POS system, BAMS will help you integrate it, but note that it will be done at a steep monthly price. BAMS offers leases on the products, but the contracts last four years and is priced at a steep $68.83 a month for leasing.

Bank of America Merchant Services offers several resources that can help a business of any size and at any stage. Their online payment gateway is secure and alongside it merchants can take advantage of the eCommerce help that BAMS offers. Currency conversion tools for international shoppers, improving your overall site, and even growing your online presence can all be done with their tools and services. BAMS can help with gift card services and loyalty programs as well, which is of course a perk of using a larger processing company. Obviously since they are a part of a major bank, one would expect that they would have capital loans and financing information and assistance. BAMS also provides help with data and analytics and provide the necessary information about how your business is running to evaluate where you need to improve.