Durango Merchant Services, established in 1999 in Durango, Colorado, is a U.S.-based merchant account provider offering payment processing services to domestic and international businesses. Our team has compiled some interesting and important facts in this Durango Merchant Services review.
The provider specializes in high-risk merchant accounts with expertise in providing solutions to ill-reputed and hard-to-place businesses. It serves multiple industries, including non-profits, travel companies, credit repair, MOTO, marketing, insurance, online liquor, FFL dealers, membership websites, live animal sales, tobacco and e-cigarette, and high-ticket businesses.
Durango is a verified ISO of Fifth Third Bank, Ohio, offering mobile, internet, and retail merchant accounts to businesses worldwide. The company accepts cryptocurrency, e-check processing, facilitates credit card payments, and offers advanced security features with chargeback prevention tools to help businesses prevent fraud and avoid credit card scams. It also assists merchants with handling data breaches and conducting secure online and in-person transactions.
The company offers an affiliate program to merchants and rewards them with exclusive commissions every time they refer a business to the company. To help merchants decide if they can trust the provider with their company, here is a Durango Merchant Services review narrowing down its contributions that can benefit a business and shortcomings that can cause serious trouble.
Durango Merchant Services Review Based on Features and Benefits
The company processes all major credit and debit card transactions and offers a shopping cart and QuickBooks integration to provide a seamless checkout experience while keeping customers’ data secure. Merchants are offered POS solutions, payment gateway, recurring billing option, and wireless and mobile payment services. Furthermore, Durango accommodates B2B businesses with level 2 and 3 payment processing and provides tech-savvy e-commerce solutions to most business types.
Cryptocurrency Processing
The Durango Merchant Services reviews portray that the provider enables merchants to accept cryptocurrency alongside other payment methods, allowing customers to pay online or in-store using Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum without a bank account or credit card. Merchants are offered protection against liquidity risk and charged a lower transaction fee. The provider eliminates chargebacks and keeps the merchant account secure while processing cryptocurrency. Customers can also use an eWallet to pay for their purchases.
Check Processing Solutions
Durango provides convenient solutions to receive check payments globally and facilitates echeck processing, live verification, and signature capture, allowing merchants to accept contactless payments anywhere. The provider offers low processing costs and quicker payment acceptance, enabling merchants to receive funds without a trip to the bank.
The company provides email invoices, guaranteed approval with next-day funding, and pre-built API integration. Its other features involve triple verification, pay now buttons, recurring billing, virtual portals, and remote deposit capture.
Credit Card Processing
Even though the provider’s expertise is e-commerce merchant accounts, it offers a range of in-store credit card processing services. The company provides advanced software and hardware to accommodate wireless and mobile payments. Merchants can integrate the technology into their existing systems and improve customers’ experience with customized payment solutions.
Durango provides Dejavoo wireless terminals offering cost-effective transactions. These standalone and semi-integrated terminals with mobile PIN pads allow merchants to access multiple transaction entry points. Furthermore, the provider offers EMV-enabled mobile card readers, an iProcess app compatible with Android and iOS, and handheld and countertop terminals to carry out credit card payments.
Online Payment Solutions
The company provides the Durango Pay gateway, hosted on the Google cloud platform. This payment gateway has robust features, including a customer data vault, recurring billing support, and the option to switch between multiple gateways with the gateway emulator feature. Merchants can keep their client’s data secure and avoid identity theft.
The company’s virtual terminals allow merchants to accept payments anywhere on an internet-enabled device and offer shopping cart integration to their customers with Durango Cart or any third-party carts compatible with the Durango Pay gateway.
Durango Affiliates Program
The provider offers an affiliate program to its clients, enabling them to gain residual commissions by referring a business to Durango. According to this program, a merchant recommends a business to Durango Merchant Services. After the merchant account is activated for the referred business, the merchant gains a portion of the monthly profit made by the company. This way, merchants can make additional income and provide better services for high-risk clients by introducing a better payment processor.
Durango Merchant Services Review Based on Pricing and Contract Details
The company offers variable contract terms depending on the merchant’s processing history and the business type it deals with. It does not provide information about its pricing and contract terms. However, according to multiple Durango Merchant Services reviews, merchants are provided a tiered pricing plan and a free sign-up facility with a rolling-reserve policy.
The provider is partnered with multiple companies to provide credit card processing, so its contract terms may depend on the partner company setting up the merchant account. An average Durango agreement charges a swiped and keyed-in rate of 1.00% to 4.99% per transaction. But businesses should expect a drastic difference in the actual pricing.
Durango Merchant Services Review Based on Sales Reputation
The Durango Merchant Services reviews indicate that the company hires independent sales representatives and utilizes the expertise of in-house sales teams to market its services. Even though this sales practice is frowned upon because of the inexperienced agents and high complaint rate, Durango makes it work without any mentionable complaints associated with its marketing strategies. However, the provider’s agents do not provide all the necessary information.
Durango Merchant Services Review Based on Customer Service
The provider has reserved a domestic phone support number and an email address for merchants to reach out to. Clients are offered support tickets, and an account manager and dedicated service representatives are available during business hours for merchants to address their queries and concerns. Durango has social media handles and a company blog for its clients to know the company better and approach it in dire need of help.
Durango Merchant Services Reviews and Complaints
Durango has maintained a low complaint rate; most complaints are from businesses the company rejected a merchant account approval. The few complaints cited online indicate withheld funds and average customer service. Merchants have complained about the early termination fee regardless of the zero cancelation fee claims by the provider. Moreover, consumers have shown concerns regarding the company pairing their business with ill-suited banks.
The provider was accredited by Better Business Bureau in 2006 and rated A+ on its BBB profile. There have been zero formal or informal complaints posted against Durango on the review website in the past 36 months.
Durango Merchant Services Disadvantages
The provider is a reasonable payment processor for most high-risk businesses and has a good reputation concerning its services and equipment. Merchants benefit from the hardware and digital solutions it offers to help them improve their business and expand their wings. However, the company brings forward a few drawbacks that may affect a business in the long run. Here is a detailed Durango Merchant Services review covering its shortcomings;
Unrevealed Information
Merchants are deprived of price transparency and their right to know about the company’s contract details. The provider does not offer any information about its fees, equipment lease terms, and virtual terminal rates. The company’s gateway, batch, technical support, and PCI compliance fee are a mystery, and merchants are left to wonder about its monthly minimum and credit card processing fee.
Furthermore, businesses looking forward to signing up with Durango do not know its contract policies and conditions they may have to follow. Undisclosed information is never a positive sign and can cause serious frustration for merchants after the agreement is signed.
Early Termination Fee
The company claims not to charge an early termination fee. However, reviews indicate otherwise. Some high-risk merchants have complained that the provider has charged an ETF of $500 (or above, depending on the time of cancelation). Inconsistent claims are a red flag. A payment processor promising one thing but finding excuses to go against the promise can be the reason behind many troubles.
Rolling Reserve
According to the Durango Merchant Services reviews, some high-risk businesses are forced to accept the company’s rolling reserve policy that automatically keeps a percentage of the merchant’s turnover aside for a long period. This amount is claimed to be used in case of loss resulting from chargebacks and fraud.
This strategy affects a merchant’s cash flow and keeps their funds withheld even after the account is shut down, causing additional loss. Merchants are deprived of using their money for a long time and may lose investment opportunities during that period. Losing a fixed amount for each transaction can cause more loss than profit, and the business will not grow as it normally would.
Final Verdict
This Durango Merchant Services review concludes that the provider is a reasonable payment processor for most businesses, offering an array of facilities and a range of equipment to accommodate all payment types. However, it fails to provide complete disclosure to its merchants and is inconsistent regarding its claims.
The appearance of unexpected fees and the rolling reserve policy is unpleasant for merchants and can cause inconvenience. Even though the company has well-reputed customer service, the options are minimal and available only during office timings, forcing long waiting hours upon most merchants needing immediate assistance. Merchants are advised to understand the provider better before signing an agreement and ensure it is the best choice for their business.
