Flagship Merchant Services Review 2023

Basic information about Flagship Merchant Services–

Established in 2001, Flagship Merchant Services has more than 20000 business clients. It has established its headquarters in Charlestown. However, this Massachusetts-based company has not disclosed much detail about its history. In 2012, iPayment acquired the company, and thus, Flagship runs its business as part of iPayment.

How do you create your account?

The account setup process is very easy, and you have to call the account representative to fill out your application. The team of underwriters will review the process, and when they have approved it, your account will be accessible from the subsequent day. The merchant service provider will deliver the equipment within 3 to 4 days. When you start processing payment, the company will deposit the fund into your bank account. With an additional charge, you will receive the fund in a day.

What do you get from Flagship Merchant Services?

Flagship Merchant has different services and products to help eCommerce, mobile, and retail businesses. While setting up your account, you will get some options. 

• Merchant Accounts– By creating your merchant account, you will get access to the virtual terminal, payment gateway, online reporting, fraud protection, and several other valuable merchant services. The credit card processor will customize its charges based on your needs. You can also use iPayment for creating your merchant accounts. 
• Credit Card Terminal- Retail merchants can take advantage of this free terminal during the account setup process. However, a part of the monthly account charges is intended for insuring and updating the terminal. Presently, the company’s website Verifone VX 520 terminal is compatible with NFC and EMV payments.
• POS Reprogramming- You do not need to pay an amount for reprogramming the terminals.  
• Virtual Terminal- The eCommerce business owners can choose the Authorize.Net and Quiq as the payment gateways. Both of them include APIs and a shopping cart to tailor your website’s integration with the payment gateway.
• Mobile Processing- As you like to process your payment on the go, Flagship has designed a MobilePay app for Android and iOS. An EMV-compatible card reader is also available with it. Although you can avail them free of cost, you need to pay a monthly amount for the service. 
• Clover Suite POS- The Clover Suite line, offered by Flagship, includes a comprehensive POS system, Clover Flex, Clover Mini, Clover Station, Clover Go, and Clover Mobile.

Integrate other services as a Flagship customer

Choose the Clover equipment to integrate with 200+ business apps like Gusto, QuickBooks, and Homebase Time Clock.

Pricing and charges- Is Flagship Merchant affordable?

Flagship can customize your credit card processing charge based on factors like-

• The nature of your business
• The way of accepting credit cards
• Your monthly sales rate

There are 2 pricing structures created by Flagship Merchant 

Tiered Pricing

It is the default pricing structure, which comprises credit card transactions of different types. There are 3 tiers each for credit and debit cards- Non-qualified, mid-qualified, and qualified. Every tier has a per-transaction fee and percentage rate.

• PIN authorization rate for debit cards is $0.25
• Regular, qualified debit cards acceptance- 0.35% + $0.19
• Regular qualified card cards acceptance- 1.55% + $0.19
• Your customer has made payment using corporate, rewards, and international cards. These transactions will belong to the non-qualified tier. You have to pay 1.95% as the additional charge.  

Interchange-Plus Pricing

The true pricing model provides small merchants with low-cost access. You need to send your request to the team to get this pricing option. Interchange Plus ensures a markup of about 0.30% with an additional charge of $0.10

The base interchange rate ranges from 0.65% to 2.65%. The card network fee is also minimal. For accepting a Visa rewards card, the interchange charge and retail transaction fee is around 1.65%, and the additional charge is $0.10. 

Other charges imposed by Flagship Merchant

Flagship Merchant Services charges you some monthly fees-

• Online reporting and customer assistance fee is $7.95
• The minimum monthly payment based on your transaction rates is $25
• The monthly PCI compliance charge for the Clover TransArmor is $5. It is affordable, as the standard compliance charge is $99 per year. 

These are negotiable charges, and you can pay them easily.

Flagship Merchant has waived different fees like account setup and shopping cart setup charges.

Flagship’s Contract Terms- How far they are acceptable?

Merchants who have chosen month-to-month contracts may cancel them anytime without paying the cancellation charge. However, one of the downsides is that they have to pay the PCI compliance fee every year, and it is around $99.

Some merchants have complained that Flagship has charged $29.99 every month affiliate marketing through a third party, known as Womply. They reported that Flagship automatically registered them with a 60-day free Womply trial. 

Security Features

Flagship Merchant Services is a reliable option as a PCI compliant credit card processor. Merchants using Flagship must go through a PCI DSS questionnaire every year. Moreover, companies recording cardholder details on file and connecting through the internet should have a certified scanning vendor.

Your data will be safe, as Flagship has hosted payment forms on its strong and secure network. The tokenization method will safeguard your transactions.

Customer service

Flagship has provided 24/7 customer service to solve your technical problems. You have to make a phone call to speak to representatives. You may also visit a website to check transactions and get monthly statements. The FAQ section on the website is a good source of knowledge. You can communicate with account managers to solve issues.

Verdict

Flagship has been engaged in the payment processing industry for over 15 years. It has truly proved its reliability throughout these years. Several brands like Avon and Verizon have already used Flagship’s services. However, small merchants may also use Flagship’s services. But, one thing to note is that Flagship does not disclose the detailed pricing information until you have communicated with its salesperson. That is why it is not easy to compare its pricing rates with the competitors. Still, charges for different services from Flagship are affordable, and you can make a deal with this company.