United Merchant Services (UMS) is a payment processor helping businesses accept payments for over 20 years. They offer custom payment solutions for all businesses, from small and mid-sized to large enterprises. UMS prides itself on providing an array of payment options and an excellent customer experience.
This United Merchant Services review will take an in-depth look at UMS and the complaints, fees, rates, and customer feedback associated with their services. The processing performed by UMS uses the company’s U PAY series of money transfers.
These solutions include a mobile swiper, a simulated terminal, a monthly subscription solution, a digital payment alternative for retail outlets, a proprietary entity framework called U Charge that embraces EMV, and a point-of-sale (POS) system.
Overview of United Merchant Services
United Merchant Services (UMS) is a payment processor that has been helping businesses accept payments since 1994. They provide custom payment solutions to all industries, including small and mid-sized, e-commerce, and large enterprises.
UMS prides itself on providing an array of payment options and an excellent customer experience. Whether you are looking to accept credit cards, cryptocurrencies, debit cards, gift cards, or direct debit cards, UMS has a solution for you. Additionally, UMS offers a wide range of integrations, payment options, and reporting tools that can be tailored to your unique business needs.
UMS is headquartered in Westlake Village, California, and has offices in Tokyo, Japan, and Kyiv, Ukraine. They are a federally chartered financial institution member of the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.
Pros and Cons of UMS
Pros of UMS
UMS is one of the most affordable payment processors on the market, with pricing that can be as low as $49 per month. They also have many payment options, including gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and cashier’s checks. This is ideal if you want to accept a variety of payment types. UMS also offers a wide range of integrations that make accepting payments simple and convenient.
Cons of UMS
The biggest drawback of UMS is that they specialize in something other than recurring payments. So, if you want to accept regular payments, you must find a different payment processor. Another drawback of UMS is that they are less widely used than other payment processors. You should troubleshoot a few payment issues on your own.
United Merchant Services Review: Complaints, Fees, Rates, Customer Feedback
Rates and fees
UMS offers a wide range of monthly plans that are tailored to the needs of small and mid-sized businesses. The more monthly transactions you process, the lower your rates will be. You can also receive lower rates if you accept certain payment types (e.g., gift cards, prepaid cards, etc.).
Another essential thing to note is that UMS does not charge an upfront or setup fee. So when looking at the monthly rates, you will not see any hidden or unexpected expenses. Additionally, UMS offers a free 30-day trial where you can try out their services at no cost. This can be a great way to get started with no upfront cost.
Complaints
As we explored in the previous section, there are several drawbacks to using UMS. The biggest complaint against UMS is that they specialize in something other than recurring payments. This can be a significant drawback for e-commerce businesses that accept subscription payments. If you want to receive regular payments, you will want to find a payment processor specializing in this type.
Another complaint that can be seen online is that UMS is less widely used than some of its competitors. If you are having trouble processing a payment, you want a payment processor that is widely used. This will make it easier to troubleshoot any payment issues you may encounter.
Customer feedback
At the time of writing, UMS has a rating of 8.4/10 on the review site Trustpilot. This is an excellent rating and indicates that most customers are delighted with the services provided by UMS. Furthermore, there is a significant amount of online customer feedback, with over 400 customer reviews on Trustpilot.
The overall quality of the UMS reviews is 84%, indicating that most reviews are reliable. This demonstrates that UMS is used by many businesses and has been in the payment processing industry for over 20 years. There is also significant positive feedback on the review site Fakespot. This website analyzes customer reviews and gives an overall grade for the studies.
United Merchant Services: Advertising and Sales
United Merchant Services means allowing sub-ISOs and individual agents to sell its services, an everyday business practice that usually results in more excellent complaint rates against one company. We can now uncover many unfavorable United Merchant Services evaluations alleging confidentiality agreements of contractual terms and manipulation of charges by United Merchant Services employees.
Some of these concerns may have been submitted against agents and branches that are no longer linked with the business, but the main themes of the accusations are constant. One alarming allegation from October 2016 recounts an in-person sales contact that resembled “slamming.”
To its credit, the business does not appear to use deceptive advertising methods in its public materials. However, the constant emphasis on bad sales tactics throughout the company’s complaints has reduced its rating to a “C.” If you feel UMS is billing you hidden fees, we recommend requesting a third-party account audit to identify and remove hidden charges.
Conclusion
There are many things to consider when choosing a suitable payment processor. Cost is a significant factor. However, you will also want to consider how well each processor integrates with your business and what payment services they offer. First Data is likely the best choice if you are looking to accept recurring payments.
According to the ranking criteria, United Merchant Services is an average merchant processing supplier. The company has a small number of criticism for its data size in operation, but it appears to enroll merchants up for contract terms that could be more competitive. This company’s charges of slamming and retailer complaints accusing it of being a swindle are cause for caution.
United’s overall score has improved after the last update due to a lower complaint rate, but it still needs to be on pace with the most dependable top-rated credit card handlers. If you want to accept a wide range of payment types, including gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and cashier’s checks, UMS is the best choice. UMS also offers a wide range of integrations, and it is one of the most affordable payment processors on the market.
