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Flagship Merchant Services Review and Pricing
Table of Contents
Flagship Merchant Services is a full-service payment processor that helps businesses cut costs thanks to month-to-month service terms, a variety of pricing models and no early termination fees. Businesses of all types and sizes will benefit from its 20-plus years of experience providing in-person, online and high-quality mobile credit card processing.
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Contract
Flagship Merchant Services offers its credit card processing services on a month-to-month basis, allowing you to close your account at any time without incurring a costly termination fee. We love that Flagship Merchant Services:
- Doesn’t lock you into a three-year contract.
- Doesn’t force automatic annual renewals.
- Doesn’t charge early termination fees.
This sets the vendor apart from rival processors. However, you are required to sign a contract if you want free equipment. For instance, if you accept a free Clover Mini credit card processing terminal, you have to commit for three years. We recommend purchasing your equipment so you can keep the more flexible month-to-month service terms.
How to sign up for Flagship Merchant Services
- Call a Flagship Merchant Services sales representative and complete the application over the phone.
- Request the full contract (the application, the terms and conditions document, and the program guide) before signing the application or providing your Social Security or bank account number.
- Read the contract and check the fine print for all fees and terms.
- Formally sign up. Be aware that by signing the application, you’re actually signing the contract.
- Start processing payments the next day after review and approval.
Look out for the “Additional Services” clause in the application or terms document. Ask your sales rep what these additional services entail, what fees come with them and if you can opt out before signing up. Otherwise, you only have 30 days after setting up your account to opt out.
Pricing and Terms
Flagship Merchant Services offers a choice of interchange-plus or tiered rates. The company doesn’t post its rates or fees on its website, so you’ll need to speak with a sales rep for a customized quote based on your processing volume, industry, and other factors. Flagship will try to meet or beat your current credit card processor pricing if you already have a service provider.
Expect these additional costs:
- Monthly Fee: This fee is for your statement, access to an online analytics tool, 24/7 tech support and a dedicated agent.
- Monthly Minimum: This is the amount of processing costs (percentage rate plus per-transaction fee) you need to generate each month. If you don’t meet the minimum, you pay a fee to make up the difference.
- PCI Compliance Fee: This fee is to help you stay PCI compliant and is charged monthly or annually. If you fail to comply with PCI data security standards or forget to renew your compliance, you may also be charged a PCI noncompliance
- Chargeback Fee: You’ll only pay this fee if a customer disputes a charge.
Flagship doesn’t charge application or setup fees, and some of the fees listed above may be negotiable.
Flagship advertises a low-rate guarantee and offers an American Express gift card if it can’t give you the lowest terms. You must present a written competing offer, and the fine print notes that additional terms and conditions may apply.
Features
Flagship Merchant Services provides solutions to accept credit card payments across every sales channel.
Accept Credit Cards In-Store
To accept in-person payments, you can use:
- A simple credit card terminal with a built-in PIN pad and printer.
- A comprehensive point-of-sale (POS) system.
- Mobile card readers.
Flagship sells Verifone terminals and the popular Clover line of POS systems. Both options let you accept chip cards and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Accept Credit Cards Online
Flagship sets you up with a payment gateway and an online shopping cart so you can accept payments on your website. You can also set up automatic recurring billing.
Accept Credit Cards on the Go
Accepting payments on a mobile phone is ideal for companies that sell products or services at events or temporary locations and sales teams that work with clients out of the office. A mobile card reader is all it takes.
Accept Credit Cards Over the Phone
Flagship can set you up with a virtual terminal that allows you to process payments via phone by manually keying in credit card details on your computer. The virtual terminal is also useful if you accept orders by mail.
Additional Considerations
It’s easy to set up an account with Flagship Merchant Services, which is one of the best merchant services providers. But there are some things to take into account before signing up with this vendor.
- It will take three to four business days for equipment to arrive after approval.
- Flagship will deposit money into your account in one to two business days.
- Same-day funding is available, but it may cost extra.
Limitations
Flagship Merchant Services offers businesses a flexible payment processing solution, but we identified some limitations.
- Flagship doesn’t post its rates and fees on its website, so you have to call for a quote.
- You may need to ask for interchange-plus pricing and about the PCI compliance fee.
- The “Additional Services” clause is vague and you must opt out within 30 days to avoid charges for unwanted services.
FAQs
