I've had a merchant account with Total Merchant Services for the past 3 years now through an agent who got me good rates. This agent just informed me that he has switched away from using Total Merchant Services to using either Cynergy or First Data instead and that I should switch because they provide cheaper rates.

Switching would save me a little over 80 bucks per month because Total Merchant Services has higher rates per transaction. So I think it would be worth switching. I can still use AuthoirzeNet as the gateway.

But has anyone heard of either Cynergy or First Data and which of these two is better? I can choose to switch to either one but am not sure which one... any input or experiences? BOTH Cynergy and First Data have the exact same rates.

I've used Total Merchant Services for several years now and
couldn't be happier. I haven't compared fees *recently* but
their fees are competitive - and frankly, if you're just looking for
the CHEAPEST service you're not looking for the right thing!!

When I started with Total Merchant Services I really didn't
have a clue about running my own merchant account (I'd
always used 3rd party processors), and now, thanks to
their awesome and timely SUPPORT, I feel like an expert!

If things such as support and reliability are important to
you (rather than just trying to find the lowest rate out there),
you can't go wrong with Total Merchant Services based on
my experience.

-Bryan

If you think TMS is so great perhaps you should check out this older thread:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=64720&highlight=total+merchant+services

I read the thread that BusrtNet started about TMS way back and quite frankly ever since then I'm very unsure of this TMS. I've had TMS freeze my account more than once and had to call several times to have it corrected.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has any experience with either Cynergy or First Data? If it saves me $80/month then I see no reason not to switch. That's almost a thousand dollars I've saved at the end of the year...

By the way, I've checked around and TMS does not have the cheapest rates. Card Service Internationl has cheaper rates similar to Cynergy and First Data.

I'm familiar with all of the companies mentioned.

Total Merchant Services is an ISO/MSP with Global Payments and HSBC Bank.

I can tell you first hand that the risk management at TMS is very stringent and that is probably the reason why you may read some feedback about funds being held frequently and the sort. To the best of my knowledge, TMS also does not allow annual hosting packages unless their underwriting criteria has changed.

One thing to watch for with TMS is that on their merchant application there is often an "Interchange pass through fee" of $0.10 - this fee is in ADDITION to any AVS fee charged as well as the quoted per (network) transaction fee. So you will want to read the application very carefully and not just whatever Web site you are looking at.

In addition, there is an early termination fee with TMS that you will want to be aware of.

In terms of Cynergy Data, they are a merchant processor based in NY and has been in the business for a number of years. Based on my conversations with the owner a couple years back, most of their business is bricks & mortar retail accounts but I believe that they have a few agents who market a lot of Internet.

First Data is the proverbial "800 pound gorilla" in the processing industry. They own Cardservices International and many other companies. For the most part, if you sign up with First Data you would be signing up through one of their affiliated companies or ISO partners.

My suggestion when searching for a merchant account is to not just look at the rates but also get firsthand feedback from each processor and ask a lot of detailed questions on matters like how risk matters, chargeback processing, customer service, etc. are handled.

The good news for you is that there are a lot of great U.S. merchant account promotions out there in the market!

I am surprised you have not heard of First Data. They owned Western Union up until recently when it was decided (finally) to split that company off. They have agreements in place with some of the top producing processors in the United States: Chase, First Data Merchant Services, Paymentech, and Cardservices.

Most of these processors will be abe to offer you the merchant account that you need at an affordable rate.

As far as switching - consider other reasons why you are switching. If it is to save a few bucks every month, it might not be worth it. You have been with them a long time and you are used to the way they handle everything. Sometimes switching is a pain and hard to get used to a new company.

But good luck with it!

cdgcommerce knows his stuff :)

Corey Bryant, yeah that's why I'm having second thoughts. But it's just a merchant accout. So how different could it really be from TMS? AuthorizeNet will still be my payment gateway so that will be excatly the same and I'll still get my merchant account statements for visa, amex, discover and mastercard in the mail just like with TMS... so how different could it really be?

Switching will save me $80/month which means by the end of the year that's a thousand bucks in my pocket of savings and I could use that thousand dollars.

This agent says he'd definitely switch and it only takes a few days. Would you guys switch? I can't make up my mind... I can switch to either Cynergy or First Data and they both have cheaper transcations fees.

Through this gent Cynergy and First Data both have 2.29% plus 20 cents per transaction versus TMS which has 2.55% plus 40 cents per transaction.

I do about 400 transactions per month so that really adds up. I don't know should I switch and to which one would you pick? The agent says both (Cynergy and First Data) are exactly the same really.

But it's just a merchant accout. True but guess what it deals with - something that most all people care about - money.
This agent says he'd definitely switch and it only takes a few days. Well of course the agent would switch - he wants your business :)

Each processor is a little different. They do things a little differently - that is what makes each business unique. We have had clients switch just to save $30 a month. $80 is a good sum - it will buy you a Starbucks almost every day LOL

The differences would really be in the back end & what TMS offers and what the others do as well - like your control panel to manage your account.

Also keep in mind that you are probably paying a transcation charge to Authorizenet.com as well.

I would say this. I own a TMS office in Pensacola FL and write for them and other processors. First Data is a platform I write on from time to time. Both the Nashville and Omaha platforms.

The agent attempting to switch your account to Cynergy is violating his/her contract with TMS in doing so. He/She agreed to not steal accounts from TMS as do all agents. To me, that would be my first red flag about dealing with this individual.

Cynergy is an ISO of First Data as are many other companies. FDC has a watts fee you will pay as well as an AVS fee. TMS most likely is not charging you any AVS fees and they do not charge a WATTS fee either. With TMS you do not pay an Authorize.net transaction fee either. With Cynergy, they most likely will add another 10 cents to your Authorize.net transactions because Authorize.net charges a transaction fee. TMS absorbs that fee on your behalf.

So, if the money is the only issue here, then I think your savings will be a lot less, if any at all, than what you are thinking it will be.

That said, if TMS has not been the ideal account for you, then you may be happier going somewhere else. Each company processing has it's strong points and weak points and are better suited for some merchant types than others. That is why I write for several different processors. I attempt to match the best processor with the merchant's needs. TMS does have an aggressive risk dept. (I've butted heads with them more than once). But if it is simply the perceived savings that makes you think about switching, I can tell you that you will be very disappointed when you see your first Cynergy statement.

I actually signed up with Loud Commerce (http://www.loudcommerce.com) Juliet on here and they are resellers for Cardservice which is owned by First Data. That is why I chose Cardservice - as CDG pointed out in another post, First Data is the 800 pound gorilla.

Their rates are a bit cheaper on the discount rate (2.19%) and I chose the LinkPoint gateway so I would not have to pay any extra transaction costs or recurring billing costs. But I would definitely stay with Authorize.net before jumping ship on everything. However, they will also help you with setting up the gateway if needed.

I see, so First Data owns Cardservices International, I didn't even know that. But on second thought I think I'm just going to go ahead and stay with TMS. You guys talked me out of switching. I don't want to go through the hassle of switching right now e.t.c. I'm already all set up with TMS and I have a feeling like you said maybe the savings wouldn't be that great. Even though through this agent I can get good rates and it's definfitely cheaper. I think I would save at least $80/month...

But in your opinions, it looks like First Data might be the winner over Cynergy since it's the big gorilla? :)

I've heard good things about Card Service International...

cdgcommerce... do you provide services through First data or wait, I guess you don't from what I see. Just curious. I see you around here posting a lot and I see you know your stuff :)

EDIT: I just looked at my TMS statement and I see that they ARE charging me 2.55% plus 30 cents PLUS 10 cents per transcation. So TMS is charging me 10 extra cents for authorizenet I guess? Now I'm having second thoguhts again... I just think paying 2.55% PLUS 40 cents per transcation is too high when I can get 2.29% plus 20 cents instead...

Hi Frosty,

In answer to your question, CDGcommerce is not a First Data ISO. We are a registered ISO/MSP with Merrick Bank with our own front-end network contracts with multiple front-end authorization networks such as Paymentech, Vital and others. (This is a strategy implemented by some ISO/MSP's in order to ensure greater flexibility to accomodate numerous point of sales systems, some of which only can be used on certain networks... as opposed to exclusively supporting just one primary network such as FDR.)

Regarding your edited note about TMS... I'm thinking that the $0.10 extra fee you are talking about is the "Interchange pass through" line item that I used to see all of the time on TMS merchant agreements as opposed to an Authorize.Net gateway fee.

Any Authorize.Net fees would be charged separately by Authorize.net and you can log into your AuthNet gateway under the billing section to see an itemization of all fees & costs.

I really did not like the way this $0.10 fee was inserted on those TMS apps as I have a strong suspicion that most merchants were never informed about it and even the TMS training material didn't clearly articulate that if a merchant is quoted, say, a .25 per transaction fee, if you write the app as .25 per network and leave in the .10 - the merchant will effectively be charged .35 which is not what was represented.

I see, thanks for the explanation.

I think I'll just stick with my current merchant account afterall. It's not worth the hassle of switching. In the future when I require another merchant account for the new business which I'm just starting... then I will seek an alternative to TMS :)

Sounds like a plan to me. :)

One other item of note that wasn't mentioned in this thread that you may want to really talk to your current processor at some point about is exactly -what- criteria turn a transaction into a "non-qualified transaction."

This is a very important aspect of merchant pricing that is often misunderstood and often never explained on the sales side. However, it can have a HUGE impact on the total cost of the account.

One example of what I'm talking about is that some processors - including merchants that I've seen on the Global back-end which TMS uses - will often downgrade (i.e. charge a higher % rate) on any transaction that does not have a complete AVS match on BOTH street # and zip code.

The problem is that for many Internet merchants, this can result in a large number of transactions falling into a much higher cost bracket and one which is sometimes difficult to grasp unless you really dig into your merchant statements.

Not all merchant processors downgrade based on the AVS match result so this is another thing to ask about. It is equally important to ask about things like what other common card types will downgrade and which will not, etc.

Hopefully this info will be helpful for you in your future discussions with them or anyone else!

You might actually talk to them and see what they can do for you as well. A lot of times, they will reduce your rates if you have not had any (many) chargebacks actually.