START Merchant ServicesReviews of startmerchantservices.com

I'm changing this from 1 star to 4 because once we were able to contact the right people, Start Merchant Services fixed the problem and made it right. They gathered a team, were super responsive and got the thing done in 12 hours that our rep couldn't do in 5 months. It's a lesson in not judging a company by a single employee, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to update this review.

I applied for a merchant account through Start Merchant Services on June 10, 2025, for my business. I provided all documents, signed their agreement by June 12, and followed every single request — including supplier info, fulfillment proof, and even changing my website settings. Despite that, it’s been over 30 days, and the account is still not active. Every time I follow up, I get the same copy-paste excuses: “underwriters are busy,” “someone is away,” “we’re escalating.” They blame PayFacto and People’s Trust, but it’s clear Start Merchant has no control, no urgency, and no respect for your time. This delay has cost me money, customers, and momentum for a new business. I’ve been strung along by the reps all offering vague replies and nothing concrete. If you’re a small business trying to launch quickly or operate professionally, stay away from Start Merchant. They are disorganized, misleading, and totally unaccountable.

Do not use this company, they waste your time, leave you waiting for several weeks, and shamelessly inform you that your application was denied, without saying why, without giving you another option and you who need and want to use Authorize.net's service end up without options forever, so look for a more serious company that will do all the processes quickly and cleanly. I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. I waited for more than 2 weeks and now I have nothing else to do. Not even Authorize can solve this problem anymore. With that I lost more than 500k waiting for NOTHING.