National Merchants Association, or NMA, has close to two decades of experience in merchant services. Among these are credit card processing for online and in-store payments. The company caters to business types and offers solutions suitable for your needs.
The company highlights merchant advocacy as its mission. Its goal is to cut down on processing fees and find other ways to improve your profitability. It offers memberships that come with value-adding benefits. These include unlimited support, business loans, educational resources, a network of like-minded business owners, and more.
Learn about National Merchants Association and its services, rates, and customer reviews.
As a merchant account provider, National Merchants Association makes the application process as easy as possible. Once your account is approved, the company guarantees an easy and free setup.
Although it caters to all types of businesses, it claims to be a leader in high-risk credit card processing. After reviewing your business, NMA will propose a suitable system for your business, whether online, retail, or mobile. It will also work to cut your processing costs and help you realize savings.
Here is a quick overview of merchant services offered by the National Merchants Association.
“A Merchant Account that Works For You®” is NMA’s motto. The company aims to eliminate unnecessary processing fees when accepting credit card payments. Its expert account optimizers will propose the best solutions and rates for you. They also work to maintain your account and propose more profitable solutions.
With a merchant account from NMA, you become a member of its organization. Apart from payment processing services, you will have access to cost-saving programs, educational resources, advocacy programs, and more.
NMA’s merchant accounts are available for all business types, including high-risk and e-commerce merchants. Smaller merchants with lower processing volumes can benefit as well.
National Merchants Association provides payment processing solutions for online and in-store transactions. Merchants can accept various payment types like credit cards, debit cards, checks, and e-wallets. NMA also enables contactless and mobile payments via EMV chip cards, pin cards, Apple Pay, and more.
For retail merchants with in-store payments, NMA provides POS terminals and software.
Merchants will also have access to a web-based virtual terminal. It integrates with encrypted card readers and checks scanning devices.
For merchants who process payments via mobile phone, you can integrate with NMA’s iProcess™ application. It allows you to process keyed and swipes transactions via the NMI gateway. Other features include digital signatures, physical or email receipts, refunds, and more. iProcess™ is compatible with Apple and Android devices.
NMA also provides merchants with an option to integrate with NMI’s Mobile API. The benefit is an end-to-end encryption library to protect cardholder data.
For e-commerce merchants with online payments, you will have access to different payment gateway options. National Merchants Association will integrate them into your website in a few hours.
Another option is to avail of the Gateway Emulator™, a tool developed by popular payment gateway NMI.
It is an easy solution for merchants to switch from their current gateway provider without reprogramming their system. NMA provides exclusive solutions for transactions that go through the NMI gateway.
With these online systems, merchants can take advantage of features for a more enhanced payment experience. These include batch processing, electronic invoicing, recurring billing, and more.
National Merchants Association provides integrations with numerous shopping carts. These include WordPress, WooCommerce, Zen Cart, OpenCart, Prestashop, 3DCart, Magneto, Wix, and many more.
Merchants can also integrate with QuickBooks. It has a built-in system for payment processing, accounting, payroll, and more.
For merchants using the NMI payment gateway, you can avail of the free QuickClick shopping cart. It is a good option for merchants without an e-commerce store.
National Merchants Association uses several tools and technology to prevent fraud and chargeback. These include systems like iSpyFraud, Verified by Visa, MasterCard SecureCode, Three-Step Redirect API, and more.
Merchants will also have access to a customer vault. It securely stores cardholder data for future transactions.
National Merchants Association does not provide its rates and fees online. Interested merchants need to consult the company directly for a quote. The company provides customized pricing based on your industry, business type, processing volume, and other factors.
That said, several online sources and customer reviews mention the following charges:
While these fees have not been officially confirmed, it is best to keep these in mind when consulting the company. Make sure to clarify these possibilities to prevent any hidden charges.
National Merchants Association serves high-risk industries. According to the company, high-risk merchants are judged by their ‘credit, product, method, ticket size, or volume.’ If you identify with any of these factors, you are invited to consult with the company.
NMA also lists specific payment processing services for the following high-risk industries:
Advanced Transaction Routing Interface is an intuitive system developed by NMA. It enables merchants to manage multiple merchant accounts through one gateway. ATRI evaluates each transaction and routes it to the processor with the best processing rate.
With NMA, merchants can take advantage of its proprietary CertifyPCI™ tool. It allows merchants to receive a PCI validation certificate to comply with the industry’s security standards.
Merchants will have access to comprehensive reports and analytics. You can view your transaction history, customer database, sales trends, and more.
National Merchants Association considers itself the only organization in the US to provide both merchant services and merchant advocacy. As such, a merchant account with NMA entitles you to automatic membership with the company. Benefits include education resources, cost-saving initiations, personalized support, advocacy programs, and more. Merchants will also be part of a professional network of businesses to further help their success.
National Merchants Association has close to 30 years of experience in the payments industry. It was established in 2004 by Heather Alterpeter.
Although it is not a BBB-accredited company, the company has received recognition from the business sector. In 2017, NMA was part of the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the US. It also appears in features from several PR publications.
Despite these credentials, the company has received criticism from independent review sites. Cardpaymentoptions.com gave it a 2.5-star rating. It highlights contract terms, hidden fees, customer complaints, and company responses as possible problematic areas. Several merchants responded to the review with their own experiences. They testify to the company’s high fees, unexpected charges, and bad customer service.
Likewise, NMA has mixed ratings among Yelp reviews. It has a 2-star rating based on 12 reviews. Merchants complained about similar issues like unexpected fees, unreliable agents, and misleading promises. On the contrary, there are a few 5-star testimonials that praise the company’s professionalism and honesty. One merchant took back his 1-star review as he experienced an improvement in the company’s customer support and services.
As of 2022, National Merchants Association is involved in two lawsuits. One was filed by a merchant against the company. The other was filed by NMA against the Commercial Bank of California. Grounds include deceptive business practices and misuse of merchant reserve funds. Both cases are ongoing.
National Merchants Association offers a unique approach to merchant services. The company operates as both a merchant account provider and an organization for merchant advocacy.
Membership with NMA entitles you to exclusive benefits like low processing fees, educational resources, business networking, and more. Merchants will also benefit from robust solutions for online, mobile, and in-store payments. Among them are proprietary tools and technology, which provide advanced processing capabilities for merchants.
While NMA’s services are impressive, its fees seem to be a problem. Most customer reviews show negative experiences with hidden fees and bad contract terms. That said, interested merchants should stay cautious. When consulting with the company, make sure to discuss pricing terms in detail.
