Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Electronic Merchant Systems's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Electronic Merchant Systems

  250 W Huron Rd Ste 400 Cleveland, OH 44113-1451

  
• 

  Electronic Merchant Systems

  1 Belmont Ave Ste 410 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

• 

  Electronic Merchant Systems

  9277 Centre Pointe Dr Ste 105 West Chester, OH 45069

• 

  Electronic Merchant Systems

  9450 Bryn Mawr Ave Ste 260 Rosemont, IL 60018

• 

  Electronic Merchant Systems

  161 Worcester Rd Ste 304 Framingham, MA 01701

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Not even sure where to start. I was setup to process payments with EMS on Monday. I immediately processed 2 customer payments. These were customers of mine who signed credit card authorization forms, service agreements, approved invoices, etc. Basically, legit interactions, not random online purchases.
  
  I was told I would receive payouts in 24-48 hours, which was cool by me! They told me they would keep a 10% reserve on my account until it reached $45,000. Once again, cool with me.
  
  The first 2 payments were flagged and they asked for more information about them. Too be expected as I was a new merchant. I immediately provided everything.
  
  The lady who was handling my account in the risk department, Bryana H, then told me she would be calling my customers to verify the transactions. This was upsetting, because if a merchant company called you to verify something, your first thoughts would be, "This is weird, maybe I just paid a shady company".
  
  I gave her both of the customers contact information. She never contacted them. She said she did multiple times, she didn't. They both confirmed they didn't receive anything from her.
  
  I then asked her to call my customers directly, which she reluctantly agreed to. She called one of the client's and verified everything. She then asked him to call his bank and do a 3 way call with her on the line. This of course sketched him out. He just paid us for our services and now the company wants a 3 way call with his bank? He also relayed to me that she provided very limited information and was extremely rude and just generally unhelpful.
  
  Since he felt uncomfortable with that she said the funds would be held until the "chargeback window" was up which to my knowledge is 180 days. Not the 24-48 hours I was originally told.
  
  The other client has told me multiple times they haven't heard from her. She has been awful every step of the way, refusing to put me in touch with a manager. I have zero disputes.
  
  Stay far, far away...

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/23/2024

  Dear *** ******** 

  This letter is to confirm your Electronic Merchant Systems processing account has been closed without penalty or early termination fee. No monies are currently held or due. I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. At this time, EMS will consider this matter resolved. 

  Sincerely, 
  
  Jon C. B******* Director of Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/04/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** *******
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/08/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have used EMS to process our debit card transactions since 2017, we have been in good standing the entire time.
  EMS drastically increased the fee they charge us for using our account. I called EMS for an explaination and to cancel our acocunt. EMS notified me they require a $595 termination fee because we missed the ONE DAY PER EVERY TWO YEARS that we can terminate the account. He advised (while laughing) we would owe the next 23 months of service fees, we then have to call on the ONE DAY we can cancel the acount 23 months from now, then pay a $595 fee.
  We have not used EMS in months and will not pay the monthly fees for an account we do not use. A person from EMS called demanding payment and made a threat they will escelate things if we don't pay. He is intentionally agressive and attempts to be intimidating. All we want is to terminate our contract with no additional fees.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2024

  Dear *** *******, 

  Thank you for taking the time to speak with ***** ***** in our Retention department. This letter is to confirm your Electronic Merchant Systems processing account has been closed without penalty or early termination fee. No monies are currently due. I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. At this time, EMS will consider this matter resolved. 

   

  Sincerely, 
  
  *** ** ********

  Director of Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/21/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** *******
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I own a business and signed up for a merchant account through Electronic Merchant Systems on December 1, 2023 and used it for 2 months. Their emscorporate.com seems to be a sales only site generating leads for agents and POS resellers and provides no post-contract support. After signing the contract, I received no emails or support. When I reached out to the sales agent, he directed me to a toll free number. I called and was only able to leave a message and await a response. I never received a login or email regarding PCI compliance. Never received any after care or monthly bills from EMS. I spoke to a retention specialist whose only job seems to be to explain the cancellation fee and argue about the contract. This company is really just a sales machine and provides no transparency or information. They claim to have mailed information by USPS but I have no record of receipt of the documents. Because their site is a sales site only, I was not able to obtain any information regarding my account or ensure PCI compliance. Their answer when you inquire is essentially "it's your responsibility". Overall, this company does not provide a service and is rather interested only in collecting money and making more sales. They are not a merchant service provider as they have no platform available to access, unless you're interested in selling for them.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2024

  Dear *** ***********, 

  Thank you for taking the time to work with Stacy S**** in our Retention department. This letter is to confirm your Electronic Merchant Systems processing account has been closed without penalty or early termination fee. I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. At this time, EMS will consider this matter resolved. 

   

  Sincerely, 
  
  

  Director of Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/14/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. The business reached out to me and were very understanding and appreciative of the feedback. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ********* ***********
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/20/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We signed up with EMS Corporate, few days ago, through Start Merchant Services, the paper out was filled with Zen Payment somehow EMS came into picture.
  
  We were not given any kind of logins, whatsoever, and inspite asking them several time, the thing which they should have delivered proactively, they are kind of not corporating, and putting blame here and their,and logging account is absolutely necessary.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/05/2024

  Dear *** *****, 

  Thank you for your patience as you work with our Risk department. The Risk team is continuing to go through the transaction verification process, along with the refunds that were processed, and the two chargebacks received. 

  
  Sincerely, 

  *** ** ********

  Director of Client Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/13/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This EMS company is not good at all for the small business they kicked me out from the market. We lost our customers, employees, business extensions plan etc EVERYTHING. First they told us the rolling reserves are 10% of the total sale you do, We agreed on it, later they holds our money saying chargeback is more than 2% which we understand and tried to sending them all the documentation whatever the chargebacks are coming and here is the twist ( WE ARE WINNING THOSE) still they are counting agains us. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE BUSINESS WITH NO CHARGEBACK. I HAVE NOT SEEN YET. LATER, risk management team says we are releasing you fund on this date, WE NEVER GOT. when i emailed them they said you might never receive it. WHAT IS WRONG, what you mean we wont receive it. Its our money our customer paid for the service we have legal documentation whosoever paid us we are winning those chatgesbacks which are coming WHY WE ARE NOT GETTING OUT MONEY?? NOT EVEN 50%, I am very okay about the company policy, but at least dont kill us as business release 50% so we can make sure chargeback is less then 2% because our whole operation stopped working and we are not able to pay single bill so we have to close the business, I WILL NEVER EVER recommend this EMS TO ANYONE they are not real. i dont understand how bad 35000 merchants are crying with them. Totally waste by trusting them a good company. PLEASE DONT LOSE YOUR MONEY WHOSOEVER READING THIS. THIS COMPANY WILL TAKE YOUR BLOOD AND SWEAT AND GIVE YOU PROFESSIONAL REPLY SAYING SORRY!! $15000 gone like nothing happened. a small business pain is not small.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2024

  RECEIVED VIA EMAIL BY BBB STAFF MEMBER:

  Good morning ******,
  
   I cannot locate this merchant.  Could you request some additional information?  Maybe his merchant account number?
  
   
  Thanks,
  
  **

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/13/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  When i was accepted for a merchant account through this company and went through the onboarding process i was told that i was given a 10,000 dollar monthly cap and 10% reserve. Now my first actual sale went through of $1000 and low and behold they have taken their fee of 60 some dollars which is absurd but have put the whole remaining amount in reserve. I never once was told about a "new account hold" or any of this. This company is literally abusing their power and taking advantage of smaller businesses because they know they can and get away with it. Funny how this new account hold and having to verify transactions only relates to me getting paid they take their money out of the transaction even though its not "verified".

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/20/2024

  Dear *** ******

  Thank you for your patience as you work with our Risk department. The Risk team is continuing to go through the transaction verification process. Please be aware Electronic Merchant Systems needs to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti Money Laundering requirements, as these are both bank and regulatory requirements. 

  I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you choose to transition away from EMS, I will ensure your merchant account is closed without penalty or termination fee. 

   

  Sincerely,

  *** ** ********

  Director of Client Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  To whome this may concern:
  
  I have had an EMS merchant account since the beginning of 2024 and have had non stop issues with this merchant since the very first day of having it... After the 1st day of processing transactions every transaction was held for several weeks not allowing me to do business.. i had to get my clients to send an abundance of information and do several inspections just to get the money that was owed to me... Furthermore , when the merchant was acquired i was told that my account would have a 10% reserve to be held back on each transaction... which i reluctantly agreed to.. fast forward to the month of april , it was decided that with the reserves taking far too much money from the business to sustain we reached out to EMS to have the 10% taken off the merchant to allow normal funding for the business at worse case at least lower the amount by a few percent to help the business... EMS declined on doing either to help the business. after that We closed our merchant account in april of 2024. We asked about the nearly 5,000 dollars being held in the reserves and was assured by multiple parties on verbal recorded calls and also email trails that ALL reserves would be released 120 days after the last transaction ... Which was eventually told to me to be August 6th through the 8th.
  Im here to tell you that yesterday only 2,000.00 was released from my reserves not even half the amount of whats being held was released...There is no logical explanation on why its being held as there are no pending chargebacks and the account has been closed and last transaction was over 4 months ago... I have called and emailed EMS's risk department with no response back on not only why 2,000 was sent , but how long they intend on holding the money owed to me without cause .

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2024

  Dear Mr. *******,

  This letter is to confirm all monies held in reserve have been released.

  I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  At this time, EMS will consider this matter resolved.

  
  Sincerely,

  Jon C. ********

  Director of Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/13/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* *******
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/17/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  EMS merchant is withholding our funds that were invoiced and charged via credit card.
  Release our reserve funds of $1,019.10.
  Waive the unethical account closure fee of $595.00.
  Release our funds of $5,071.61 (transaction date: 03/26/2024).
  Release our funds of $1,263.52 (transaction date: 03/25/2024)
  Excessive monthly fees.
  Close account

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/25/2024

  Dear *** *****

  This letter is to confirm your Electronic Merchant Systems processing account has been closed without penalty or early termination fee. All monies held in reserve have been released. 
  

  I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  At this time, EMS will consider this matter resolved. 
  

   

  Sincerely, 
  Jon C. B******* Director of Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/25/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** ****
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/11/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They charged me a cancellation fee of $595 but nobody told me that this was a two year contract when I signed up with them! The monthly fee is very high and no align with the monthly statements they provided. Customer service cannot explain anything about the monthly charges. All they do is to prevent you from cancelling their services.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2024

  RECEIVED VIA PHONE BY BBB STAFF MEMBER:

  The consumer has notified the BB that the matter has been resolved. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sure, here is the email complaint adapted for the Better Business Bureau (BBB):
  Electronic Merchant Systems regarding the unjust withholding of $7,250 in funds from my business.
  
  After completing a home inspection to verify my business, Electronic Merchant Systems proceeded to call my customer and his credit card company to verify the transaction details. Despite these verifications, they have now stated that I need to process another charge for them to release the funds. In an effort to resolve the situation, I processed a refund as they suggested, yet they continue to withhold the funds.
  
  This withholding of funds has severely impacted my small business, nearly crippling our operations and pushing us to the brink of closure. We rely on these funds for our cash flow and to meet our financial obligations. The actions of Electronic Merchant Solutions have placed an undue burden on us and are severely detrimental to our business.
  
  I am seeking the assistance of the Better Business Bureau to resolve this matter promptly. I request that Electronic Merchant Systems be compelled to release the $7,250 immediately. Their continued withholding of these funds is not only unethical but also detrimental to our ability to operate.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2024

   Dear *** ********* 

  This letter is to confirm your Electronic Merchant Systems processing account has been closed without penalty or early termination fee. Currently, no monies are being held and no monies due. 
  I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  At this time, EMS will consider this matter resolved. 

  
  Sincerely,

   *** ** ********

  Director of Client Services