U.S. Bank Merchant Services Review 2023: Pricing & Features
This article is part of a larger series on Payments.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services provides payment solutions for small businesses in-store, online, or on mobile. It offers a basic plan without monthly fees, same-day funding to U.S. Bank checking accounts, and zero cancellation fees, making it a suitable option for small businesses looking for basic payment processing with a recognizable bank.
U.S. Bank relies on two of its smaller companies for key aspects of its merchant services. Its payment processing is handled by Elavon, a credit card processor, and it uses talech, a cloud-based software company, for its point-of-sale (POS) system.
In our review of merchant service providers, U.S. Bank Merchant Services earned an overall score of 3.77 out of 5. Its basic mobile payment processing allows small businesses to accept payments through its mobile POS without any monthly fees, but scaling up your business could result in higher monthly fees. Moreover, businesses looking for more flexibility via integrations and customizations might find its features lacking.
Overall Score:
3.77 / 5
Pros
- No monthly fee for basic plan
- Same-day funding
- No cancellation fee
Cons
- Charges a setup fee for higher plans
- Limited user reviews
- No ecommerce integrations
Supported Business Types | Flexible Retail, restaurants, professional services, mobile businesses |
Standout Features |
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Monthly Fees | $0–$99 |
Setup and Installation Fees | $0–$99 |
Contract Length | Month-to-month |
Point-of-Sale Options | talech |
Payment Processing Fees |
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Customer Support |
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Best for | Basic mobile POS without monthly fees | Traditional merchant account | New and small businesses needing a free POS solution | Growing businesses wanting interchange-plus pricing with no monthly fee |
Monthly fee | Starts at $0 | $0 | Starts at $0 | $0 |
Card-present transaction fee | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.6% + 10 cents | Interchange plus 0.1%–0.3% + 5–8 cents |
Keyed transaction fee | 3.5% + 15 cents | 3.5% + 15 cents | 3.5% + 15 cents | Interchange plus 0.2%–0.5% + 10–25 cents |
Ecommerce transaction fee | 2.9% + 30 cents | 2.9% + 25 cents | 2.9% + 30 cents | Interchange plus 0.2%–0.5% + 10–25 cents |
Visit U.S. Bank Merchant Services
When to Use U.S. Bank Merchant Services
- Those with a U.S. Bank account: Same-day funding is available for those with a U.S. Bank checking account.
- Basic payment processing with a traditional merchant account: U.S. Bank Merchant Services is a good option for those who need a traditional merchant account with just basic payment processing.
- Free simple mobile POS: U.S. Bank Merchant Services’ starting plan is completely free and includes a basic mobile POS system.
When to Use an Alternative
- For a full ecommerce website: U.S. Bank Merchant Services only includes a basic online ordering website and does not have any ecommerce integrations. If you want a fully customized website, look for a provider that has a robust website builder or one that offers multiple ecommerce integrations. Check out our recommended ecommerce platforms for other options.
- If you need multiple devices: All plans offered by U.S. Bank Merchant Services only include one device. There is an extra $29 each month for every additional device. Look for alternatives among our list of top retail payment processors or the best retail POS systems.
- If you need multiple integrations and higher-level customizations: U.S. Bank Merchant Services only includes limited accounting and business management integrations and limited customizations. If you’re after a merchant account provider with maximum flexibility, consider Stripe. Read our Stripe review.
- For high-risk merchants: Businesses in the high-risk categories are not supported by U.S. Bank Merchant Services. Find alternatives in our list of the best high-risk merchant account providers.
Most traditional merchant account providers offer merchant services that are better suited for large businesses. Despite being one of the largest banks, U.S. Bank Merchant Services’ offerings have room to accommodate smaller businesses, especially those who already have accounts with U.S. Bank.
Although merchants will be signing up through U.S. Bank, the backend of its merchant services will be handled by Elavon and talech. It may not have made our list of the best merchant service providers, but it is still a suitable option for small businesses that only need a basic mobile POS solution.
While looking at U.S. Bank Merchant Services’ fees, another traditional merchant account provider comes to mind—Chase Payment Solutions. Like Chase, U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers zero monthly fees (for its base plan) and similar processing rates. While we like that it requires no contract and has zero cancellation fees, merchants will incur higher fees if they need more than a mobile POS and additional hardware—factors that pulled down its score. This is in contrast to Chase where all payment methods available are included without additional fees.
The basic monthly plan offered by U.S. Bank Merchant Services has zero monthly fees and allows merchants to accept payments on their mobile device. It offers three other higher plans with varying features that are suited for retail or restaurant businesses. The processing fees are competitive and depend on the type of transaction.
Plan | Mobile | Starter | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly fee | $0 | $29 | $69 | $99 |
Setup fee | $0 | $99 (optional) | $99 | $99 |
POS product limit | 100 products | 500 products | Unlimited products | Unlimited products |
Transaction Fees:
- In-person transactions: 2.6% + 10 cents
- Keyed-in transactions: 3.5% + 15 cents
- Online transactions: 2.9% + 30 cents
U.S. Bank Merchant’s card transaction fees are very competitive for small businesses, and are, in fact, exactly the same as the transaction fees of one of our most recommended processors, Square.
Additional Fees:
- Online ordering: $49 per month (free for Premium plans)
- Additional device: $29 per month
Some features such as same-day funding and ACH processing are only available to U.S. Bank checking account holders. Its basic checking account requires a minimum deposit of $100 and zero monthly maintenance fee. This is a huge advantage over Chase Payment Solution, where a $2,000 minimum balance is required.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers a range of card readers through its talech POS solutions. The options range from a basic mobile card reader to a full POS set-up.
The hardware options are priced with a monthly rental fee. Should merchants want to cancel the services, only a written notice is needed and the equipment needs to be returned within 10 days of the termination date. Merchants are required to insure the hardware or pay an additional monthly fee of $4.95 to cover insurance. There is an option to purchase the devices instead–contact U.S. Bank Merchant Services for details.
Ingenico Moby/5500 card reader
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Newland N910 terminal card reader
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Station Bundle
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Station Bundle with Customer Display
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Add-on Equipment
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Signing up with U.S. Bank Merchant Services is easy. The website has a self-service boarding procedure that guides you through the steps and provides adequate information to help you decide on the right plan.
After submitting your application, it will be assessed by U.S. Bank. If your application is approved, you will need to set up your mobile app to start accepting payments. For the Starter plan, there is optional set-up assistance, which incurs a one-time set-up fee of $99. For the Standard and Premium plans, this assisted onboarding assistance is required but still comes with the one-time set-up fee.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services does not require any long-term contracts. All plans are on a month-to-month basis, and there are no cancellation fees. Since U.S. Bank Merchant Services utilizes the services of Elavon and talech, there are several agreements that merchants need to agree with upon sign-up:
- talech Terms of Service
- talech Privacy Policy
- Elavon Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
- U.S. Bank Privacy Policy
- Elavon Operating Guidelines
The Elavon Terms of Service, being the provider of payment processing services, contains most of the terms and conditions related to the merchant services.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers all the payment types we considered in our evaluation. However, it did not receive full points for some payment types because of limited functionality or the need to upgrade to a higher plan, which will incur higher monthly fees as well.
The easiest and most convenient payment method that U.S. Bank Merchant Services provides is mobile payment processing. The basic plan only offers the capability of processing payments through the talech mobile app. Users may either accept payments using their mobile phones or by connecting to the Bluetooth card reader. The mobile app can accept credit or debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
The mobile app can process card payments by manually entering the card details into the app or by connecting a mobile card reader. (Source: U.S. Bank Merchant Services)
U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers an online ordering system that allows customers to create their own simple ordering website. This comes with an additional fee for the three lower plans and is included for free in the highest plan.
The online ordering system is suitable for full-service restaurants and multi-location businesses. However, the simple ordering website may be insufficient for businesses that require different customizations. Unfortunately, other ecommerce integrations are not available with any of the plans.
Merchants can create invoices easily and send them to the customers for payment. The invoices can be sent via email and notifications may be sent whenever the invoice is updated.
Reminders may be set to be sent out automatically, and it is easy to sort and manage invoices on the app.
The POS app also has an invoicing feature that allows you to create, send, track, and manage invoices. (Source: talech)
Although U.S. Bank Merchant Services does not mention ACH processing in its merchant services pages, U.S. Bank offers a different service for receiving and sending ACH payments.
The Zelle app is free to use for those with U.S. Bank accounts. It is easy to use, and unlike other ACH payment processors, you can receive the funds in just minutes. However, this payment method is only available for customers who also use the Zelle app.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services is geared toward providing a POS solution for businesses. After the basic plan, which only allows merchants to accept payments via a mobile card reader, the three other plans include hardware options to help merchants build a full POS system that can receive in-person payments, print receipts, manage inventories and customers, and generate reports.
The POS system, whether on mobile, a terminal reader, or the countertop display, can function as a virtual terminal where merchants can manually enter a customer’s card details to process a transaction.
Only very few merchant services providers are able to offer the capability of processing check payments. U.S. Bank Merchant Services has Remote Deposit Capture (RDC), where businesses can take photos of the check remotely and then send those images to the bank. The funds can appear in your U.S. Bank account on the same day.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services earned good scores for its same-day funding and 24/7 customer support, though it lost a few points for its limited integrations. Being a large bank, U.S. Bank is also able to offer many other banking and business services. However, some of these services may come with additional fees.
Although U.S. Bank Merchant Services is not compatible with other ecommerce platforms, it does have other business integrations. The talech POS software can be integrated with accounting apps Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks.
It can also be integrated with labor management solution Homebase and kitchen display systems such as Epson and Fresh KDS.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers fraud protection services to help minimize the risk of fraud. The fraud protection services include PCI compliance, fraud and chargeback management, check risk management, and ACH filter and block. However, the fraud protection services will incur additional fees. Contact U.S. Bank Merchant Services for specific pricing of this feature.
One good feature to look for in POS systems is offline processing, which allows you to process orders and payments even when the system is offline. This makes the talech POS app a good option for those who need to process payments on the go and in locations where there might be unpredictable mobile connectivity.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services is one provider that offers surcharging. Merchants located in states that allow surcharging can easily do it with U.S. Bank Merchant Services’ payment processing. Surcharging is the practice of passing on the costs of accepting credit card payments to customers. Learn more about credit card surcharging
U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers same-day funding through its Everyday Funding service. This allows merchants to have access to their funds within hours instead of days. It is free for merchants who also have a U.S. Bank checking account.
We recommend opening a U.S. Bank checking account if you sign up with U.S. Bank Merchant Services. The basic checking account does not require any monthly maintenance fee, and you can open one with a $100 deposit.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers 24/7 customer support via email or phone. It has various customer service numbers on the website that make it easy to connect with the right department. The website also has an extensive knowledge base and options to make an appointment or find a branch.
We were pleasantly surprised with what U.S. Bank Merchant Services has to offer. While most traditional merchant accounts impose lengthy contracts and high monthly fees, U.S. Bank Merchant Services offers options for small businesses to start accepting payments with zero initial costs. However, if you want to go beyond its basic plan, you’ll have to pay monthly fees, along with set-up and device fees. This caused us to dock some minor points for pricing and affordability.
With its self-service onboarding and simple set-up, we gave U.S. Bank Merchant Services an above average score as well for ease of use. However, although U.S. Bank is a reputable and long-standing bank, we struggled to find good user reviews online, and the few reviews we found do not reflect well on U.S. Bank. The lack of other integrations also caused a few more points to be docked.
What Users Say in U.S. Bank Merchant Services Reviews
There are not a lot of reviews online specifically for U.S. Bank Merchant Services. U.S. Bank itself is rated A- on Better Business Bureau, but it only earned a very low 1.1 out of 5 among 666 customer reviews. Most of the BBB reviews centered around its banking services, so they do not accurately reflect the merchant services provided by U.S. Bank.
We also looked at user reviews of its POS solution provider, talech, and payments processor, Elavon. A lot of negative talech reviews centered around technical issues with the POS system and not receiving adequate help to solve it. On the other hand, Elavon, also did not fare well among user reviews, with complaints that are focused on extra fees being charged and not being able to access their account.
- U.S. Bank on Trustpilot. 1.2 out of 5 stars from almost 700 reviews
- Talech on Trustpilot. 2.6 out of 5 stars from almost 100 reviews
- Elavon on Trustpilot. 1.3 out of 5 stars from 170+ reviews
Methodology—How We Evaluated U.S. Bank Merchant Services
We test each merchant account service provider ourselves to ensure an extensive review of the products. We also took a closer look into pricing methods and identified providers that offer zero monthly fees, pay-as-you-go terms, and low transaction rates. Finally, we evaluated the range of payment processing features, scalability, and ease of use to compare the overall cost-effectiveness of each product.
The result is our list of the best overall merchant services. However, we adjust the criteria when looking at specific use cases, such as for different business types and merchant categories. This is why every merchant services provider has multiple scores across our site, depending on the use case you are looking for.
Click through the tabs below for our overall merchant services evaluation criteria:
25%
Pricing
30%
Payment Types
25%
Account Features
20%
Expert Score
25% of Overall Score
We awarded points to merchant account providers that don’t require contracts and offer month-to-month or pay-as-you-go billing. Additionally, we prioritized providers that don’t charge hefty monthly fees, cancellation fees, or chargeback fees and only included providers that offer competitive and predictable flat-rate or interchange-plus pricing. We also awarded points to processors that offer volume discounts, and extra points if those discounts are transparent or automated.
30% of Overall Score
The best merchant accounts can accept various payment types—including POS and card-present transactions, mobile payments, contactless payments, ecommerce transactions, and ACH and echeck payments—and offer free virtual terminal and invoicing solutions for phone orders, recurring billing, and card-on-file payments.
25% of Overall Score
20% of Overall Score
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
U.S. Bank is a large, well-known bank that offers merchant services, relying on talech for its POS solutions and Evalon for payment processing. Its merchant services include a very basic plan that requires zero monthly fees with no contract and a free mobile card reader, making it a suitable option for very small businesses and startups.
