7359 N. Via Paseo Del Sur #515-169, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
If you're considering PCIHIPAA for merchant account services, it's probably because you're a dentist or doctor who is an existing PCIHIPAA client, or who wants a HIPAA compliant credit card processing solution. In either case, there are cheaper options than PCIHIPAA, who actually focus their business on medical or dental merchant account services. We'd recommend using one of those companies instead.
Moreover, since PCIHIPAA is a reseller of Elavon's merchant services, we suggest going with Elavon directly if you like the service they offer. This helps to avoid problems like poor customer service (which we've heard their customers have experienced), and because you'll most likely be dealing with reps who don't know what they're selling - which makes sense because they're not really in the business of merchant account services.
PCIHIPAA primarily specializes in making sure medical and dental doctors are compliant with PCI and HIPAA regulations, as well as offer security backup and consulting services. The company was founded by three professionals who have at least 15 years in financial consulting, accounting, and compliance experience. They hire PCI and HIPAA consultant and policy experts who help physicians and dentists protect their practice.
What you didn't hear in any of that summary was a mention of credit card processing services. That's because merchant account services aren't PCIHIPAA's focus. It's not even a major sideline business - it's just a small added service they offer, almost exclusively to existing client doctors or dentists.
I quickly learned that it's not their main focus by looking at their website. If I didn't stumble upon their blog link at the very bottom of the page, I would have no idea that they were even in the credit card processing business at all. In the blog, there's a great explanation of PCI and HIPAA compliance, fees you should/shouldn't have to pay, and how much those fees should be. There is still nothing about the company's merchant services, but a phone number to call, which is in tiny print at the bottom of the blog. This automatically seems weird to me. I would hate to waste time by choosing a company for my business' credit card processing which specializes in something completely different.
Like many merchant account service companies with a small client base, PCIHIPAA does not offer its own services, but rather they are merely a reseller of Elavon's services.
Because they are simply reselling Elavon's service, take a look at our Elavon article for a much more detailed review.
Below is a detailed review of PCI HIPAA Merchant Services offering. The review is broken down into the following categories.
Depending upon the type of business you own, some of the following features may or may not be important to you. To learn more about any given feature, just click on it.
In this instance, we borrowed the features that Elavon offers, because what they offer essentially would be what PCIHIPAA can offer to you, too:
| Software Compatibility: | |
|---|---|
| Intuit Quickbooks | Yes |
| Sage 50 | No |
| Microsoft Dynamics GP | No |
| Hardware Compatibility: | |
|---|---|
| Windows / Blackberry | No |
| iPhone / iPad | Yes |
| Android | Yes |
| Alternative Transaction Types: | |
| Phone Orders | Yes |
| Internet Orders | Yes |
| Wireless Orders | Yes |
| Mobile Orders | Yes |
| Snail Mail Orders | Yes |
| American Express (AMEX) | Yes |
| Add Tips to Bills | Yes |
| eCommerce / Shopping Cart | Yes |
| International Sales | Yes |
| Recurring Payments | Yes |
| EMV Chip Cards | Yes |
| Contactless Cards | Yes |
| Loyalty / Gift Cards | Yes |
| eChecks / Electronic Checks | Yes |
| Welfare Benefits (EBT/SNAP/TANF) | Yes |
| Security / Fraud Prevention: | |
| AVS Fraud Protection | Yes |
| PCI DSS Secure Transactions | Yes |
| Industry Specific: | |
| HIPAA Compliance (Healthcare) | Yes |
| Trust Account Debiting (Legal) | No |
| Fleet Cards (Petroleum) | Yes |
| Online Menu Orders (Restaurants) | Yes |
| Countries Served: | |
| U.S. | Yes |
| Other Countries | No |
| International | No |
Almost every merchant account services company uses either Interchange Plus or Tiered Pricing (to learn the differences read here). Where companies allow us to disclose pricing information, we show the deals that our secret shoppers were able to achieve. When companies offer both Interchange Plus and Tiered Pricing, we try to get a quote on both options.
Since PCIHIPAA is a reseller of Elavon, I've listed Elavon's prices below.
PCIHIPAA / Elavon uses primarily tiered pricing, which is quoted as a percentage and a flat transaction fee. These are their retail prices which are listed online:
Terminal:
Mobile:
According to their website, there is no cancellation fee.
Once again, for a more detailed review of PCIHIPAA, please read our Elavon review, as this company is simply reselling Elavon's services.
| Fine Print Fees: | |
|---|---|
| Termination Fee | None |
| Setup / Application Fee | $25.00 |
| PCI Compliance Fee | None |
| PCI Inaction Fee | None |
| Gateway Fee | $10.00 |
| 1099-K Fee | None |
| Statement Fee | $4.95 |
| Online Reporting Fee | None |
| Monthly Minimum Volume Fee | $20.00 |
| Accept International Pymt Fee | Yes, variable |
| Voice Authorization Fee | $.65 minimum per transaction |
| Monthly Min. Process Fee | $25 maximum |
| Daily Batch Fee | None |
| ACH / Direct Deposit Fee | Yes |
| ACH Charge Fee | Yes |
| ACH Return Fee | Yes |
| FANF Fee | Standard |
| Chargeback Fees | Standard |
| Freebies: | |
|---|---|
| Online Reporting through MerchantConnect | |
| Free Support 24/7 via Phone & Email | |
While your transactions usually take place electronically, the actual device that you use to swipe a customer's card is referred to as "the equipment." This equipment includes hardware and, often, software or apps for that hardware to function properly.
PCIHIPAA doesn't cover equipment on their website. We invite you to visit our Elavon review to learn more about the hardware and software you might use if you choose to use PCIHIPAA for your merchant services.
Elavon is a U.S. based merchant account services company that serves U.S. businesses that conduct business in the U.S. and abroad. They target specific industries such as airlines, restaurants, hospitality, retail, healthcare, and education. PCIHIPAA is one of the resellers of this service to the health industry, and they most likely serve the same markets.
I generally don't like long-term contracts or termination fees in merchant services agreements, because the ability to cancel keeps the credit card processor on its best behavior, including the willingness to make you happy if there's a dispute. Plus, this ability to cancel gives you the ability to move on if you find a better deal.
Elavon offers contracts with no early termination fees, so you can be on a more month-to-month basis. You will just have to take the required steps to cancel your account when you want, or else you'll continue to get billed. PCIHIPAA should offer the same deal. Elavon also has an auto-renew after two years, so you should be sure to keep an eye on that complication.
The merchant account services industry is multi-layered. Understanding how those layers fit together can be confusing (Read More in this Article). A good thing to know, however, is whether or not your company is a direct processor (good if yes) or, if not, then to know who they process with and whether or not that processor is reliable. The second thing to know is whether or not the service or sales staffs are in-house or outsourced. In-house staffs are preferable for you, as these staff members may have more access to sources that can resolve your issues.
Processor: Since PCIHIPAA merchant account clients are dealing with Elavon, we want you to know that Elavon is the 4th largest credit card processor in the U.S. Cutting out the middleman where ever you can is always a good idea because it gets rid of unnecessary confusion and can possibly save you money.
Account Sales: Elavon's account sales are all conducted with a corporate sales department. Of course, you should make sure you are talking with a good sales rep because that makes a huge difference. If you choose to go through one of Elavon's many resellers, like PCIHIPAA, your sales experience might not be great. Most customer complaints are about customer service through resellers, not Elavon directly.
Account Service: PCIHIPAA probably counts on sales reps to snag customers, then hands them over to Elavon for customer service. So, you should know that Elavon offers 24/7 customer support either by phone or e-mail, with customer service support in nine different languages. They also provide a training assistance number open for calls Monday-Friday 8:30am-9pm EST.
As part of our review process, we try to test merchant account service companies' claims by placing test calls and working through the customer service process.
3/20/2015; TIME: 1:00 pm EST
Call to Customer Support
We wanted to learn more about how important merchant services were to PCIHIPAA, so we called. Once on the line, a receptionist asked if we could hold for a moment. We held for three minutes before a woman asked what I needed. I asked if they offered credit card services to medical offices, as I heard they did and couldn't find much on their site about it. She wanted to take my number and have a sales person call me, but I insisted that this was the only question I had. She responded that yes, indeed, they did offer credit card processing. I asked if their services were through Elavon, and she hesitated before she answered, "I...am...not...sure."
Our Take: As we mentioned earlier, you can take all the PCI and HIPAA compliance you want from PCIHIPAA, but get your merchant services elsewhere. Evalon is HIPAA compliant, which is one reason why PCIHIPAA chose to resell those services.
We scoured the web to find past and current customer complaints about PCIHIPAA's services.Then, we investigated those complaints that seem legit, and give our verdict on how well the credit card processor handled the issues.
We couldn't find any complaints about PCIHIPAA's merchant services. We found plenty of praise for their knowledge about HIPAA and PCI compliance.
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Price | |
| Customer Service | |
| Customer Reviews |
| Setup Fee | $25.00 |
|---|---|
| Monthly Fee | $10.00 |
| PCI Compliance Fee | $0.00 |
| Online Reporting Fee | $0.00 |
| Batch Fee | $0.00 |
| Gateway Fee | $10.00 |
| Chargeback Fee | $0.00 |
| Termination Fee | $0.00 |
| Contract Length | Month-to-Month |
DISCLOSURE: Advertising, Affiliate and Conflicts of Interest: Merchant Negotiators accepts advertising via the Google Adsense platform, directly from advertisers, and has common parent ownership interests with other payments related companies leading to conflicts of interest. Read our Affiliate / Conflicts / Advertising Disclosure for a more detailed disclosure.
About the Reviews: These reviews, and for that matter any reviews, are inherently subjective, and should be regarded as our opinion, not as a statement of fact. Selecting a merchant services provider is an important decision, and we urge you to use no single source of information as the basis of that decision.
About the Pricing: This pricing is an estimate based on limited available information. In some cases, the Processors' pricing information was provided directly by the company, in others, we obtained it from public information, through calls to the company, or through past or current clients of the company. Where, despite these efforts, we were unable to obtain any information about certain fees, we used estimates based on similar providers in the industry. While we're working, in some cases, with the company directly to get more accurate pricing, even in those circumstances, we can't guarantee the pricing's accuracy. Complicating all of this, is that for some companies individual salespeople are given authority to modify terms on a deal by deal basis. In any case, if you know of an error, please let us know and we'll fix it.
About the Calculations: With respect to your estimated savings, this is based on a lot of factors and some hard math. The reason we do it, along with the "Actual Gross Rate" calculation is that every Processor prices their product differently (e.g. interchange v. 3 tier v. 4 tier v. flat v. membership, etc.) and some make it intentionally complicated or opaque. Trying to convert their pricing structure to a consistent "Overall Cost of Processing" is the only way you, the merchant, can do an apples to apples pricing comparison and know whether an offer is actually a good deal. Our system isn't perfect but we're trying.
Conclusion: In sum, these rankings, ratings, and scores are inherently subjective, and should be regarded as our opinion and not as a legal statement of fact. Moreover, use these prices and estimates at your own risk, and make sure to verify the pricing you see here in any formal contract you receive. Finally, if you do find something wrong in our pricing, terms, etc., tell us and we'll try to fix it.
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