Two Merchant Providers - Which Should I choose?

Hi everyone.

I have an online coaching business and I'm trying to find a merchant account provider. After sifting through what seems like thousands of these places, I've come up with two I like and that I think will meet my needs - Host Merchant Services and Platinum Payment Services (Platpay.com).

Both are offering the following:

Interchange Plus, 30 bps + $0.10
No contract
No cancel/early termination fee

Here are the differences:

Monthly fees:

Host - $19.99 (PCI, Data Breach Protection, Gateway)

PlatPay - $16.95 (Statement, IRS reporting, Gateway)


Set Up Fee:

Host - $10.00 one time

PlatPay - None


Other Fees:

Host - $24 annual fee for K 1 tax prep

Platpay - $0.10 gateway per transaction fee (this brings the transaction fee to $0.20 for Platpay)


% of Clientele that are coaches:

Host - small percentage

Platpay - 75-80%


Other perks from Host: (Haven't heard from Platpay on these yet)

No minimum processing fee

365/24/7 support

Next business day deposits

Online portal

Fees locked in for life - they never raise their fees.


That's all. Host originally quoted me 40 bps, but I negotiated them down to 30, which was really easy.

I like that Platpay has so many coaching clients because it means they understand my business very well. They are owned by EVO however, and I've read alot of bad things about them. But the guy I talked with said they've done business with EVO for 15 years (how could they not since they are a subsidiary of EVO???) and they haven't had any problems.

I also know that Power Pay was used by people like Ali Brown and Jeff Walker, and EVO owned that brand also. Frank Kern uses Platpay.

On the flip side, Host has some really nice things to offer too.

Both have been responsive via email. Host seems to be a little quicker to respond.

I got through to both on the phone with no trouble.

So, those of you who have some knowledge and experience in this arena, what do you think?

Thanks!