Talus Payments, also known as Talus Pay, is a merchant service provider. Unlike Host Merchant Services, Talus Payments has undergone several changes to its name and identity due to reputation issues. It has been previously been called Future Payment Technologies, and has had sub-brands like Celerus Payments. This is unlike Host Merchant Services which markets under a single brand with an excellent reputation.
This is not intended to be a review of Talus Payments, but a comparison of their services with Host Merchant Services. An excellent review of Talus payments can be found here.
When comparing Talus Payments to Host Merchant Services (HMS), there are several things to compare, such as their contract, pricing options, and customer service. This article will review all these and contrast these features with Host Merchant Services. According to major review websites, Host Merchant Services (HMS) is one of the top-rated merchant services providers. It offers many retail and e-commerce solutions, such as access to payment gateways and virtual terminals.
Terms, Rates, and Fees – Talus Payments vs. HMS
Talus Payment locks merchants into a three year contract, followed by two-year term automatic renewals. Other fees they charge, unlike HMS, include an application fee ($98), a corporate location fee ($98), a card data security fee ($9.95/mo), and a monthly account fee ($9.50). This is unlike HMS that charges a simple $14.95/mo fee which includes statement, customer service, PCI compliance, and more.
HMS also has no early termination fee, while termination at any point during the Talus Pay contract incurs a considerable sum of $295 or even worse, a dreaded liquidated damages clause.
Host Merchant Services (HMS) has a simple fee structure and very affordable rates. Their terms are not loaded with “junk fees” or unnecessary costs. The annual fee is as low as $24 and there are no other hidden fees, non-compliance fees, or penalty fees when they board on their preferred TSYS platform. Other platforms (Fiserv, Paysafe, high risk, etc.) may vary depending on that particular platform. With the HMS monthly contract feature, you can end the contract at any point in time without paying a termination fee. So there’s no penalty for opting out of the contract terms and this makes HMS an easy choice over Talus Pay for most merchants.
Pricing Options
Talus pay offers tiered and interchange-plus pricing. Host Merchant Services offers only transparent Interchange plus pricing, as well as flat rate and cash discount merchant services options. In the view of most independent reviewers of merchant services, tiered pricing is much less desirable because it obscures the true cost of processing. This means Talus Payments can be a less desirable option compared to Host Merchant Services, depending on how their sales representative prices the merchant. Host Merchant Services highly recommends Interchange plus pricing for merchants that want to understand exactly what the margins are on their payment processing. Some reports online indicate that Talus Pay does not always explain pricing in detail to merchants and the contract terms are sometimes unclear, in contrast to HMS which is renowned for transparency and customer service.
TalusPay highlights its virtual terminal and payment gateway services on its website, but there’s no information about the pricing for these services. This is something to look out for, because undisclosed prices can lead to unexpected costs. This is unfortunate, especially in a three year term with a high early termination fee. Some Talus Pay reviews online have indicated dissatisfaction from merchants over undisclosed fees and terms.
In contrast, Host Merchant Services (HMS) offers interchange-plus pricing, as well as flat rate and cash discount upon merchant request. HMS has a lifetime rate guarantee and does not have any complaints or concerning items online about pricing practices.
Host Merchant Services always provides a clear explanation of rates, fees, and terms on their website. This makes it easy for the merchants to know any new services that might incur an added cost. Over the years, HMS’s terms of the contract have been transparent and highly competitive, which has helped them receive many awards and accolades from independent review sites.
Talus Pay Complaints vs. HMS Complaints
Talus Payments has a high volume of online complaints on various websites, mostly related to pricing and contract terms. Some of these negative reviews have gone as far as alleging fraud, but we suspect that TalusPay is operating within the terms of their contract, as unfavorable as it may be to merchants. For this reason, it is always important to understand the merchant agreement terms, and to do business with a reputable provider like Host Merchant Services.
On the other hand, Host Merchant Services has a long track record of outstanding customer service, transparent pricing, and excellent contract terms. The few complaints that are found online, unavoidable for a business of their size, seem to have been minor and addressed quickly by the company. Some complaints center around hardware malfunction or merchant accounts that were not able to be approved. Most were responded to online by HMS, quickly and professionally.
Conclusion – HMS is the Clear Choice
Based on this comparison, Host Merchant Services (HMS) is the clear winner for merchants of all types. There have been some rumblings online that Talus Pay has a new management team and is working to improve its reputation, but it has a long way to go to catch up to HMS.
The HMS rates and merchant contract are wallet-friendly, and the contract terms are very transparent. Host Merchant Services has an outstanding support team and they advertise that this team is four times larger than their sales team – demonstrating that their priority is customer satisfaction, not making a quick sale and locking businesses in with an onerous contract. Host Merchant Services (HMS) is rated the best option for all business types by various online review platforms and you can trust their services to be superior.
