BB&T MERCHANT SERVICES (TRUIST)

Example BB&T (Truist) statements below. 

Branch Banking & Trust Company is the acquiring bank for all merchant accounts established via its BB&T Merchant Services subsidiary. As such, BB&T Merchant Services boasts the largest completely bank-owned merchant portfolio in the US while also relying on large processors (such as TSYS/Global Payments) for some of its infrastructure for processing.

In December 2019, the entire BB&T banking organization merged with SunTrust, creating a new business entity named Truist.

Banks do present the advantage of keeping all of your funds flowing in and out of one place, often supplying your merchant account in addition to your checking account, SMB loans, and other financial services. By bundling services with BB&T, you also “may qualify” for a free business checking account as a perk for signing up for a new merchant account. On top of that, you’ll receive next-day funding if your merchant account deposits go directly to your BB&T business checking account.

Unfortunately, these benefits lose their luster when you start exploring the contract terms and fees with BB&T. You could easily be locked into a long-term agreement with an early termination fee of $200-$300 and placed on an undesirable tiered pricing plan to boot. These are common traps merchants fall into when already in the mode of accepting whatever default services their bank offers. 

• Merchant Accounts: BB&T Merchant Services is the MSP that sets up your merchant account, and BB&T-proper owns that account. You must be located within a state where BB&T has local branches to obtain an account with them. I get the impression that TSYS/Global Payments is the favored partner for processing infrastructure these days, but it’s not uncommon for some MSPs to use multiple back-end processors.
• Next-Day Funding: Link your BB&T business bank account with your merchant account and receive next-day funding. Here is BB&T’s example from the FAQ: “If you batch out transactions on Monday, they will show in your account on Tuesday at 12:00 AM ET and be available for withdrawal on Wednesday morning.” Be sure to check with BB&T about specific timing, though. Besides the fact that we don’t know if this example scenario is still current, “next day” is already very open to interpretation in the world of merchant accounts. Timing for payouts to non-BB&T checking accounts is not disclosed.
• Payment Gateway & Virtual Terminal: As far as we can tell, BB&T is (or at least was) an Authorize.Net gateway reseller. However, BB&T hasn’t provided a lot of information. Unfortunately, you won’t get any discounts on Authorize.Net’s regular fees by bundling its gateway with your BB&T merchant account.
• Countertop Credit Card Terminals: BB&T mentions the Ingenico iCT220 and the Verifone VX520 on its website but doesn’t provide any further details. Both of these terminals are capable of processing EMV and NFC-based payment methods, making them excellent choices for any retail business. Terminals can be purchased outright or paid via six monthly installments. There are also some complaints against the company regarding terminal leases, which we strongly recommend against. It’s possible that these are old complaints and that BB&T no longer offers leases, but keep an eye out for this issue when obtaining your processing equipment.
• Tablet POS: The cloud-based POS BB&T has promoted in the past is unnamed. I was previously told over the phone that the company offers a proprietary, Android-based system called Merge POS. However, these days, the website advertises that it’s also iPad compatible, so I cannot say for certain that it’s the same system or a new one. BB&T likely resells or is at least compatible with other industry-standard third-party POS systems.
• Mobile Payments: If you are a mobile merchant, BB&T can set you up with a pricing plan and card reader (see more info in the Fees & Rates section of this review). Again, we have no names, but we can at least be sure it’s an up-to-date system that supports chip card and contactless payments.
• ACH & eCheck Processing: ACH payments should be handled through your payment gateway (e.g., Authorize.Net), but ask about additional fees. You can also process traditional paper checks as echecks using a standalone paper check scanner.
• Gift & Loyalty Cards: This is referenced in a few places, and the resource center links to Valutec for this service. At one point, “integrated loyalty programs on select solutions” were thrown out there, presumably to pique your curiosity about what those “select solutions” might be.
• Reporting & Analytics: The online portal for accessing transaction data and reports is called Merchant Connection. BB&T also partners with Insights by Womply for broader analytics functions, such as monitoring competitor data and online reputation management. See analytics and transaction history for only up to 30 months.
• PCI Compliance: BB&T partners with Trustwave to help ensure your system meets data protection requirements. There is a fee of $75.20/year for this as well as a non-compliance fee if your account becomes non-compliant for any reason.
• Early Termination Fee: Three-year contract term required. Early termination of this agreement by Merchant within one year from the date of original account signing by all parties will result in a termination fee of $295 per terminated merchant account. Early termination of this agreement at any time during the second or third year from the date of signing or within any successive one year renewal term will result in a termination fee of $195 per terminated merchant account.
• Authorize.Net Gateway: $25 per month + $0.06 - $0.10 per transaction (when added to the Retail Startup Plan)

1. BB&T (Processor) & Cybersource (Gateway) Example Card Rate: 2.877%

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2. BB&T (Gateway & Processor) Example Card Rate: 4.08%

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