If you live in Hawaii, you probably have questioned who is the best credit card processor in Hawaii.

Fortunately, we have 8 years of merchant account experience in Hawaii and can tell you from our experience which is great, good and unfortunately, who you need to be weary of.

In 2012, I made a major leap to my favorite vacation spot in the world. I accomplished everything I wanted to do, including discovering a new career that turned out to be something that I love and was really good at doing. I was a rep for merchant services.

What I Learned

Over the course of 5 years, I got to know the meaning of Aloha, met amazing friends and professionals and got to learn the workings of just about every processor who operates in Hawaii.

While reviewing statement after statement, I learned how doing the right thing for the merchant always rewarded me in the long run. After all, we do live on an island and if you do bad business, you are going to run into them at some point, and they will tell their friends.

Knowing who is out here and what their customers say about them is key in getting the best deal for your business.

The major players in Hawaii are:

CardConnect

CardConnect is the merchant services provider for American Savings Bank (ASB). Their owned by First Data and are based in PA with a full operations team in Honolulu and neighbor islands. Their main benefits are no contract on most of their accounts, a host of features that come standard with every account, and the ability to optimize interchange for B2B customers who utilize the CardPointe gateway. From our experience on each account we’ve seen, this is our vote for best credit card processor in Hawaii. Although they represent ASB, they deposit into any account at any institution. However, for next day funding it has to go to American Savings Bank.

Bank of Hawaii

Bank of Hawaii (BoH) is an agent bank for First Data. This means that they underwrite their accounts at First Data as a reseller rather than direct with the processor. BoH is known to have a cancellation fee and can only deposit into Bank if Hawaii accounts. They have some of the quickest funding options in Hawaii with a cutoff time that is later than any bank we have seen before. They are based in Honolulu and provide services to Guam as well.

Elevon

Elevon operates out of two channels on the islands. They are the exclusive merchant services provider for Central Pacific Bank customers and for members of Costco. Pricing varies depending on which channel you are working with. They are known to have a cancellation fee and have a few reps in island.

Heartland Payments

Heartland Payments has been on the islands for years, at one time had a bank referral relationship. Recently, Heartland was acquired by Global Payments. Their accounts are easy to understand as they are usually cost plus pricing. Things to look out for here are their monthly fees. Particularly a fee called “monthly vs daily discount” which appears to be additional basis points on the already stated discount.

Axia Payments

Our only experience with Axia on island is out of Maui. Maui’s rep has a great reputation for both pricing and service.

Gravity Payments

Gravity statements are common to see here on the islands. They have an agressive sales team who has a great reputation with their clients. We find their pricing to be fair and their customers appear to be happy.

Beyond

Beyond is definitely the new kid on the block. Founded by the former founder of Heartland Payments before they were acquired by Global Payments.

Vantiv

Is the processor for First Hawaiian Bank merchant services as of last year. Recently acquired by WorldPay. We have seen a few Vantiv cancellation fees that included a liquidated damages clause. This can cause thousands of dollars in cancellation fees. Our recommendation is if you do choose to sign up with Vantiv, make sure that read your agreement very carefully.

SurChoice

SurChoice is a new one that is added to the list. They specialize in compliant surcharging and compliant cash discounting programs. The reason we like it is because it takes a traditional surcharge program that checks the card before the transaction, and applies or omits a surcharge. From our experience, it works and so far customers are really liking it. We plan to do an in-depth article on them soon.

More will be added soon!

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to us if you need help finding the best credit card processor in Hawaii, or for free merchant account guidance session.