To all merchants looking for credit card processing:

Please beware of the fine print which includes VERY excessive and severe consequences for early termination of this (3) year agreement. Below is what will happen if you decide to leave Moneris Payment Solutions or discontinue processing according to their terms stated in application MSFRI-OC-APP-0910.

Early Termination Fee is calculated based on the greater of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250) or Bank's average monthly volume derived from processing Merchant's

transactions (based on an average of the highest three (3)months of processing volume during the previous or current term of the Agreement,whichever is greater),multiplied by .003,multiplied by the number of full and partial

months remaining in the term of the Agreement

EX:A business processes $40,000 monthly in credit cards and is unhappy with increased rates and poor service.After 1 long year of being fed up they change processors and cancel Moneris.

The Consequence:$40,000 x .003= $120.then take .$120 x 24 (months remaining) on your (3) year term= YOU GET HIT WITH A$2,880 CANCELLATION FEE.

But please keep reading because it gets more ridiculous.

TERM AND TERMINATION. (1)Term.The termof thisAgreement,including any equipment

rental, shall be for three (3) years from the Effective Date and shall remain in full force and effect

until termination.This Agreement shall be automatically renewed thereafter for successive three

(3) yearperiods unless Merchant gives written notice of termination at least sixty (60)daysbut not

more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the expiration of the then existing term.

(2) FEES FOR DISCONTINUING PROCESSING. In the event Merchant (i) discontinues or ceases

processing of Card Transactions prior to the end of the term hereof, or (ii) gives notice of discontinuance

of processing (including an invalid or ineffective termination notice),or (iii) violates Section

15 of this Agreement, Merchant shall pay Bank upon demand the Early Termination Fee

described in the Schedule of Rates and Fees attached to and made part of this Agreement. Merchant

agrees to pay this Early Termination Fee and agrees that such Early Termination Fee constitutes

liquidated damages and is not a penalty.(MSFRI-OC-APP-0910).

In other wordsunless Moneris is notified within 60-120 days at the end of the initial contractThey will stick owners back into another 3- year contract without consent.Therefore allowing merchants that have been with them for 3-10 years to still be subject to these outrageous fees.

The above also states that merchants can be punished for discontinued processing.So if you close your business or for whatever reason just decide not totake credit cards, you are still on the hook for thousands of dollarsAnd believe me they come after you. (Keep in mindnone of this gets explained as your signing the contract).

This agreement is about as sleezy as it gets in the credit card business. A penalty this size can be devastating to a small business.The good companies out there wouldn't need a contract written like this.

***The italicized language is directly quoted from a Moneris Merchant Agreement (version MSFRI-OC-APP-0910).