I was looking for something and came upon this site that has the top ten reviews for credit card processing and a lot of other subjects. The site makes it’s money from advertising, including linking to the companies it reviews.

http://credit-card-processing-review.toptenreviews.com/

They don’t claim to be impartial. The information is probably accurate with respect to costs. But the underlying thought when I first got there is these are reviews for the top ten processors. Indeed, this is the google listing: Credit Card Processing Review 2008
Credit Card Processing – Top Credit Card Processing Reviewed, 2008.
When you read it quick, the mind can play tricks.

So what do I think of this page? I love the layout. A quick comment that applies to all reviews. They include statements such as “…discount rate is 2.33% discount rate”. Anyone who reads my blog knows that merchants do not pay one flat rate. Of course, it’s impossible to know what an individual companies actual effective rate might be, but this could be solved by having merchants write in. Hmm, maybe I should post a survey on this! Great future idea.

But here’s a different type of ranking which may be what you are looking for. The Ten Largest U.S. Merchant Acquirers in 2004, Excluding Partnerships and Alliances

The Ten Largest U.S. Merchant Acquirers in 2004, Excluding Partnerships and Alliances, RANKING by TRANSACTION VOLUME
1. First Data
2. BA Merchant Services
3. Chase Merchant Services
4. Paymentech
5. Fifth Third Bank
6. Global Payments
7. Nova Information Systems
8. Wells Fargo
9. Alliance Data Systems
10. Heartland Payment Systems

The Ten Largest U.S. Merchant Acquirers in 2004, Excluding Partnerships and Alliances, RANKING by DOLLAR VOLUME
1. Chase Merchant Services
2. BA Merchant Services
3. First Data
4. Paymentech
5. Nova Information Systems
6. Fifth Third Bank
7. Global Payments
8. Wells Fargo
9. First National Merchant Solutions
10. Heartland Payment Systems

Merchant acquirers holding at least 1 percent of U.S. market share in 2004
The Ten Largest U.S. Merchant Acquirers in 2004, INCLUDING Partnerships and Alliances, RANKING by DOLLAR VOLUME
1. First Data (including Chase Merchant Services, Paymentech, Wells Fargo, SunTrust, and PNC)
2. BA Merchant Services
3. Nova Information Systems (including KeyCorp)
4. Fifth Third Bank
5. Global Payments
6. First National Merchant Solutions
7. Heartland Payment Systems
8. TransFirst

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

I have intimate knowledge of each of their typical plans, including pros and cons and will write about them at a later date.