High Merchant Satisfaction Scores Don’t Always Mean Fair Rates

I recently came across JD Power’s 2026 Merchant Satisfaction Study, and the results genuinely surprised me. 

The top-ranked processors aren’t necessarily known for the cheapest rates. So it got me thinking: can merchants be “satisfied” with a processor that’s overcharging them?

In my experience, yes.

These rankings can serve as a guide. But if a business owner uses this type of list to evaluate processors or decide whether to switch, it’s important to understand that satisfaction alone doesn’t tell the full story. 

Which Processors Ranked Highest

JD Power found that Bank of America had the highest merchant satisfaction ranking, scoring 750 on a 1,000-point scale. 

Here’s the top ten:

1. Bank of America – 750
2. Shopify – 733
3. Chase Payment Solutions – 726
4. Stripe – 719
5. Wells Fargo Merchant Services – 718
6. Elavon – 705
7. PayPal – 705
8. Square – 704
9. PNC Merchant Services – 703
10. Worldpay – 700

For more context, the average score was 700. Other notable names falling outside the top ten include Fiserv, Shift4, Global Payments, Paysafe, North, and QuickBooks (among others). 

This is all really good information. But it shouldn’t be read or misinterpreted as a list of the “best” or ”cheapest” credit card processors. 

How to Understand the Scores

A score of 750 does not mean merchants literally rated BOA 75 out of 100. It means BOA scored 750 on JD Power’s 1,000-point satisfaction scale.

This is an important distinction because the top-ranked provider might be best among the group, but not necessarily the best value. 

• The study was based on a survey of 4,407 small businesses.
• Only 19 processors were included in the study (selected based on US market share).
• Alternative names and sub-brand portfolios were combined in the parent company’s ranking.

Here’s why this context matters.

There are plenty of other strong processors there that weren’t mentioned. For example, Adyen wasn’t included in the study, and they have some of the best payment technology and pricing on the market. Braintree wasn’t listed separately either, and it would likely fall under PayPal’s umbrella.

It’s also worth understanding that a small business (that’s who JD Power surveyed) is going to have a completely different experience than an enterprise company using the same processor. 

To be clear, JD Power didn’t do anything wrong here. The study was solid and the results are genuinely insightful. But it’s easy to draw the wrong conclusions if you don’t understand where these scores actually came from. 

Satisfaction and Savings Are Not the Same Thing

So, what makes a merchant satisfied?

JD Power’s survey was tied to six categories, including cost of processing payment, data security, account management, payment processing, technology, and advice/guidance. 

In practice, this means that a merchant could have high satisfaction scores even if they’re being overcharged by their processor. 

• Payments go through without problems
• Deposits hit their bank account on time
• The terminal works as advertised
• Customer support answers the phone
• Platform is easy to use
• Nothing obvious feels broken

But none of that tells the merchant whether they’re actually getting fair pricing.

For example, Wells Fargo and PNC both ranked in the top ten. But both of these banks rely on Fiserv’s backend processing. Fiserv ranked #12 with a score of 683, falling below the study average. 

And ironically, you can usually get cheaper rates by going straight to Fiserv because it cuts out the middleman. 

But in this case, ISOs/resellers had higher satisfaction scores even though the processing all runs through the same backend provider.

Why Merchants Don’t Realize They’re Overpaying

Merchants are being overcharged by their processors, but they just don’t realize it. 

I think this is probably the biggest problem with what’s going on in the payment processing industry right now, and JD Power’s survey confirms it for me.

From the merchant’s perspective, payment processing rates are incredibly difficult to evaluate.

• Statements are confusing
• Fee names vary by processor
• Legit network fees are mixed with processor markups
• Flat-rate pricing feels simple but can be expensive
• “Free” terminals may sound good but are often offset by higher pricing

So when small business owners answer survey questions from JD Power related to “cost of processing,” scores might be higher because they simply don’t realize they’re being overcharged.

I can confidently say that I’ve found overcharges on statement audits from every single processor on JD Power’s list. Some providers are definitely more egregious than others, but they all do it to some degree. 

And I don’t think they’d have such high rankings if merchants realized what was happening. 

What This Means If You’re Evaluating a Processor

For businesses stumbling across this list, I think the most important thing to consider here is context. 

It’s easy to gloss over the details when you see JD Power behind a study because they’re such a well-established name for data and analytics. You can trust their results and know the study was legit.

But satisfaction rankings alone aren’t enough to evaluate payment processors because they just don’t tell the whole story.

I think lots of businesses fall into the simplicity trap. It’s easy to get payment processing from a national bank because they already have a relationship there. Other businesses like the flat-rate model, particularly for online payments (Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, etc.) because those providers sell it so well. 

But wouldn’t you rather pay less?

And switching providers isn’t the answer, either. Every provider on this list is fully capable of giving you fair rates. It’s just a matter of you identifying the overages and knowing how to ask the right questions to get there. 

Final Thoughts

JD Power’s methodology is solid, and their rankings aren’t wrong.

But it’s important to distinguish that satisfaction is based on how merchants feel, and not necessarily tied to how much something costs. 

Merchants can be perfectly happy with a credit card processor that’s quietly overcharging them. That’s the whole problem.