Payment Processing Built For Distribution Businesses

There's no single number. Your cost depends on your order mix (ACH vs. card), how payments come in (card-present vs. card-not-present), and your monthly volume. With Interchange-Plus pricing, the network's cost is broken out separately from Argent's pricing, and everything is disclosed in writing before you sign — not a blended rate that hides what's actually happening underneath.

Interchange is the wholesale cost that Visa, Mastercard, and the other networks charge on every transaction — set by the card brands and paid to the customer's card-issuing bank, not to Argent or any processor. It varies by card type, with rewards and business cards typically costing more to accept than basic debit. Flat-rate and tiered pricing blend all of that into one number so you can't tell how much is the real network cost and how much is added on top. Interchange-Plus pricing keeps them separate, so your statement shows the actual interchange rate for each transaction alongside Argent's pricing.

Often, yes. Send us a recent statement and we'll calculate your effective rate — total fees divided by total processing volume — and compare it against the actual interchange schedule for your order mix. That tells us exactly how much you're currently paying on top of the real network cost, not just what your processor advertised when you signed up. If Argent can offer meaningfully better pricing, we'll show you the math side by side. If we can't, we'll tell you directly instead of quoting a number we can't actually honor.

No. Argent is month-to-month, with no long-term contract and no early termination fee. This matters most if you're currently stuck: a lot of frustration with existing processors comes from multi-year contracts with steep cancellation penalties, or auto-renewal clauses that lock you in without you noticing. If you're evaluating a switch, ask your current provider directly what it would cost to leave — that number is often the real reason switching feels harder than it should.

The ones we see most often: PCI non-compliance fees (charged monthly if you haven't completed a compliance questionnaire, even if your setup is secure), monthly minimum fees (charged when your volume doesn't hit an assumed target), batch fees (charged each time your day's transactions settle), statement or paper fees, and annual "PCI assessment" fees that show up once a year with little explanation. None of these are illegal — but they're often not clearly explained when you sign up. When we review a statement, we walk through each fee line by line so you know exactly what you're paying for and whether it's negotiable, including whether large B2B transactions would be cheaper moved to ACH.

Often, yes. Many countertop terminals and card readers at a will-call counter can be reprogrammed to run on Argent's processing instead of being replaced outright — this is usually the biggest factor in how smooth a switch feels, since your staff isn't relearning new hardware. Send us your terminal model and ERP setup and we'll confirm compatibility before you commit to anything, including whether reprogramming is possible or replacement makes more sense.

Yes, for the terminals and hardware your payments actually run through — leasing is available through the equipment partner we work with, separate from Argent's own processing agreement. This is specifically for payment hardware, not broader business financing, which isn't something we offer. If your current equipment lease is part of what's locking you into your existing processor, that's worth raising directly on your rate review call — sometimes the equipment lease, not the processing agreement, is the harder contract to exit.

We coordinate a replacement or repair through our equipment partner so a counter sale or delivery isn't stuck without a way to take payment. Depending on the issue, that might mean an express replacement unit or a technician-guided fix over the phone — the goal is getting you back to accepting payments quickly, not leaving you improvising with a phone card reader while a support ticket sits in a queue.

We support a large variety of ERP platforms and processing front-ends. Processing and your ERP are two separate decisions — your order management, inventory, and accounting software doesn't have to change just because your payment processor does. Tell us what you're currently running and we'll confirm compatibility and walk through what integration actually looks like before you sign anything.

The goal is zero disruption to order fulfillment. Most distributors keep their existing ERP and either reprogram their current terminal or swap in a compatible one, so the day-to-day experience for your team barely changes. The real work happens behind the scenes — setting up your merchant account, confirming equipment compatibility, and scheduling the cutover around a slow order cycle so there's no gap in your ability to take payments.

Yes — ACH moves large B2B payments bank-to-bank, often at a lower cost than card fees on big-ticket orders. Argent supports ACH alongside card processing under one account, so you're not managing a separate vendor for each payment type.

Yes. Customer Vault securely stores payment info for repeat buyers and standing purchase orders, so recurring accounts bill automatically instead of someone re-entering payment info every cycle.

Yes — electronic invoicing lets buyers pay online directly, with payment status tracked automatically instead of living in a spreadsheet or a stack of paper invoices. That matters most for distributors juggling dozens of standing accounts at once.

That's mainly what Automatic Card Updater solves — it keeps stored payment info current on recurring accounts, so standing orders don't silently fail because a card expired or was reissued. We'll help confirm it's set up correctly on any account you're storing payment info for.

Yes — distributors running multiple branches or warehouses get consolidated reporting across every location under one merchant relationship, instead of managing separate accounts, separate statements, and separate support contacts location by location.

That's common in distribution — seasonal demand, large one-off orders, or simply unpredictable ordering patterns from standing accounts. Argent's setup doesn't penalize you for volume swings the way a monthly-minimum fee structure can, and your account is built around your actual business pattern rather than a flat assumption of steady monthly volume.

Most distributors are live within about a week of that first call, though the exact timeline depends on your current equipment, ERP setup, and how quickly your business information can be underwritten. We'll give you a specific timeline on your rate review call once we know your setup, rather than a generic estimate that may not match your situation.

Your funding timeline is set to match your business and volume, and disclosed upfront before you sign — we don't publish one blanket number because funding speed depends on factors like your processing history, industry risk category, and banking relationship. Ask directly on your rate review call and we'll give you the real answer for your business, not a marketing number that may not apply.

A chargeback happens when a cardholder disputes a transaction directly with their bank rather than with you — the funds are pulled back automatically while the dispute is investigated, often with a fee attached regardless of outcome. On large B2B orders, that can be a meaningful hit. Every Argent transaction is screened with AVS (address verification), CVV matching, and tokenization before it settles, which catches a meaningful share of fraudulent or mistaken charges before they become disputes. When a chargeback does happen, you'll have a real point of contact to help you respond with the right documentation, instead of navigating your bank's dispute portal alone.

PCI DSS is the security standard every business that accepts cards has to follow, covering how card data is transmitted, stored, and protected. Every Argent setup is PCI DSS compliant, with encryption and fraud monitoring built into the processing itself — we handle the technical requirements and walk you through the annual self-assessment questionnaire, rather than leaving you to figure out compliance on your own and then charging a non-compliance fee when you don't.

None. The rate review call is a statement comparison and a conversation, not a sales pitch with pressure to sign on the spot. If we can't do meaningfully better for your business than what you're paying now, we'll say so directly — and you'll still walk away knowing exactly what you're currently being charged and why, which is often the more valuable outcome anyway.

You can still get a statement review and rate comparison now, even if you're not ready to switch immediately — that way you know exactly what a change would save you once your current agreement allows it. If you're unsure what your contract actually requires (many auto-renew or have cancellation windows that are easy to miss), we can help you understand what to look for, and time the switch so you're not paying two providers or an early termination fee unnecessarily.