About Payment Gurus | Merchant Services Built by Industry Veterans

The story

Why we started over.

Sean Garmo and Patrick Jarbo spent over a decade together at a previous company in the merchant services industry — building it from the ground up, growing it into a serious operation, and learning the business at every level along the way.

Somewhere along the way, the gap between how the industry treats merchants and how it should treat them got harder to ignore.

Opaque tiered pricing structures designed to hide where the margins really go. Buy-rate markups buried inside processor statements that take an accountant to decode. Multi-year contracts with hidden auto-renewal clauses. Long hold times when something breaks. Sales reps who disappear after the merchant account is set up. The patterns repeat across most of the industry, and merchants — especially small business owners — end up paying for it.

In 2019, Sean and Patrick left to start Payment Gurus. The thesis was simple: take 18+ years of industry expertise on each side, and build a merchant services company that does the opposite of what most of the industry does. Interchange-plus pricing with full disclosure. Real human support. Dedicated reps who actually know your business. No buy-rate games. No multi-year lock-ins. No surprises in month 14.

That's what Payment Gurus is. That's why it exists.

What we believe

The principles we run on.

01 / Transparency

Show the math.

Interchange-plus pricing with full disclosure. You see exactly what the card networks charge, exactly what we charge on top, and exactly what your effective rate is each month. No buy-rate markups buried inside opaque tiered structures.

02 / Expertise

Veterans, not learners.

36+ years of combined experience means we've already seen most of what your business will throw at us. We're not building the playbook on your account — we've been running it for years.

03 / Real human support

Pick up the phone.

When you call us, you reach a person who knows your business, not a phone tree. When something breaks at 2am during a Saturday night rush, you have a real escalation path — not a ticket queue.

04 / No long-term lock-ins

Earn the business monthly.

We don't use multi-year contracts with early termination fees. If we're not earning your business every month, you should be free to leave. The relationship has to work for both sides.

05 / The right system, not the easy sale

Sometimes that's not us.

If we're not the right fit for your business, we'll tell you. There are POS systems we work with where another vendor would actually serve you better — and we'd rather point you there than sell you the wrong system and lose your trust later.

06 / Nationwide reach, local feel

Big enough, small enough.

Based in Troy, Michigan but serving merchants in all 50 states. Big enough to handle hard cases — high-risk verticals, multi-location operators, specialty industries — and small enough that you'll talk to the same dedicated rep on every call.

What we do

The full merchant services stack.

Payment Gurus isn't just a credit card processor. We're a full merchant services partner — payment processing, POS systems, cash discount programs, high-risk specialty processing, and the operational support that wraps around all of it.

Credit card processing

Interchange-plus pricing with full disclosure. Same- or next-day funding. PCI compliance handled. EMV chip, contactless, mobile wallets, and online — we support every modern payment method. Learn about our card processing →

POS systems

We sell, configure, install, and support Clover, Square, SpotOn, SkyTab, Union POS, Cash Register Express, and NRS POS. Plus processing for hundreds of other systems including Oracle Micros, NCR Aloha, Aldelo, Lightspeed, TouchBistro, and more. Explore POS systems →

Credit card terminals

For the majority of merchants who don't need a full POS — standalone Dejavoo, PAX, Verifone, and Ingenico terminals. Free placement for qualified merchants, sold at cost for buyers, or we'll reprogram what you already own. See terminals →

Cash discount programs

Fully compliant dual pricing setup with signage, receipt formatting, and ongoing program management. Average merchant saves $20K+ per year on processing fees. Learn about cash discount →

High-risk specialty processing

CBD, kratom, firearms, vape, nutraceuticals, adult, gaming, and other hard-to-place verticals — placed with the right acquirer, with stable processing and no surprise terminations. See high-risk verticals →

Cash advance & working capital

Flexible funding options through our partner network for merchants who need capital to grow, expand, or weather a slow season. Explore cash advance →

ATM programs

Sell, configure, install, and process ATMs for merchants. Three service tiers — from "you own it, keep 100% of the surcharge" to full-service placement at high-traffic locations. See ATM programs →

Recurring billing & subscriptions

Subscription, membership, retainer, and installment billing through NMI, Authorize.Net, CardPointe, and iPOS gateway partners. Card-on-file tokenization, smart retries, and account updater built in. See recurring billing →

Gift cards & loyalty programs

Branded gift cards and loyalty programs delivered through POS-native modules (Clover, SkyTab, SpotOn) or standalone via our Factor4 reseller relationship for multi-location and cross-brand programs. See gift & loyalty →

The founders

Built by two people who actually do this.

Not faceless. Not outsourced. Not a venture-backed AI startup. Payment Gurus is run by the people whose names are on the door.

Sean Garmo

Co-Founder

18+ years in merchant services. Spent over a decade building a previous company in the industry from the ground up before co-founding Payment Gurus in 2019 to do things differently.

Patrick Jarbo

Co-Founder

18+ years in merchant services. Sean's business partner across both companies. Co-founded Payment Gurus in 2019 with a shared belief that the merchant services industry could be more honest, more transparent, and more useful to small business owners.

Compliance & partnerships

Who we're backed by.

Payment Gurus is a registered ISO (Independent Sales Organization) of two major U.S. banks — meaning your merchant accounts are placed with proper bank backing, your funds flow through regulated, FDIC-insured institutions, and your processing is fully compliant with PCI standards and card network rules.

Acquiring bank relationships

Payment Gurus is a registered ISO of Woodforest National Bank, Houston, TX — Member FDIC, and Citizens Bank, N.A., Providence, RI — Member FDIC.

PCI compliance

All Payment Gurus merchants are configured to meet PCI-DSS requirements. We handle PCI compliance documentation, scanning, and reporting so you don't have to navigate it alone.

Card network registration

Our acquiring bank partners are registered with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover — meaning we can process every major card brand without third-party intermediaries.

Merchant services, built differently.