Alpha Card Services Review

Rates and Fees
80/100
Truth in Advertising
90/100
Consumer Reviews
80/100
Customer Support
70/100
3

Best for

Hospitality, retail, and restaurants that are okay with long-term contracts

Specializes in

POS solutions, payroll services, card payment processing

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: Variable

Swipe Rate: Variable

Keyed-in Rate: Variable

Early Termination Fee : $250+

Contract Terms:

3 Years
Visit Alpha Card Services

Alpha Card Services is a merchant account provider that operates on a nationwide scale. The company is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank and is based out of Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania. Alpha Card Services (ACS) rebranded as Simpay in 2019. The company specializes in providing POS solutions, payroll services, and card payment processing to merchants.

Alpha Card Services Overview

 

Alpha Card Services claims to supply more than 15,000 merchants across the country with equipment and services for payment processing. The company markets itself as being best for the companies operating in the following industries:


  • Retail

  • Restaurants

  • Salons

  • Grocery

  • Auto repair

  • Healthcare

  • Lodging

  • Gas/petroleum


Simpay uses a tiered pricing model with rates that can vary from merchant to merchant. The company doesn’t publish any sample rates, so it’s tough to assess exactly how much you should expect to pay them.

Alpha Card Services has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The company has received a moderate number of complaints, though. Several of these complaints have been related to billing and payment collection, while others lamented the company’s undisclosed fees and aggressive sales tactics.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

Feasterville-Trevose, PA

Year Founded

2000

CEO

Lazaros Kalemis

Employees

54

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

What We Don't Like

Industries Served

  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Electronics
  • Gaming
  • Gas Station
  • Healthcare
  • Hosting
  • Moving Companies
  • Personal Service
  • Property Management
  • Restaurant / Bar
  • SAAS
  • SEO & SEM Services
  • Thrift Store
  • Web Design Services

Business Types Served

  • Ecommerce
  • High Volume
  • Information
  • Low Risk
  • Mobile
  • Mom & Pop
  • MOTO
  • Online
  • Retail / Card Present
  • Small Business
  • Wholesale

Alpha Card Services Products & Services

 

Payment Processing


Simpay is capable of processing all of the major types of cards a merchant will encounter. This includes NFCs, mobile wallets, credit and debit cards, EMV cards, check, and gift cards. They also offer wireless functionality, so you can use the service if you want to accept payments through devices like tablets or cell phones.

POS

Simpay claims to tailor its point-of-sale solutions to the unique needs of every merchant it works with. Its offerings seem to support this claim. The company offers a variety of POS equipment and software to choose from. For example, their POS for restaurants can also help you track your employees’ hours and tips, run customer loyalty programs, and view reports on your performance.

Payroll

Merchants can also handle their payroll processing through Alpha Card Services. The company’s tool can be integrated with QuickBooks and other popular accounting software. It can help you establish a wide variety of payment types, deductions, benefits, and more to give you a good amount of control over your payroll processing.

Alpha Card Services Payment Processing

  • Credit Card Processing
  • Debit Card Processing
  • EBT Acceptance
  • Gift & Loyalty Program
  • Merchant Cash Advance
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Gateway
  • POS Equipment
  • Virtual Terminal

Alpha Card Services Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Multi-Currency
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Processing
  • Recurring/Subscription Billing

Alpha Card Services Advertising & Sales

 
Simpay is known to hire independent sales agents as part of its sales process. This is a standard practice in the industry, but it’s also one that commonly leads consumers frustrated. Independent sales agents tend to use more aggressive tactics and receive a higher rate of complaints than do direct sales agents. Alpha Card Services has received some online complaints about its independent sales agents.

With its advertising, Alpha Card Services doesn’t make specific promises. Rather, then employ generalities like “low rates” and “competitive pricing”. This means that the company doesn’t use deceptive sales practices, though they don’t disclose all of the important information that you would want them to.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

Alpha Card Services Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

Simpay uses a tiered pricing model with rates that change from merchant to merchant. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say exactly what your rates with them would look like without contacting the company directly.

However, we do know a good amount about the fees the company charges. It quotes an annual membership fee of $89.99, a $35 monthly minimum fee, and a $19.99 quarterly regulatory compliance fee. On top of this, the company charges a $40 monthly PCI noncompliance fee and a $35 chargeback fee.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Tiered Pricing

Swiped Rate

Variable

Keyed-in Rate

Variable

Mobile Payment Rate

Virtual Terminal Rate

Variable

Monthly Fee

Variable

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

Undisclosed

Early Termination Fee

$250+

PCI Compliance Fee

$19.99 Quarterly

Equipment Lease Terms

Variable

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

Undisclosed

Annual Fee

$89.99

Monthly Minimum

$35

Statement Fee

$10

Alpha Card Services Contract & Terms

Like many companies in the industry, Simpay favors a three-year contract with an automatic renewal at the end. If you sign this contract and later wish to break it, then you will be charged a $250 early termination fee. But on top of that, you may need to pay some amount towards the remaining months of the contract. So your termination fee could be even higher than $250.

Contract Length

3 Years

Early Termination Fee

$250+

Alpha Card Services Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)

Alpha Card Services Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

Alpha Card Services has a moderate amount of complaints about it online. Some of the major themes of these complaints include the aggressive sales tactics of independent agents, various undisclosed hidden fees, and frustrating contract terms. Merchants have also complained about Simpay’s customer support offerings, saying that agents can be difficult to reach or even apathetic.

But a certain number of complaints is to be expected of any company. And Alpha Card Services has fewer of these than many of its peers. The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Ratings

BBB

A+(3 complaints)

Google

N/A

Facebook

N/A

Yelp

N/A

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

10+

Total Online Complaints

Lawsuits

None

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