CardConnect Review

Rates and Fees
50/100
Truth in Advertising
81/100
Consumer Reviews
50/100
Customer Support
85/100
2.7

Best for

Brick and mortar, mom and pop, small and medium-sized businesses, eCommerce.

Specializes in

CardConnect is a merchant account provider specializing in payment processing integration for the types of businesses it serves. It has multiple packages, each suiting a different business type, that it offers on its website.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: $9.95

Swipe Rate: 2.32% + 0.25% + $0.07

Keyed-in Rate: 2.32% + 0.25% + $0.07

Early Termination Fee : Up To $750

Contract Terms:

Unknown Month-to-month
Visit CardConnect

CardConnect is an independent reseller of First Data. It used to be called Financial Transaction Services but was rebranded CardConnect in 2006 and acquired by First Data in 2017. CardConnect employed over 500 people and was founded by Jeff Shanahan. The headquarters is located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 1000 Continental Drive, Suite 600.

 

CardConnect Overview

 

CardConnect is First Data’s leading independent reseller. It offers a three-year contract with a termination fee that varies on the situation. It also provides interchange-plus pricing. It mainly focuses on servicing smaller to medium-sized businesses and additionally involves itself in eCommerce as well. CardConnect has various fees attached to its contracts, such as a monthly PCI Compliance fee of $8.25 and a retroactive large annual fee applied at the end of each year. 

CardConnect’s reputation is on the negative side, with many complaints online. Merchants complain about hidden fees most of all and state that the company is a ripoff. Another common complaint is that CardConnect has poor customer service.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

King of Prussia, PA

Year Founded

2006

CEO

Jeff Shanahan

Employees

500

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

Powerful CardPointe integrated payments platform

Interchange-plus pricing available

What We Don't Like

Contract length as long as five years

Early termination fee as high as $750

Extensive use of independent sales agents

Reputation for poor customer service

Industries Served

  • Accounting & Tax Prep
  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Electronics
  • Gaming
  • Healthcare
  • Medical
  • Personal Service
  • Property Management
  • SAAS
  • Thrift Store

Business Types Served

  • B2B
  • Ecommerce
  • Enterprise Merchant Accounts
  • High Volume
  • Information
  • Low Risk
  • MLM
  • Mobile
  • MOTO
  • Online
  • Retail / Card Present
  • Small Business

CardConnect Products & Services

 

Point 1: CardPointe and Contactless


CardConnect offers various services, packaged under different names called ‘solutions.’ Its first solution is called CardPointe, and it provides numerous benefits, including debit and credit card processing, payment management, a hosted payment page, a mobile app, and a virtual terminal. CardConnect also offers contactless payment, which is a more and more requested feature by customers.

Point 2: Clover and Bolt


CardConnect offers POS equipment, including terminals, all-in-one, card-readers, and more through Clover. Clover Go is also provided, which is a payment app that will let you process payments through your phone wherever you are. Bolt is the software that CardConnect uses to process payments, and it has support for EMV technology, which is far safer than standard, older methods of processing credit and debit cards.

Point 3: Gateway + Plugins


CardConnect has an online payment gateway that has a slew of useful features. Automated reporting, acceptance of eChecks, customized payment plans, and an account updater to prevent missed or invalid payments are just some of the options that its payment gateway offers. CardConnect also has many plugins that come with the payment gateway or are offered alongside it that could be useful to some merchants.

CardConnect Payment Processing

  • Credit Card Processing
  • Credit Card Terminals
  • Debit Card Processing
  • eCheck & ACH Processing
  • High-Risk Industries
  • Mobile Card Reader
  • Mobile Payments App
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Gateway
  • POS Equipment
  • Recurring Billing
  • Signature Capture
  • Virtual Terminal

CardConnect Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Online Invoicing
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Processing
  • Recurring/Subscription Billing

CardConnect Advertising & Sales

 
CardConnect utilizes both independent sales agents and an in-house sales team to generate leads and turn them into recurring clients. The independent sales agents have some say in terms of what contracts and rates they offer. This results in a somewhat confusing system in which some merchants pay more than others for the same service. Many people recommend contacting the in-house sales team because their information tends to be more standardized and less confusing. There are fewer complaints about them, as well.

Some of the pricing is inconsistent or dishonest with their sales plans. The sales workers who are behind this tend to sell merchants the most expensive plans possible, regardless of whether or not the merchant needs it.

CardConnect is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

CardConnect Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

CardConnect has the same swiped and keyed-in rate: 2.32% + 0.25% + $0.07. There is a retroactive annual fee of $288 that is applied at the end of the year. In addition to this, CardConnect also charges an $8.25 monthly PCI Compliance fee, a statement fee of $5, and a monthly PCI non-compliance fee of $19.95. Its early termination fees can be high, going up to $750 or sometimes more. CardConnect uses both interchange-plus and tiered-pricing as its pricing models.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Interchange PlusTiered Pricing

Swiped Rate

2.32% + 0.25% + $0.07

Keyed-in Rate

2.32% + 0.25% + $0.07

Mobile Payment Rate

Virtual Terminal Rate

1.00% - 4.99%

Monthly Fee

$9.95

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

Early Termination Fee

Up To $750

PCI Compliance Fee

$8.25 Per Month

Equipment Lease Terms

48 Month (locked)

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

Annual Fee

$288

Monthly Minimum

$25

Statement Fee

$5

CardConnect Contract & Terms

As the leading reseller for First Data, CardConnect generally offers a similar contract. This tends to be a three-year standard contract with an early termination fee that can range from $250 or go higher. CardConnect has other plans that can go from monthly to a five-year agreement. It is recommended that any merchant interested in working with CardConnect carefully check the contract, as even some careful merchants had received an early termination fee when they thought their contract was up and sought to work with another merchant account provider.

Contract Length

UnknownMonth-to-month

Early Termination Fee

Up To $750

CardConnect Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base
  • In Person

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)
  • Offshore Tech Support (After Hours)

CardConnect Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

CardConnect has a large number of complaints about it. On BBB, it has nearly seventy complaints listed and has been in business for 15 years. It was accredited in February of 2019. Most of the complaints recorded are either about billing or a problem with one of its services. 

CardConnect was involved in a class-action lawsuit in 2016. The details of the case boil down to merchants being misled about the language of the contracts they were offered that resulted in outrageous, exorbitant fees being debited from them. The case has not yet been resolved.

Ratings

BBB

A- (59 Customer Complaints)

Google

N/A

Facebook

N/A

Yelp

5 Stars / 5 Reviews

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

70+

Total Online Complaints

50+

Lawsuits

1

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