Best for
Merchants in search of a payment processor that specializes in electronic payments, among many other payment options.
Specializes in
Clearwater Payments specializes in providing electronic payment processing services for online bill payments. The company has 150 years of combined experience in this area.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: N/A
Monthly Fee: N/A
Swipe Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%
Keyed-in Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%
Early Termination Fee : Undisclosed
Contract Terms:
Clearwater Payments was founded in 2015, so the company is still relatively new.
The company is owned and operated by the former executives of several other payment processing companies, including Crescent Processing Company and Park Central Company.
Clearwater Payments is a registered trademark of Future Payment Technologies, and it is possible that it is a DBA of that company.
David Kesler is the owner and CEO of Clearwater Payments. Kesler as well as several other company executives and board members held the same types of positions with Future Payment Technologies and Talus Pay before December 2016.
Clearwater Payments was founded in 2015, and it is possible that the company is a DBA of Future Payment Technologies.
The company is a registered ISO/MSP of Synovus Bank, and Clearwater Payments may be headquartered in Dallas, Texas, although its location is not specified on the company website.
Clearwater Payments’ staff have a long history of online and electronic payment experience. The company offers a payment portal that is easily integrated with merchants’ current gateways and POS systems. It offers an open API platform and a fully customizable electronic payment solution for merchants.
Head Quarters
12377 Merit Dr #1530, Dallas, Texas.
Year Founded
2015
CEO
David Kesler
Employees
Unknown
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Accounting and reconciliation services are available.
Uses in-house marketing services.
Offers several value-added services, including reporting, enhanced fraud protection, and tax compliance assistance.
Information on prices and fees is difficult to find.
Charges an early termination fee.
Long contract terms, although they are variable.
No Better Business Bureau profile.
Hardware & Software
Even though Clearwater Payments mostly focuses on electronic payments, they do offer POS systems and kiosks to assist merchants with brick and mortar locations. Their in-lobby or wall-mounted kiosks are configurable and include options for card, check and even coin payments.
Clearwater Payments also has POS terminals that are mobile wallet ready, EMV, WiFi and mobile-enabled, and NFC capable. An internal PIN pad is also available for debit transactions.
In addition, Clearwater Payments can assist with e-bill payments, agent-assisted payments, and retail and e-lockboxes.
Value Added Services
Clearwater Payments offers several value added services for its merchant customers. They include:
KyckGlobal, which is a payout platform that offers simplified onboarding, reporting and tax compliance.
Agency sweep services.
Accounting and reconciliation services.
Daily reporting for all transactions.
Proactive and enhanced fraud detection tools.
Supported Payment Types & Services
Clearwater Payments offers support for the following payment types:
ACH and e-checks
All 4 major credit cards
Mobile payments
Online payments
Agent assisted payments
Debit cards
MOTO payments
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
Clearwater Payments does not list its prices and fees on its website. This indicates that the company’s swiped rate, keyed-in rate and virtual terminal rate are between 1% and 4.99%. There is no information about virtual terminal fees, gateway fees, or batch fees.
Pricing Model
Flat Rate
Swiped Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Keyed-in Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Mobile Payment Rate
Unknown
Virtual Terminal Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Monthly Fee
N/A
Payment Gateway Fee
N/A
Batch Fee
N/A
Early Termination Fee
Undisclosed
PCI Compliance Fee
Undisclosed
Equipment Lease Terms
Unknown
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Unknown
Application Fee
N/A
Account Setup Fee
N/A
Gateway Setup Fee
N/A
Annual Fee
N/A
Monthly Minimum
Unknown
Statement Fee
N/A
It appears that Clearwater Payments offers variable contract terms that are based on each merchant’s level of risk. There is no information available on the company’s website regarding its contracts and terms.
However, the company’s history indicates that it is likely that Clearwater Payments requires a contract of up to four years that has an early termination fee of $495. The company may also have a four-year non-cancelable equipment lease.
Contract Length
Variable
Early Termination Fee
Undisclosed
Clearwater Payments is not clear about how long their underwriting process takes, or how long it might take for merchants to be able to begin accepting payments. It stands to reason that merchant customers may be able to begin taking payments quickly if they have online businesses, but brick and mortar establishments may take longer because of the need for POS systems and terminals.
Clearwater Payments promotes a customer-centric model of support and states that each merchant receives a dedicated account manager in the event of questions or issues. The company’s website has a page with a contact form and a general support phone number.
BBB Rating
Clearwater Payments does not have a profile with the Better Business Bureau, and so, they have no rating on the BBB website. There are also no customer complaints or remarks listed for them.
Other Online Reviews
At this time, there are no online reviews available for Clearwater Payments. This could be because the company is still so new, but it has been in operation for several years. The lack of complaints indicates that its merchant customers do not consider the company to be scamming them, and they are more than likely very satisfied with the services and products they are receiving.
There are no outstanding FTC complaints or class-action lawsuits on file for Clearwater Payments at this time.
BBB
N/A
N/A
N/A
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
Unknown
Total Online Complaints
Lawsuits
No
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