Cornerstone Payment Systems Review

Rates and Fees
70/100
Truth in Advertising
75/100
Consumer Reviews
85/100
Customer Support
75/100
3.5

Best for

Cornerstone Payment Systems is suitable for religious organizations, small businesses, online businesses, and eCommerce merchants.

Specializes in

Cornerstone Payment Systems is a faith-based, Christian merchant account provider operating out of Tustin, California. It focuses on reducing rates for merchants and providing them with analytical reports on their current providers’ fees.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: $21

Swipe Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%

Keyed-in Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%

Early Termination Fee : Undisclosed

Contract Terms:

1 Year 3 Years
Visit Cornerstone Payment Systems

Cornerstone Payment Systems was founded in 2001. There is no published information on its founding members. It is a Christian-focused credit card processing company committed to reducing rates and helping merchants save on their monthly fees. It is a registered ISO of Deutsche Bank, USA, New York, NY. Based on its model, small businesses and religious organizations seem to constitute the majority of its clients. It employs 22 people.

Cornerstone Payment Systems Overview

 

Cornerstone Payment Systems was founded in 2001 and has been in business for twenty years. Its main goal is to reduce both fees and costs for operating merchants. According to its website, it offers a 'full complement of merchant processing services’, and its clients include retail stores, brick-and-mortar shops, and online businesses. Its pricing model is not fully disclosed, but instead presented as having no set rates with solutions specifically catered to each business. 

This suggests that the merchant account provider offers customized plans, rates, and contracts on a business-by-business basis. Cornerstone Payment Systems offers free rate analysis for the merchants who choose to use it, which helps reveal high fees from other merchant account providers.

Its overall reputation seems to be on the higher end. There are very few online complaints regarding Cornerstone Payment Systems.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

Tustin, CA

Year Founded

2001

CEO

Nick Logan

Employees

22

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

Zero setup fee.

Reduces rates for merchants and provides analytical reports on their current provider fees.

Tailors solutions for each individual client.

Good for small businesses, religious organizations, ecommerce merchants and online businesses.

Offers EMV chip and NFC technology to merchants.

What We Don't Like

Public pricing is not available.

Not all terms are disclosed.

There is a monthly fee.

Employs independent sales agents.

Has a PCI compliance fee.

Industries Served

  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Education
  • Educational Seminars
  • Electronics
  • Gas Station
  • Moving Companies
  • Personal Service
  • SAAS
  • SEO & SEM Services
  • Thrift Store
  • Web Design Services

Business Types Served

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

Cornerstone Payment Systems Products & Services

 

Point 1: Free Rate Analysis, Customized Plans for Merchants


Cornerstone Payment Systems offers a free rate analysis for merchants already using another credit card processing company. Afterwards, it uses this data to advise merchants on how to save money by switching to Cornerstone Payment Systems as their main payment processor. It also offers customized plans for merchants depending on their respective business, which can benefit specific industries depending on the regularity of revenue, risk, volume or size of transactions, and other factors.

Point 2: Full Complement of Merchant Processing Services


Cornerstone Payment Systems offers a variety of merchant processing services. It doesn't provide much detail on said services via its website; however, certain assumptions can be made based on other companies' standard services. Processing debit and credit cards, POS solutions, cash advances, and different types of services are common amongst merchant account providers. Cornerstone Payment Systems also offers these services to its clients. 

Point 3: EMV and NFC Technologies for Merchants


Cornerstone Payment Systems offers EMV Chip and NFC technologies for merchants to use. This is increasingly important as it’s now an industry-standard following its 2015 release. NFC is used for contactless payment systems. EMV Chip technology vastly reduces the amount of fraud from debit and credit card transactions by encrypting customer information. Both of these are highly valuable for merchants while operating their business.

Cornerstone Payment Systems Payment Processing

  • Credit Card Processing
  • Debit Card Processing
  • EBT Acceptance
  • EMV Processing
  • Gift Card Management
  • POS Equipment

Cornerstone Payment Systems Billing & Invoicing

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

Cornerstone Payment Systems Advertising & Sales

 
Cornerstone Payment Systems uses a combination of traditional advertising, partnerships, and independent sales agents to market and sell its services. On occasion, using independent sales agents tends to create aggressive, off-the-cuff sales forces that can drive away customers with deceptive tactics. However, Cornerstone Payment Systems does not appear to have many negative reviews regarding its advertising and sales tactics.

Cornerstone Payment Systems also appears to offer direct advertising, nor are there complaints about it overselling its claims. The services and products it provides are in line with what it claims to be capable of, which directly correlates to the lack of negative reviews.

Its pricing model is customized on a business-by-business basis. 

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

Cornerstone Payment Systems Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

Cornerstone Payment Systems doesn't have a leading rate or any standard numbers to go off of. While the numbers assuredly stay within the industry standard of 1-5%, nothing discusses additional fees or what kind of pricing it is. This includes whether or not it offers interchange-plus tiered pricing or entirely something else. Cornerstone Payment Systems also claims the numbers change based on each business, therefore leaving potential room for more transparency.

One fee that is known is a $50 PCI Compliance Annual fee. This is lower than the industry average.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Tiered Pricing

Swiped Rate

1.00% - 4.99%

Keyed-in Rate

1.00% - 4.99%

Mobile Payment Rate

Virtual Terminal Rate

1.00% - 4.99%

Monthly Fee

$21

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

Undisclosed

Early Termination Fee

Undisclosed

PCI Compliance Fee

$50 Per Year

Equipment Lease Terms

Undisclosed

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

Undisclosed

Annual Fee

Monthly Minimum

Undisclosed

Statement Fee

Cornerstone Payment Systems Contract & Terms

As with its pricing, Cornerstone Payment Systems doesn't disclose much information regarding its contracts either. Terms, cancellation fees, length of the agreement, and other valuable information aren't available to potential clients. However, merchants can take into account that there are few complaints claiming its contracts are scams.

Contract Length

1 Year3 Years

Early Termination Fee

Undisclosed

Cornerstone Payment Systems Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)

Cornerstone Payment Systems Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

Cornerstone Payment Systems has minimal complaints online. On BBB, it is not accredited and has 0 reviews and 0 complaints. On the interior side of the company, some employees have complained about management and certain internal practices. Indeed has it rated at 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on six reviews. Most other websites give Cornerstone Payment Systems a positive review, usually with four to five stars.

There are no known lawsuits against Cornerstone Payment Systems. There are no real outstanding complaints or any recurring themes in the reviews written online about Cornerstone Payment Systems. Most merchants seem to be satisfied with Cornerstone Payment Systems' service.

Ratings

BBB

A+(0 complaints)

Google

N/A

Facebook

No Reviews yet

Yelp

2.5 Stars / ‎3 Reviews

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

10+

Total Online Complaints

Lawsuits

None

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