Best for
It's appropriate for businesses looking to accept payments mostly online. It can also accommodate in-person payments, with the bulk of its services concentrated on online electronic functionality.
Specializes in
First American Payment Systems specialize in various processing areas, including credit & debit card processing, ACH processing, ATM processing, check processing, gift card processing, and E-commerce payment processing. It also offers a point of sale system, remote deposit capture, merchant services, treasury management services, electronic payments, and mobile payments.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: Undisclosed
Monthly Fee: Undisclosed
Swipe Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%
Keyed-in Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%
Early Termination Fee : $300-$495
Contract Terms:
First American Payment Systems is based out of Fort Worth, Texas, at 100 Throckmorton St Suite 1800. It has been in business since 1990 and operates under several other business names, including FirstAdvantage, FirstFund ACH, Merimac Capital, Secur-Chex, FirstView, and FirstPay.net. The founder and CEO is Neil Randel, and it is a registered ISO/MSP of Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, and MetaBank. First American Payment Systems advocates they dedicate personnel to each account to increase customer service. It also appears to have a track record of serving over 164,000 customers, with $30 billion in transaction volume.
A review of the First American Payment Systems website claims that it provides the best products and services around but does not mention how much those products and services will cost. A large portion of the consideration that businesses take when looking for a product and service is to find the cost, and this company provides no insight into what that may entail. The feedback online for First American indicates that accounts can be expensive. Although it doesn't specify an industry focus, it appears that there are other choices for services that tend to be less expensive. First American offers a tiered pricing plan, which is usually one of the most costly pricing forms. An in-depth glance at its BBB profile shows a negative reputation. Most of the complaints stem from bad customer service, omitting information, and difficulty canceling services. It was also acquired by an investment group called Ontario Teachers Pension Plan in 2014.
Head Quarters
Fort Worth, TX
Year Founded
1990
CEO
Neil Randel
Employees
500
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
E-check processing offered.
PCI-Compliant solution.
Offers a tablet based point of sale system.
Accepts mobile payments.
You can shop online with the shopping cart integration system.
No pricing disclosed on line.
Early termination fee assessed.
Three year contract term.
Offers a tiered pricing plan.
Difficult to cancel services.
First American Payment Systems offers various products and services to help fit any business need.
Hardware & Software
Value-Added Services
Supported Payment Types / Services
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
Similar to most merchants, First American Payment Systems doesn't disclose their pricing and fees for the public's general consumption. They offer tiered pricing that is customizable to different businesses and requires that the company work with an independent sales representative. Feedback from merchants reveals a choice between a $95 annual fee or a $25 monthly minimum payment on a standard contract. Monthly statement fees are variable and can be upwards of $20 per month. Various costs are associated with it's virtual terminals and payment gateway services. There are also additional fees, including technical support fees, batch fees, and other transaction rates.
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
Undisclosed
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Batch Fee
Undisclosed
Early Termination Fee
$300-$495
PCI Compliance Fee
$120 Per Year
Equipment Lease Terms
48 Month (locked)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Undisclosed
Account Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Gateway Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Annual Fee
$95
Monthly Minimum
$25
Statement Fee
$20
The company offers the following as a standard contract:
Contract Length
3 Years
Early Termination Fee
$300-$495
The organization opened a profile with the Better Business Bureau in January of 2015. It currently has an A+ rating with the BBB rating and is an accredited business. Their customer rating now sits at a .35 out of 5 stars based on 20 customer reviews.
From our research, 72 complaints have been made against First American Payment Systems in the last three years. 28 of those complaints are regarding it's product and service problems, 42 for billing and collection disputes, and 2 for advertising and sales issues. 20 of those complaints have been resolved, but there are 52 still outstanding that have not been resolved.
BBB
A+(73 complaints)
1.6 Stars / 159 Reviews
N/A
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
300+
Total Online Complaints
150+
Lawsuits
None
If you're in the market for a merchant account provider, be sure to check out our user reviews, our merchant accounts guide and our top popular merchant provider picks