Best for
Merchants that are interested in finding straightforward payment processing services for all types of payments.
Specializes in
Forte Payment Systems specializes in providing straightforward payment processing services through an integrative platform that is designed to scale with merchants as their businesses grow.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: N/A
Monthly Fee: N/A
Swipe Rate: Unknown
Keyed-in Rate: Unknown
Early Termination Fee : $99
Contract Terms:
Forte Payment Systems was once known as ACH Direct, and the company was founded in 1998.
In 2013, ACH Direct became Forte Payment Systems as a part of a new marketing direction with new services.
This company also did business as Federal Payments at one point in time, and the company uses the word “omnichannel” to describe its multi-faceted approach to payment processing.
Forte Payment Systems is headquartered in Allen, Texas, and has done business under the names Federal Payments and ACH Direct in the past. The company offers omnichannel payments, which means that it can accept all types of payments via every channel, including ACH payments with mobile processing.
This company’s website lists its name as CSG Forte. Its About Us page mentions utilizing a unified payments platform to assist customers in growing their businesses quickly through smart payment scaling.
Forte Payment Systems has partnered with some of the leading software providers in multiple industries to deliver various services to their merchant customers. These services include payment processing, business automation and more.
Head Quarters
500 W Bethany Dr Suite 500, Allen, TX 75013, United States
Year Founded
1998
CEO
Jeff Thorness
Employees
Unknown
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Live, easily-reachable customer service.
A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website.
Bill presentment services.
Charges an early termination fee.
Does not properly disclose monthly fees and surcharges on their website.
Hardware & Software
Forte Payment Systems utilizes a cloud-based uniform payment platform called Dex. Dex increases operational efficiency and streamlines payment management. It also can aid in monitoring transactions, disputes, reports and analytics.
Forte Payment Systems offers the following:
A payment gateway
Mobile payment capability
Shopping cart checkout
Check verification
NSF check recovery
Bill presentment
POS systems
Credit/debit card terminals
Printers
Cables
Value Added Services
Bill presentment is a service that not many payment processing services offer, but Forte Payment Systems advertises it as “The Future of Billing.”
BillPay is a portal that allows merchants to manage each transaction in a secure, hosted area. It provides self-service capabilities for customers that allows merchants to accept online bill payments.
Forte Payment Systems can also assist merchants with optimizing their revenue and payment and identity validation.
Supported Payment Types & Services
Forte Payment Systems payment gateways can allow merchants to have the ability to accept all types of payments, including:
All four major credit cards
Debit cards
ACH payments
Electronic check payments
Mobile payments
Online payments
MOTO payments
Bill payments
Through Forte Payment Systems, merchants can process EMV chip card payments, magstripe card payments and contactless payments.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
Forte Payment Systems offers interchange-plus pricing, which the company refers to as the Select+ package, for merchants with larger volumes. Small businesses have access to flat rate pricing, or their standard package.
For the standard plan, the rate for Visa, Mastercard and Discover payments is 2.75% + $0.25. The rate for American Express transactions is 3.5% + $0.25 per transaction. These rates apply to both card-present and card-not-present transactions.
Other fees include:
Application fee - $75
Chargeback fee - $25
PCI compliance fee - $8 per month
PCI non-compliance fee - $30 per month
Pricing Model
Interchange Plus
Swiped Rate
Unknown
Keyed-in Rate
Unknown
Mobile Payment Rate
Unknown
Virtual Terminal Rate
N/A
Monthly Fee
N/A
Payment Gateway Fee
N/A
Batch Fee
N/A
Early Termination Fee
$99
PCI Compliance Fee
Unknown
Equipment Lease Terms
Unknown
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Unknown
Application Fee
$75
Account Setup Fee
N/A
Gateway Setup Fee
N/A
Annual Fee
N/A
Monthly Minimum
Unknown
Statement Fee
N/A
Forte Payment Systems advertises 1-year contracts with all of its merchant customers. If a merchant decides to cancel their account before the year is over, a $99 early termination fee will be assessed at that time.
There is no additional information available on the Forte Payment Systems website regarding contracts and terms.
Contract Length
1 Year
Early Termination Fee
$99
The Forte Payment Systems website has a section that is dedicated to developers. While there is no indication on the site about how long the underwriting process may take, some merchants may be able to start accepting payments very quickly when they choose this company for payment processing.
Forte Payment Systems appears to be very conscientious about attending to their merchant customers’ needs. The company offers live customer service, which is available by email, phone or chat. This company is also very active on social media and often addresses merchant questions on Facebook and Twitter.
BBB Rating
Forte Payment Systems has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website. The company’s accreditation dates back to 2014. Its profile has had seven complaints and one negative review on the BBB website. There are no positive reviews.
The negative reviews indicated that the company attempted to collect funds that were not owed, unauthorized withdrawals and accounts that were canceled without warning.
Other Online Reviews
Forte Payment Systems has other reviews online, including 10 Google reviews. The company has received 2.8 out of 5 stars on Google, and it does have one complaint on the Ripoff Report website that mentions contract terms that were not upheld.
BBB
A+ and has been Accredited since 2014. (0 Reviews; 17 Complaints)
2.4 Stars / 34 Reviews
No Reviews
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
Unknown
Total Online Complaints
17+
Lawsuits
No
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