Best for
Businesses of all sizes are looking for fresh front-end credit card processing.
Specializes in
Providing multiple options for payment processing. They offer terminals, mobile, and gateway solutions to the business needs of merchants everywhere. They also look to go above and beyond with both customer relations and value-added services.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: Undisclosed
Monthly Fee: Undisclosed
Swipe Rate: 2.69% + $0.19
Keyed-in Rate: 3.69% + $0.19
Early Termination Fee : $250-$350
Contract Terms:
ClearGate has their headquarters located in Reno, NV.
The company was founded in 2005.
Robert Onesian is listed as the principal.
Created in 2005, ClearGate was originally branded as ClearChoice. In 2014 it went through a rebranding and changed their name to ClearGate. From the beginning, ClearGate has been a distributor of front-end credit card processing options.
They offer terminals, mobile payment, and payment gateways. However, it appears they do not hold the merchant accounts but resell them to Fiserv.
Throughout their company website, they stress the high levels of their security. There are multiple approaches to keeping their customer’s information safe.
They do hold a Better Business Bureau profile and have maintained a low level of customer complaints throughout their existence.
Head Quarters
Reno, Nevada
Year Founded
2005
CEO
Robert Onesian - Founder
Employees
15
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Hardware and Software
ClearGate states that they offer a variety of terminals, virtual terminals, and payment gateways. However, there is no actual information available on their website.
Furthermore, there is no information on what these services will cost a merchant.
There is information that the virtual terminal will allow a merchant access to multiple analytics level functions, including customer profiles, recurring billing, and easily accessed repayment.
Value-Added Services
It appears they offer several services to enhance customer potential. Many of these are aspects of the virtual terminal, but they also offer gift cards and loyalty cards to create a tangible increase in customer base and customer retention.
Another service they mention on the website is PayUp. This is a billing app merchants can take advantage of to help sort and distribute bills to customers. There is little actual information on the app available on the website as the link is a loop to their homepage.
Supported Payment Types and Services
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
ACH
eCheck
Check
There may be more options here that will vary based on the terminal type. Without any further information that is impossible to determine.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
There is zero information as to pricing and fees available on the company website. With reviews pointing to ClearGate as a merchant account reseller, it is possible to find rates for Fiserv and present some potential numbers.
Based on knowledge of Fiserv, they generally offer flat rates and interchange plus rates. For the interchange plus we know Fiserv offers two basic account levels with the $50,000 being the dividing line.
Under $50k:
2.5%-4% + $0.19
Over $50k:
1.75%-2.5% + $0.10
There is also a long list of fees, including an early termination fee. There is no confirmed list available online, which could point to them being negotiable.
It is also very likely there are extra fees associated with the virtual gateway.
Pricing Model
Interchange PlusTiered Pricing
Swiped Rate
2.69% + $0.19
Keyed-in Rate
3.69% + $0.19
Mobile Payment Rate
Virtual Terminal Rate
2.05% + $0.10
Monthly Fee
Undisclosed
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Batch Fee
Undisclosed
Early Termination Fee
$250-$350
PCI Compliance Fee
$19.95 Per Month
Equipment Lease Terms
48 Month (locked)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Account Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Gateway Setup Fee
Annual Fee
Monthly Minimum
Undisclosed
Statement Fee
Undisclosed
If Fiserv is used as a benchmark, the contracts are three years with a two-year auto-renewal after that. These terms are fairly normal for the industry. The only difference is the two-year renewal instead of one.
There are early termination fees on the lower end at $250.
The terms of the contract appear to be variable and negotiable.
Contract Length
3 Years
Early Termination Fee
$250-$350
There is no information available for setup. Since the website offers no information on what types of terminals they offer it is impossible to even estimate setup times. It can be deduced that setup times for the virtual terminal should be dependent on the underwriting process for the merchant account.
Once the merchant account has cleared through Fiserv anything digital should be up as quickly as the software can be downloaded.
There is no indication on whether the hardware comes loaded or setup proceeds after arrival.
There is a phone number and email address available on the website. They do not specify whether these contact points are for sales or customer support. Also, there is no portal for merchant accounts that would point to there being more help available once a merchant account is established.
BBB Rating
A+
There are no reviews or complaints available on the Better Business Bureau website. The company has been accredited since 2006.
Other Online Reviews
There are a few complaints found online. They are related to undisclosed information and unauthorized charges.
Three charges in almost twenty years is an extremely low rate. The complaints themselves seem relatively minor and appear to have been quickly addressed by the company.
BBB
A+ and has been Accredited since 2006. (0 Reviews; 0 Complaints)
5 Stars / 1 Review
No Reviews
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
10+
Total Online Complaints
Lawsuits
None
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