Best for
TSYS Merchant Solutions is best suited for industries such as healthcare, medical, SAAS, electronics, and businesses of all sizes.
Specializes in
TSYS is a large merchant account provider that offers credit card processing for various industries. It is also a back-end merchant account provider that processes transactions for thousands of clients.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: $0
Monthly Fee: Undisclosed
Swipe Rate: 2.5% + $0.20
Keyed-in Rate: 3.5% + $0.20
Early Termination Fee : $295
Contract Terms:
TSYS services other merchant account providers, who then service merchants across various industries. It originally started out as a bank in the late 1800s in Georgia, but was eventually transformed into a credit card processing company. TSYS officially rebranded itself in 1983. It is a registered ISO of many banks, including Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA; Synovus Bank, Columbus, GA; and Deutsche Bank, New York, NY. It employs over 12,000 people. Columbus, Georgia, is TSYS's headquarters.
TSYS is the parent company of TSYS Merchant Solutions and TSYS Acquiring Solutions. The Merchant Solutions side of the business directly processes credit cards by eliminating a third-party middleman. TSYS' pricing model is flexible depending on the type and size of a business. With this model, one business’ rate will probably be different from another. However, its rates generally fall into the tiered pricing category, in which fees can sometimes be higher than interchange-plus pricing. TSYS has an overall positive reputation. Many of the online complaints leveled against the company refer to the third party companies it services. Only a few of the online complaints directly refer to TSYS.
Head Quarters
Columbus, GA
Year Founded
1983
CEO
Troy Woods
Employees
12820
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Zero setup fee.
Interchange plus pricing available.
Robust product lineup.
Can directly process credit cards eliminating the middleman.
Risk management and direct card production is offered.
Early termination fee.
Monthly fee is not disclosed.
Requires a three year contract with an automatic renewal clause.
Tiered pricing plans offered.
Not the best customer service.
Point 1: Backend Credit Card Processing, Business Analytics
TSYS is a large company that offers nearly every type of service or product made available by merchant account providers. Back-end card processing allows TSYS to work with third-party companies and process their payments. As a result, the third-party company makes a profit by being a reseller, and the merchant receives quality service. TSYS also offers business analytics, which can help some merchants operate more efficiently.
Point 2: Risk Management, Card Production
TSYS offers risk management, risk prevention, and card production. Card production specifically relates to only a few industries, especially healthcare. TSYS offers creation of healthcare cards if you are a healthcare insurance provider. Risk management and prevention help block and prevent fraud within your operation. This is especially helpful if a significant portion of your business exists online, since fraud has now become commonplace.
Point 3: Loyalty Programs, Streamlining Pricing/Billing
TSYS offers loyalty programs and streamlines both pricing and billing. Loyalty programs are usually very effective at engaging with customers and facilitating repeat purchases, therefore it's a useful service for many merchants. Streamlining pricing and billing, on the other hand, is an excellent method for eliminating some clerical work for merchants.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
TSYS doesn't provide too much information about its pricing. It is known, however, that it provides pricing in tiered categories. Old reports suggest that TSYS used to offer three plans, with rates in the following: 2.5% + $0.20 per transaction with a keyed rate of 3.5% +$0.20. The other two plans had lower rates, usually for smaller businesses: 1.99%+$0.20 and 3.1%+ $0.20 for keyed transactions; and finally 1.7%+$0.20 and a keyed rate of 3%+$0.20. Its PCI Compliance fee is unknown.
However, this information is dated, and it is likely that some of these figures have changed. Because this is tiered pricing, the rates for non-qualified cards (in other words, mid-qual or no-qual cards) would be higher than the figures above.
Pricing Model
Interchange PlusTiered Pricing
Swiped Rate
2.5% + $0.20
Keyed-in Rate
3.5% + $0.20
Mobile Payment Rate
Virtual Terminal Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
Monthly Fee
Undisclosed
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Batch Fee
Undisclosed
Early Termination Fee
$295
PCI Compliance Fee
$75.20 Per Year ($18.80 charged each quarter)
Equipment Lease Terms
48 Month (locked)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Application Fee
Account Setup Fee
$0
Gateway Setup Fee
Undisclosed
Annual Fee
Monthly Minimum
Undisclosed
Statement Fee
TSYS generally offers a three-year contract. This contract auto-renews for an additional year if not manually canceled by the merchant, and contains a relatively high early-termination fee of at least $295. This is considered higher than the industry average. Some merchants have made noticeable complaints about the ways TSYS handles its contracts. Nondisclosure of contract terms is a common complaint.
Contract Length
3 Years
Early Termination Fee
$295
The most common complaints made about TSYS revolve around customer service. As previously stated, in reality, most of these complaints are against the third-party merchants and sub-ISOs that TSYS works with. Some of these complaints and negative reviews are legitimate, but many of them aren't accurate.
Global Payments acquired TSYS in May of 2019. Global Payments has many negative reviews made against it, and merchants often get the companies confused. Still, TSYS has the following review scores: 1.5 out of 5 stars, based on ten reviews. Hundreds of complaints have been filed against it; however, TSYS now redirects to Global Payments, Inc on BBB. Indeed has it rated at 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on over 1800 reviews. Common complaints made by employees mention management, low pay, and company toxicity.
Most other companies and websites generally give positive reviews for TSYS.
No class-action lawsuits are on record against TSYS, but in July of 2019, a shareholder named Jack Wolf filed a lawsuit against TSYS. The suit's overall claim states that shareholders were supposed to receive a portion of stock in Global Payments upon said company acquiring TSYS in 2019. However, this never occurred. Jack Wolf filed the suit stating this guarantee was misleading. The case has no resolution as of yet.
BBB
A+(129 Complaints)
1.9 Stars / 44 Reviews
No Reviews yet
Yelp
1.5 Stars / 51 Reviews
Total Online Reviews
700+
Total Online Complaints
125+
Lawsuits
2
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