United Card Solutions Review

Rates and Fees
25/100
Truth in Advertising
25/100
Consumer Reviews
25/100
Customer Support
25/100
1

Best for

United Card Solutions is best for standard to medium-risk merchants in the U.S. in Retail and e-Commerce industries and businesses processing Mobile Orders & Telephone Orders (MOTO).

Specializes in

United Card Solutions (UCS) is a reseller of Fiserv merchant account services and traditional and mobile point of sale (POS) terminals through i3 Verticals. The company also offers merchants a virtual terminal and payment gateway as an additional tertiary service. UCS Payment Inc. is best for standard to medium risk merchants in the U.S. in Retail and e-Commerce industries and businesses with Mobile Orders & Telephone Orders (MOTO).

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: Undisclosed

Swipe Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%

Keyed-in Rate: 1.00% - 4.99%

Early Termination Fee : $250

Contract Terms:

3 Years
Visit United Card Solutions

UCS is an ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., of Concord, California.

UCS was started in 2011 with headquarters in Portland, Oregon, according to the Better Business Bureau. There is minimal information about the company's owner, with some sources alleging it may be Jeff Easter.

United Card Solutions Overview

 

According to the BBB website, UCS was started in 2011 with an office in Portland, Oregon. There is minimal information about the company's owner, with some sources alleging it may be Jeff Easter. The company has been associated with Direct Processors, Prestige Payment Solutions, Elite Fundraising, National Payments Systems OR LLC, and National Payment Systems of Washington LLC.

The company is a reseller of Fiserv's merchant account solutions through i3 Verticals and offers equipment leasing via Fiserv's First Data Global Leasing. UCS has been very opaque about its pricing and contract terms offering a 3-year contract term with a $250 early termination fee.

UCS hires both inside and independent sales teams making extensive use of telemarketing via automated dialing systems with prerecorded messages, prompting numerous merchant complaints against both the sales associates and telemarketing. The company settled a consumer lawsuit outside of court in 2018 on allegations of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

Portland, Oregon

Year Founded

2015

CEO

Jeff Easter

Employees

200

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

What We Don't Like

Industries Served

  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Electronics
  • Gas Station
  • Healthcare
  • Marketing Agency
  • Moving Companies
  • Personal Service
  • Property Management
  • Restaurant / Bar
  • SAAS
  • Thrift Store

Business Types Served

  • Ecommerce
  • Mobile
  • Mom & Pop
  • MOTO
  • Online
  • Retail / Card Present
  • Small Business

United Card Solutions Products & Services

 

Payment Processing: UCS allows merchants to accept all major credit cards, debit cards, E-Checks, and gift cards.

Point of Sale: UCS has partnered with Fiserv to offer PCI-compliant traditional and mobile POS terminals and card readers through its First Data Global Leasing subsidiary. According to the company's website, there are options available tailored to specific industry needs, be it bars, restaurants, grocery stores, retail, or salons.

Tertiary Services

UCS Gateway & Virtual Terminal: UCS offers an all-in-one solution to get merchants up and running with a payment gateway and a virtual terminal.

United Card Solutions Payment Processing

  • ACH Check Transactions
  • Check Services
  • Contactless NFC
  • Credit Card Processing
  • Credit Card Terminals
  • Debit Card Processing
  • eCheck & ACH Processing
  • Mobile Payments App
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Gateway
  • POS Equipment
  • Virtual Terminal

United Card Solutions Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Online Invoicing
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Processing

United Card Solutions Advertising & Sales

 
UCS hires both inside and independent sales teams. The company also relies heavily on telemarketing, often via automated dialing systems with prerecorded messages.

The company has faced numerous complaints about the sales teams quoting extremely low rates and no cancelation fees. Only for merchants to learn the rates were false and incurring an early termination fee as they attempted to cancel as a result.

We found numerous complaints against the company for repeated telemarketing and a lawsuit that was settled outside of court in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

United Card Solutions Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

Below is some of UCS's pricing information, collected from various third-party reviews and merchant complaints, as the company itself has not disclosed any pricing on its website.

Swiped rate: 1.00% - 4.99%

Card not present rate: 1.00% - 4.99%

Annual fee: $197

Early Termination Fee: $250

UCS tailors its services to e-commerce and mobile services businesses, among others. For those specific industries, the company also offers a payment gateway and a virtual terminal. Merchants will incur charges for those solutions. However, the company has not disclosed such pricing, nor have we found any public information on those products.

Additional costs merchants may incur are batch processing, technical support fees, and PCI compliance. It is unclear that the $197 that UCS charges in annual charges include PCI compliance costs.

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

Undisclosed

Payment Gateway Fee

Undisclosed

Batch Fee

Undisclosed

Early Termination Fee

$250

PCI Compliance Fee

$197

Equipment Lease Terms

48 Month (locked)

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

Annual Fee

Monthly Minimum

Undisclosed

Statement Fee

United Card Solutions Contract & Terms

UCS has been very opaque about its pricing and contract terms. Our research shows that the company resells Fiserv merchant account services through i3 Verticals via a 3-year contract term which carries a $250 early termination fee.

UCS has partnered with Fiserv's subsidiary First Data Global Leasing to offer traditional and mobile POS terminals and card readers. The company's leasing contract has traditionally been a noncancelable 48-month agreement with a liquidated damages clause, effectively costing merchants thousands of dollars for POS equipment that's merely hundreds of dollars.

Contract Length

3 Years

Early Termination Fee

$250

United Card Solutions Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base
  • Live Online (1-on-1)

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)

United Card Solutions Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

UCS has a profile with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is unaccredited. The company has a C+ rating. The profile is prefaced with an extensive note about the growing trend of complaints against UCS for falsely quoting very low rates, no termination fees, and 48-month locked equipment leases cloaked as program fees as part of payment processing.

UCS has responded with a denial of the BBB note and justifies its actions by referring to the contracts merchants have signed.

Our research found an individual lawsuit against the company in 2018 for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by repeatedly making unsolicited telemarketing calls using automated dialing systems. The lawsuit was settled outside of court.

Ratings

BBB

C+ and is not BBB Accredited. (16 Reviews; 22 Complaints)

Google

1.9 Stars; 125 Reviews

Facebook

N/A

Yelp

N/A

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

200+

Total Online Complaints

100+

Lawsuits

None

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