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:
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.
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.
Head Quarters
Portland, Oregon
Year Founded
2015
CEO
Jeff Easter
Employees
200
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
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.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
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 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
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
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.
BBB
C+ and is not BBB Accredited. (16 Reviews; 22 Complaints)
1.9 Stars; 125 Reviews
N/A
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
200+
Total Online Complaints
100+
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