Best for
Businesses of all sizes looking to grow clientele in both a digital and in-person setting.
Specializes in
Paystone provides services for new and existing businesses that are seeking to grow their customer base. They integrate an online presence with in person payment processing and POS to help a business find success on multiple fronts. They also advertise seamless integration of payment processing with technology to enhance product management and on-site productivity.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: $99 one-time setup fee
Monthly Fee: $30-$99
Swipe Rate: 2.60% + $0.05
Keyed-in Rate: 2.90% + $0.25
Early Termination Fee : None
Contract Terms:
Founded in 2009 under the name Zomaron.
Expanded in 2019 by rebranding themselves as PayStone. They acquired several high profile subsidiaries and hit the benchmark of 25,000 clients.
Tarique Al-Ansari was the founder of Zomaron and now sits as CEO of PayStone.
Founded in London, Ontario, Zomaron saw moderate success under the guidance of Al-Ansari. He left Western University early to focus on creating his own business.
Since its creation, Zomaron and now PayStone have continued to grow and increase both their subsidiary list and client base. Since its creation in 2009, the company has grown from a simple start-up to one of Canada’s largest financial tech companies.
PayStone is primarily located in Canada, but offers services across all of North America. In addition to increasing their business footprint, they have also continued to expand their hardware and software capabilities. Currently, they are one of the few companies to be pushing to integrate the two most important technical aspects of any business: engagement and payment processing. Furthermore, they boast over $10 billion in yearly processing.
Head Quarters
Ontario, Canada
Year Founded
2009
CEO
Tarique Al-Ansari
Employees
Unknown
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
Best for all size businesses looking to grow in the digital world and with in person clients.
No early termination fee.
Variable contract terms.
All important terms are disclosed.
Public pricing is available.
Setup fee.
Monthly fee.
Mid risk business tolerance.
Payment gateway fee.
PCI compliance fee.
Hardware & Software
The company focuses primarily on integrating engagement software and payment processing systems.
On the customer engagement and retention side, they focus on marketing automation with an emphasis on utilizing specifically branded gift cards and loyalty programs. This allows businesses to take an accustomed step in branding to compete with larger businesses.
Their software primarily pertains to payment processing, both with POS systems and digitally integrated with customer websites. Their systems are capable of handling all current forms of payment, including credit cards, ApplePay, and PayPal. Businesses are able to accommodate in person sales (swipe, insert, and tap) and remote sales.
In addition, they promote the fact that their software interacts with inventory and onsite mapping in real-time so businesses can focus on the customer. They state that their systems can streamline retail and restaurant businesses to reduce time away from customer service.
Value-Added Services
PayStone offers its customers access to custom gift cards and adaptable loyalty programs.
They also boast the ability to combine multiple aspects of the business under one simple operating system. They offer inventory tracking, built-in reports, and multi-location management.
Supported Payment Types & Services
Visa
Mastercard
ApplePay
PayPal
GooglePay
UnionPay
Discloses All Important Terms
Yes
Public Pricing Available
Yes
PayStone boasts extremely transparent prices on its website.
Their plans begin at $20, $30, and $99 per month. There are monthly fees for terminals, gift card support, and transaction fees. However, PayStone appears to be very upfront with what these will cost. They also offer expanded plans for larger businesses and bundling options for smaller businesses.
The only fee not openly stated is the setup fee.
Pricing Model
Interchange Plus
Swiped Rate
2.60% + $0.05
Keyed-in Rate
2.90% + $0.25
Mobile Payment Rate
Unknown
Virtual Terminal Rate
2.90% + $0.25
Monthly Fee
$30-$99
Payment Gateway Fee
$25 per month
Batch Fee
Unknown
Early Termination Fee
None
PCI Compliance Fee
$15 per month
Equipment Lease Terms
$30-$60 per month
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Unknown
Application Fee
Unknown
Account Setup Fee
$99 one-time setup fee
Gateway Setup Fee
$99
Annual Fee
Unknown
Monthly Minimum
Unknown
Statement Fee
Unknown
There are no stated contracts or terms other than the advertised ‘no locked-in contract fees’ that appear on their webpage. It appears that they run on a simple monthly billing cycle that can be ended at the customer’s convenience.
Any details of this actual agreement should be disclosed in the setup process.
There appear to be several complaints on the BBB website about the termination of the contract. However, most seem to be issues revolving around automated payments and unclear termination dates. According to the website, PayStone remedied all the complaints.
Contract Length
Variable
Early Termination Fee
None
Paystone offers a dropdown menu full of links to aid with setup. Their main support appears to be an 800 number that claims to be available 24 hours a day. They also offer email support. There are no references to response time on technical issues.
From their articles, it appears that much of their software and hardware contains detailed set up programs to help. However, this is unverified without actual purchase.
The only reference to response time is in the three complaints that refer to contract termination and appear to take several weeks to resolve. This may be the outlier.
BBB Rating
PayStone is an accredited business with an A+ rating.
They have three logged complaints with the BBB of which all appear to have been resolved. All complaints revolve around the termination of monthly contact.
Other Online Reviews
There are many 5 star reviews on the PayStone website. However, Paystone does not openly reveal any lower ratings.
BBB
A+
4.5 stars
N/A
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
Unknown
Total Online Complaints
Lawsuits
None
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