Take Charge USA Review

Rates and Fees
75/100
Truth in Advertising
80/100
Consumer Reviews
80/100
Customer Support
85/100
4

Best for

Merchants who are interested in utilizing a surcharge pricing model to cut down on the amount of money they pay in processing fees.

Specializes in

Take Charge specializes in surcharge pricing and their cash discount program to reward cash-paying consumers and assist merchants with covering their credit card processing fees.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: Unknown

Monthly Fee: 0%

Swipe Rate: Unknown

Keyed-in Rate: Unknown

Early Termination Fee : Unknown

Contract Terms:

Unknown
Visit Take Charge USA

Take Charge is a program that is offered through Advanced Merchant Services.

Advanced Merchant Services’ primary focus is on a more traditional payment processing model, while Take Charge gives merchants an option for surcharge pricing and cash discounts.

Take Charge is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida and has grown from a regional provider to a national processor.

Take Charge USA Overview

 

Take Charge is located in Jacksonville, Florida and was once a regional payment processing provider, but now works with merchants all over the United States. The company has specialized in working with the retail, lodging and restaurant industries for more than ten years.

Take Charge is offered through Advanced Merchant Services, a company with a more traditional model of payment processing. When merchants choose Take Charge, they have the option to choose surcharge pricing and implement a cash discount program, which can virtually eliminate their processing fees.

Take Charge maintains a large network of processors and financial institutions. The company works with both card-not-present and card-present merchants to provide them with personalized solutions for payment processing services.

Take Charge is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, of Concord, CA and of Esquire Bank of Jericho, New York.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

6440 Southpoint Pkwy, Ste. 140 Jacksonville, FL 32216

Year Founded

Unknown

CEO

Unknown

Employees

Unknown

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

Low Risk Businesses

What We Like

Surcharge pricing and cash discount programs help balance out processing fees.

Multiple systems to integrate with almost any POS.

Help develop gift card and loyalty card systems.

Works with all major credit cards.

Will work with high risk merchants.

What We Don't Like

Pass credit card processing fees on to the customer.

Requires a four-year contract.

High negative to positive review ratio.

Equipment is leased. Terms of the lease seem vague.

No mention of security, despite working with high risk merchants and card not present transactions.

Industries Served

  • Online Sellers

Business Types Served

  • Mobile
  • Online

Take Charge USA Products & Services

 

Hardware & Software

Take Charge works with many POS system providers and has access to various types of systems in order to meet their merchant customers’ needs. The company offers:

Take Charge Point-of-Commerce
Smart Register
Datapoint
Clover POS
Sound POS

Take Charge also offers virtual terminals and gateways including:

The Take Charge Gateway
Shopping Carts/Ecommerce
Level 2 and Level 3 processing
Custom integrations

Value Added Services

Take Charge’s Cash Discount program is one of the company’s main value added services, which can be utilized to eliminate merchants’ credit card processing fees.

The company can also assist merchants by helping them develop gift card and loyalty card programs. Take Charge frequently works with high-risk merchants to provide them with services and can assist merchants with capital funding as well.

Supported Payment Types & Services

Take Charge processes all types of electronic payments, including:

All four major credit cards
Debit cards
Gift cards
Electronic checks
ACH transfers

Take Charge can also help merchants develop a loyalty card program.

Take Charge USA Payment Processing

  • Credit Card Processing
  • Credit Card Terminals
  • Debit Card Processing
  • Mobile Card Reader
  • Mobile Commerce
  • Mobile Payments App
  • Online Payments
  • Online Shopping Cart Integration
  • Payment Gateway

Take Charge USA Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Online Payments

Take Charge USA Advertising & Sales

 
It does not appear as though Take Charge works with independent sales agents or contractors. The language on their website indicates that they have their own in-house sales team.

The company does not use any manipulative or deceptive marketing tactics on its website, it seems to be following suit with other payment processing companies that also offer surcharge pricing.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Public Pricing Available

No

Take Charge USA Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

Take Charge offers leased payment processing equipment for $39.95 per terminal.

This company is a bit different regarding pricing and fees because of its surcharge pricing model. Merchants that use Take Charge for credit card processing will pass along a 3.5% processing fee for each of their customer’s purchases directly to their customers.

In the event that customers pay with a debit card instead of a credit card, the merchant will need to cover the processing fee themselves. But this cost is much less than it is for credit card processing, typically.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Flat Rate

Swiped Rate

Unknown

Keyed-in Rate

Unknown

Mobile Payment Rate

Unknown

Virtual Terminal Rate

Unknown

Monthly Fee

0%

Payment Gateway Fee

Unknown

Batch Fee

Unknown

Early Termination Fee

Unknown

PCI Compliance Fee

Unknown

Equipment Lease Terms

Unknown

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Unknown

Application Fee

Unknown

Account Setup Fee

Unknown

Gateway Setup Fee

Unknown

Annual Fee

Unknown

Monthly Minimum

Unknown

Statement Fee

Unknown

Take Charge USA Contract & Terms

Take Charge does not provide a lot of information on its website regarding contracts and terms. However, it appears that merchant customers enter into a 4-year contract for payment processing services. Equipment leasing contracts may be different in their timeframe, and may not coincide with payment processing terms.

Contract Length

Unknown

Early Termination Fee

Unknown

Take Charge USA Setup & Support

 

The Take Charge website does not indicate how long their underwriting process takes, or how long it might take to get a merchant up and running with payment processing services. However, merchants in need of POS systems may take longer because of the time it takes to lease equipment.

Merchants utilizing a virtual gateway may be able to get started much faster, as Take Charge does advertise short turnaround times.

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)
  • Email Support

Take Charge USA Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

BBB Rating

While Take Charge does not have its own profile on the Better Business Bureau website, Advanced Merchant Services does. AMS has an A+ rating with the BBB, although the website shows online one positive review, four negative reviews and 39 customer complaints. Some of those complaints have not bee satisfied to the customers’ satisfaction.

The positive review states that AMS offers excellent customer service with good pricing and accurate billing. The company’s negative reviews have accused the company of scamming through cold calling and telling merchants that they need to upgrade their equipment.

Other Online Reviews

There are no other reviews online about Take Charge, only ones that can be found for Take Charge America, which is a separate company that offers a different type of service. This company should not be confused with Take Charge, the payment processing company.

Ratings

BBB

N/A

Google

N/A

Facebook

5 out of 5 (Based on the opinion of 1 person)

Yelp

N/A

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

Unknown

Total Online Complaints

Unknown

Lawsuits

Unknown

Take Charge USA Alternatives

NEED A MERCHANT ACCOUNT PROVIDER?

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

cogthumbs-upcheckmark-circlecross-circle