Payscape Review: Fees, Comparisons, Complaints & Lawsuits

Low-to-Moderate Complaint Total

We were able to locate more than 40 negative Payscape reviews on this website and other consumer protection websites. Some of these complaints seem to have been posted by competitors; these have been disregarded for the purposes of our review. Common themes among legitimate complainants include nondisclosure of contract terms, difficulty reaching a representative, hidden fees, and difficulty canceling service. Approximately one-third of these reviews received a response or rebuttal from a company representative, and in a handful of these cases, merchants returned to explain that they were satisfied with the company’s reaction. Although this is an encouraging sign, it is our belief that a proactive and available customer service team will address these complaints effectively before they are taken public. In addition, it appears as though many of these complaints were filed in the last 12-24 months.

Payscape Lawsuits and Fines

We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Payscape. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

Payscape Customer Service Options

Payscape offers phone and email support as well as an online knowledge base for merchants. These options are the bare minimum we expect of top-rated payment processors for great customer service, but they do not appear to do a good job of resolving Payscape complaints in-house. The consistency of the company’s complaints inclines us to assign Payscape a “B” in this category.

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

Under 10 Complaints

Formerly accredited since 2013, but no longer accredited, the Better Business Bureau gives PayScape a “B” rating based on 6 complaints filed within the last 36 months. This is a drastic drop from the 16 complaints at the time of a previous review, and considering the company has suddenly lost its accreditation and has a lower score, it appears that the BBB may have merged multiple profiles for the company, resulting in major changes to its totals and score. Of the 6 current complaints, 2 are regarding problems with products or services, 3 with billing and collection disputes, and 1 with advertising or sales issues. 2 of these 6 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. All 4 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.

What Merchants Say

Payscape is currently showing 0 negative reviews to its profile, but at the time of a previous update, it had received 6 negative informal reviews. The most recent review described deceptive sales practices and poor customer service:

Terrible experience with this company for 2 years. Suprise fees totaling hundreds of dollars that were not approved by us. Their sales rep did not outline fees during sign up process. Contract we signed had $0 for PCI fees and no mention of $495 cancellation fee. After complaining about fees, the company pulled out a terms & conditions page which was not attached to the original contract that was signed. Miscellaneous $6, $7, $10 charges each month that we did not authorize. We were told they were “unavoidable and due to policy changes”. Accounts that were supposed to be closed never got closed and additional charges were posted. This happened several times. While the company did finally refund charges (not all of them, but some), it required speaking to multiple people mutlitple times with multiple follow ups. Overall, an absolutely terrible experience. Cannot recommend anyone work with this company.

Businesses can avoid situations like this by researching the top merchant account providers for customer service.

A “B” Performance

Given these figures, we agree with the BBB’s rating of a “B.”

Three-Year Contract

According to a company representative, the standard Payscape contract is a three-year agreement that will renew for a one-year term unless canceled after the final 90 days but before the final 30 days of the initial term. The contract also includes a cancellation fee of $495 ($595 total if the merchant signs up for Secur-Chex check conversion) and an annual PCI compliance fee of $124.75. Both of these fees are higher than those offered by budget-friendly merchant accounts, and many business owners report receiving less competitive transaction rates than they were initially promised.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

Payscape has 3 separate plans for virtual terminal services that can facilitate online and mobile payments. The Standard plan costs $11.95 per device per month, $0.10 per transaction, and $65 for hardware purchased through iProcess. It includes unlimited users, custom tipping, real-time reporting, and a merchant dashboard. The Professional plan costs $12.95 per device per month, $0.12 per transaction, and $85 for hardware purchased through 1stPayMobile. It includes everything in the Standard plan plus recurring billing, multi-merchant views, text receipts, and an optional receipt printer. The Premium plan costs $19.99 per device per month, $0.00 per transaction, and a $75 setup fee. It includes everything in the Professional plan plus inventory management, EMV processing, Bluetooth compatibility, offline mode, customer card on file, analytics, and custom discounts. The transaction rates quoted by Payscape are probably not inclusive, as additional fees will be charged by each backend payment processor.

Payscape POS Pricing

Payscape offers three purchase plans (“Professional,” “All-In-One,” and “Premium”) and two lease agreements for its point-of-sale solution. The Professional plan starts at $79 per month, while the All-In-One and Premium plans start at $99 per month. The first leasing option costs $99 per month for 48 months, while the second leasing option costs $178 per month for 36 months. Both lease agreements include flat-rate processing of 2.9% plus $0.29 per transaction, an iPad, stand, printer, card reader, and cash drawer. We recommend purchasing rather than leasing whenever possible, as long-term lease agreements rarely favor merchants.

Other Payscape Fees

Many complainants also report surprise upon being notified of Payscape’s high cancellation fee, which indicates that it isn’t typically mentioned at the point of signing. A company representative also stated that merchants may choose between an annual fee or monthly minimum fees depending on a merchant’s size. Merchants are advised to read their contracts carefully and to keep in mind that many contract terms are often negotiable.

We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of thebest merchant accounts.

An Average Option for Most Businesses

According to our rating system, Payscape rates as an average merchant account provider. The company has received a fairly consistent pattern of reviews complaining about undesirable and undisclosed contract terms, but Payscape’s responses to these complaints and its improvement in its BBB rating have raised its overall score. Merchants are encouraged to compare Payscape’s pricing to that offered by top-rated overall processors in order to obtain the best deal.