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Retail, Internet, and Legal Specialists
AffiniPay, founded in 2005, is a full-service merchant account provider specializing in retail and internet merchant accounts as well as processing for professional associations such as accounts, psychologists, and especially law professionals through its specialized platform LawPay.
AffiniPay Payment Processing
AffiniPay processes all major debit and credit cards. They specialize in processing for specific business types including lawyers, CPA firms, nonprofits, architects, engineers, designers, medical professionals, and construction professionals. Their services include Level 1 PCi compliance, QR code payments, mobile payments, a payment gateway called ClientPay, recurring payments, and fraud and chargeback protection.
Headquartered in Texas
AffiniPay’s headquarters is located at 3700 N. Capital of Texas Hwy., Suite 420, Austin, Texas 78746, and the company is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Concord, CA; Synovus Bank, Columbus, GA.; and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Cincinnati, OH. Amy Porter is the founder and executive chairman of AffiniPay while Tom West is the CEO.
AffiniPay Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: AffiniPay appears to offer variable contract terms the depend on each merchant’s business size and type.
- Complaints & Service: AffiniPay has received fewer than 10 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: AffiniPay has an “A+” with and has received 3 complaints in the past 3 years. The company has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2010.
- Sales & Marketing: AffiniPay does not appear to hire independent sales representatives and has not received any merchant complaints about its sales practices.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With AffiniPay
AffiniPay offers payment processing for specific industries under various names, including MedPay and ClientPay
AffiniPay Customer Complaints & Reviews
Here's What Users Think
Complaint Summary
|
Total Online Complaints
<10
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Live Customer Support
Yes
|
Most Common Complaint
N/A
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Clean Complaint Record
After a thorough search of other consumer protection websites, we were only able to locate 2 complaints about AffiniPay. None of those reviews accuse the company of being a scam or ripoff. In fact, we could not find any non-BBB complaints filed against AffiniPay by merchants at all, though there are a couple of negative reviews from former employees on GlassDoor. AffiniPay’s website states that the company employs an in-house customer support team, which is likely a major factor in the company’s excellent complaint rate.
AffiniPay Lawsuits
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against AffiniPay. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
We did find evidence of a patent infringement lawsuit brought by OHVA, Inc. in the Western District Court of Texas. The case was opened in early 2020 and closed less than a month later with few details on the outcome of the case.
AffiniPPay Customer Support Options
The lack of AffiniPay complaints and strong support options in the form of a dedicated customer service line, FAQs on its website, and a clear contact form puts the company on track to qualify as a top-rated processor for customer service. For a company of AffiniPay’s size and time in business to be showing zero complaints is nearly unheard of, and we therefore award AffiniPay an “A” in this category.
AffiniPay Reviews Online
Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment
BBB Summary
|
Product & Service Complaints
1
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Billing & Collection Complaints
1
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Advertising & Sales Complaints
1
|
|
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints
0
|
Delivery Complaints
0
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LawPay-Specific Complaints
AffiniPay has been an accredited business of the Better Business Bureau since 2010 and currently maintains an “A+” grade. The company shows 3 complaints in the last 36 months, but these complaints both name AffiniPay’s subsidiary, LawPay, as the problem.
AffiniPay itself may not create the issues described in these complaints. 1 of the complaints was filed in relation to a problem with an advertising or sales issue, 1 had to do with a billing or collection dispute, and 1 was regarding an issue with the product or service itself. 0 of these 3 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. All 3 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.
An “A” Performance Overall
AffiniPay does not have any informal reviews posted to its BBB profile. Given the fact that AffiniPay’s complaints are related specifically to LawPay and not the credit card processor as a whole, we agree with the BBB‘s rating at this time.
AffiniPay Fees and Rates
A Closer Look at the Contract
Cost Summary
|
Swiped Rate
Interchange + 1.39% + $0.25
|
Keyed-in Rate
Interchange + 1.39% + $0.25
|
LawPay Flat Rate
1.95% + $0.20
|
|
LawPay Fee
$20 Per Month or $180 Per Year
|
Monthly Minimum Fee
$15
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PCI Non-Compliance Fee
$19.95 Per Month
|
|
Early Termination Fee
$0
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PCI Compliance Fee
$0
|
AffiniPay Mobile Swiper
$65
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AffiniPay Standard Pricing
There is not a great deal of publicly available information regarding the standard AffiniPay contract. The AffiniPay website advertises that the company has no lengthy contracts, application fees, startup fees, or monthly minimums, which is a very competitive series of offers.
We also located a promotional sheet for organizations that sign up for AffiniPay through YourMembership.com, an association management system. This sheet quotes a rate of interchange plus 1.39% and $0.25 per transaction with a monthly minimum fee of $15 (waived for merchants who process over $1,000 in a month). These prices are competitive when compared to industry averages and those of the cheapest merchant account providers, but they are only available to AffiniPay merchants who also sign up for YourMembership.com.
LawPay Pricing Model
A company representative has informed us that AffiniPay conducts most of its business under its LawPay brand, which is a payment processing service specifically targeted at law firms. As a result, most of the company’s merchants will operate under LawPay’s pricing model, which can be seen below. LawPay charges a flat transaction rate of 1.95% plus $0.20 and a membership fee that can be paid monthly for $20 or annually for $180.
No Pricing Complaints
The total lack of complaints about AffiniPay’s contract terms seems to indicate that the company sticks to its advertised rates, which makes it a solid option as a credit card processor. AffiniPay specializes in providing payment processing for professional associations and is therefore more likely to be an appropriate option for such an organization. If you have any specific knowledge of AffiniPay’s contract terms (including possible PCI Compliance fees or termination fees), please leave that information in the comment section of this review.
LawPay’s rate structure
AffiniPay Jobs and Employment
Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment
Key Points
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Employs Independent Resellers
No
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Advertises Deceptive Rates
Yes
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Discloses All Important Terms
Yes
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In-House Sales Team
AffiniPay appears to rely on an in-house sales team and its numerous partnerships with professional associations to market its services. There is no indication that the company hires independent sales agents, and, overall, we are unable to locate any complaints about AffiniPay’s sales tactics.
Potential Deception
The LawPay website currently lists a rate quote of “1.95% & 20¢ per transaction.” This rate quote is not inclusive of the company’s per-transaction rates, as AffiniPay merchants may pay up to 3.5% per transaction under certain circumstances. We consider this type of rate quote to be deceptive in nature because it could give merchants an unrealistic expectation of the rates they will pay.
No Complaints
In spite of this, AffiniPay has not received any merchant complaints that cite misrepresentation of fees. We will not lower the company’s score at this time, however, If you suspect that AffiniPay is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a free, third-party statement audit.
AffiniPay Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts and Opinions
A Great Option For Most Businesses
AffiniPay rates as an exemplary merchant services provider according to our criteria. There is not a great deal of information available about the company’s contract terms, but as of this update, AffiniPay enjoys a clean complaint record on all of the usual consumer protection websites. Owing to the performance of its DBA LawPay, the company rates as a top-rated legal account merchant provider. Even when dealing with seemingly reliable merchant services providers, merchants are advised to carefully examine the terms of any contract they sign.
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Amy Porter
Phillip,
Thank you once again for your review and ranking of AffiniPay/LawPay. We appreciate the recognition of our efforts in the industry. I also hope you will reconsider your change from A+ to A regarding our fees. Our pricing has not changed since last year. I also believe our account options are clearly disclosed on our website, which unfortunately is something not always done in this industry, but we strive to do. The 3.50% you mentioned is simply an option available through our LawPay program for smaller firms looking to have one FLAT RATE with NO TRANSACTION fees. No one with a Standard LawPay plan would ever pay 3.5%. The options for this plan, and the standard LawPay plans are clearly available under the “Open Account” link on the LawPay website.
Best regards,
Amy Porter
CEO, AffiniPay
Marge Falendysz
Affinipay (DBA LawPay, MedPay, CPAcharge) Of course you will not find poor reviews for Affinipay because the review are all under their third party processors. I requested a copy of AfiniPay pricing and I received a copy of their ‘Program Guide’. It is important to read everything about the program guide so a merchant will understand additional charges that are not listed within the program guide. They use Priority Payment Systems, LLC as their payment processor. (only bad reviews), The customer is also required to pay for ‘additional services’ for third party processors, such as Transarmour by First Data Services. These fees are not delinated in your agreement. But you will pay a ‘batch fee’ of .20 per item. FirstData services only does Batch Processing. This is what I would call hidden fees and there are a lot of them.