Overview
In this article of Altiras Advisors, a merchant account provider based in Carrollton, Texas, we’ll look into various aspects of their services. We’ll cover payment processing options for a wide range of debit and credit cards, integration with point-of-sale systems, and specialized services for high-risk merchant accounts. A key part of our discussion focuses on the security measures Altiras Advisors implements, such as advanced encryption and fraud prevention tools, to ensure transaction safety.
We will also examine their personalized approach through dedicated account management, along with the reporting and analytics tools they provide to businesses. Additionally, we’ll address potential concerns by reviewing common customer complaints and their implications, as well as overall industry and employee feedback on Altiras Advisors. This comprehensive overview aims to offer insights into the company’s operations, the pros and cons of their services, and how they compare with other players in the industry. Our goal is to provide a balanced view of Altiras Advisors, helping businesses make informed decisions about their merchant services needs.
About Altiras Advisors
Altiras Advisors is a Carrollton, Texas-based merchant account provider that also offers business financing and online marketing solutions. Founded in September 2015, the company is a reseller of First American Payment Systems products and services. This makes sense considering that the CEO of Altiras Advisors, Tony Norrie, is the former general manager of TransTech Merchant Group and Summit Merchant Solutions, the former vice president of Certified Payment Processing, and the former president of Eliot Management Group, all of which are subsidiaries or resellers of First American Payment Systems. The co-founder of Altiras Advisors, Welby Evangelista, is also the co-founder of Eliot Management Group. The company also advertises Poynt as a POS solution.
Amy Choi
If you’re on this webpage, you’ve been defrauded by Altiras Advisors and First American Payment Systems. I’m sorry for your losses, here’s mine.
Valarie Linvel a sales representative of Altiras told me that they needed my account information to get rate quotes, she had me fill out a form while on the phone even after I clarified it was just for a quote. She followed up with emails requesting 3 months account history, and a bank authorization letter for withdrawals. She never received these items. Then the charges began to appear. They opened an account anyway.
According to First American getting the checking account information was “agreeing” to a 3 year contract. I told them to show me proof of a signature and they said they’ll mail it. How can they have a signature? We never signed or saw a contract. They charged us, we’re out over $600 for a service we did not want, did not use, and did not sign up for. Straight up theft. First American will try to blame you for their fraud. Don’t fall for it, they deserve to be put out of business.
At least one bank acknowledged they did not have proof of authorization to withdrawal and returned a small sum. Your money is likely scattered among many large banks. So far Bank of America, Fifth Third, and Chase have some portions of our stolen funds.
Altiras is in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and they need to be held accountable. Don’t forget to file a claim with the Federal Trade Commission and the Texas Attorney General. The more the complaints the better.
Dulce Luna Massage & Wellness
Each time you see this company do not do business with them. They are scammers
I feel so un happy with the way this company works.
They train their representatives to lie in your face.
No fees cancelation, No monthly charge, No over charge.
ALL OF THIS IS NOT TRUE!!
They gain your trust and when you do not notice they tell you what you want to hear. Since you trust on the person they harm you with a contract that you sing and they do not give you a copy.
I learn, that you must not to trust in nobody about business.
This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Massage Therapists
-Phillip
Chris Maroudas
They decided to hold the funds of a transaction claiming safety protocol for fraud even after I confirmed customer is close friend and there should be no fear of fraud. I was being interrogated and have to believe the the fraud they claimed the protocol was for was intended for me. In the 4 months I did business with them there were never any claims or negative actions on my account and yet still they decided to hold my funds hostage going on 6 days now. For a small business these funds are necessary for day to day survival. Is this the type of partnership you’re looking for?
Cecilia
Do not sign up with Altiras for credit card processing. After I signed up I read the reviews and decided not to go with them. Upon arrival of the terminal, i cancelled without opening box and returned it same day. I explained why. After almost 2 months later they are still debiting my account.
They say I ran a test and I did not. They said I did not cancel so I sent it to them and they said it had to be cancelled by fax.
I have contacted my bank and will contact the BBB.
Jeffrey Dougherty
Stay far away from this company. Salesman lied to me about specifics of this service then will not return my calls to resolve the issues. They charged me $50 on charge backs from a customer without contacting me first for an opportunity to defend the charge. In 20 years in business, I never had a charge back till I switched to this company. Called the Altiras and representative was rude and showed no interest in resolving the issues. Plus, I was charged a 60.00 fee on top of what is stated in my contract.
Yasser
Where do I even begin. This company, the principles, and all representatives should be in jail. Every few days I’m getting charged fees AFTER a written statement and verbal agreements from Brandon Knight that i won’t be charged. I have no choice but to pursue legal action against Altiras, it’s representative Brandon and it’s principle Welby. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY.
Jason Billingsley
Worst experience of my life! I have been scammed. Don’t do business with this company!!!
CPO
Hi Jason,
Can you please elaborate on your experience so that other merchants can understand what happened?
yasser waqas
From the very first time a representative stepped into my store to sell me their services I knew it was going to be bad. As soon as they found out that I used square to process credit cards, the representatives started salivating over a sale. Over the course of the next few weeks and repeatedly telling them no, a manager showed up to my location along with the sales rep to sell me the service. After being told numerous times that there would be no monthly fee or contracts, I agreed to try the service. I used the service for less then 10 transactions and was not pleased with it and stopped it. A year later I find out that I have been charged a monthly fee plus am under a 3 year agreement. I’ve been trying to get a hold of someone to look into this situation but the young lady named Patricia Karnes is no where to be found and I have no recieved any follow up as to what’s going on. The next step to resolve this is to file complaint with BBB but more importantly the attorney generals office. Thanks Altaris for hiring crooks and individuals who can’t close a sale with lying.
Yasser waqas
After over a month of trying to get this resolved, I have decided to remove my initial review after Altiras and I agreed upon a refund of a portion of charges that I had initially paid. A representative of the company has advised me to remove my review in order to get my refund. I am a still unhappy since the full amount that was taken out was not returned especially considering I was told when this agreement was signed that there would be no monthly fees or long term agreements. Only processing fees for cards swiped. This whole incident could have been resolved in a much easier and meaningful way had Altiras had a proper and appropriate process to deal with this. My only hope after this is they figure it out going forward.
Zach
COMPLETE SCAM ARTISTS. DO NOT BELIEVE a word that they say here. It is all lies. I am not going to waste my time with describing the entire process with this scam company but do not trust them. I have been waiting for almost a month now to get my second refund after they charged my account 4.5x what they said they would. I cancelled service two days after I got it and have had to jump through hoops ever since. They told me my account was closed then they charged me. This has wasted so much time it is terribly frustrating and draining. I’m still waiting on a refund I may not get. If I don’t get my money back soon I’m going to have to close my business account and open another one just so they can’t take anymore money out of my account. I will report this company to the attorney general unless I’m taken care of.
Heidi Campo
COMPLETE SCAM ARTISTS!
I have had $1,045.33 of “fees” taken out of my account since December. In December their card reader they provided me stopped working and I let them know ASAP. They took a few weeks to get back to me and we tried for another month to see if it could be fixed.
Each month various amounts of fees were being taken out. At first I didn’t notice, then I didn’t know where the fees were being taken out from. I had to shut down my business account for a month and a half to figure out who was taking my money.
After I learned it was Altiras, then I opened up my account and asked my contact at Altiras, Malissa Cichone, to refund the money.
Malissa said it might be 3-4 weeks to refund me. It sometimes took days between getting e mails from her and she has never returned a phone call. Money was still taken out this month (May) after Altaris had been alerted and promised it would stop.
I will more than likely be forced to pursue legal action unfortunately. Lesson learned, I will do my research ahead of time from now on. Looks like the other reviews had similar problems to mine.
Welby Evangelista
Ms. Campo, we’ve processed your request for a refund of your fees and funds are being remitted. We;ve closed your accounts and you will no longer be charged monthly minimum fees.
As for what happened, apparently your website took longer than anticipated to complete, and we attempted on a number of occasions to coordinate with your web developer in terms of suspending, or delaying the activation of your merchant account. Unfortunately, we did not hear from your developer and when you left the country for a number of weeks, we had no one to turn to regarding your account.
We worked very hard to make sure that your account was not activated prematurely and start charging your account fees. However, there was some communication problems with your developer.
As for the swiper not working, your developer chose a different ecommerce platform and went ahead and used one that he knew how to program in, and one that we can support, but again, we cannot get a hold of them. I believe that to this day, your website is still not completed.
We’ve issued a full refund of all of your fees since we feel that this issue was due to miscommunication with your web developer and not you. This should resolve this matter.
Welby Evangelista
President
Altiras Advisors
Tim Winfree
From the initial phone interview with Altiras to the sit-down at a local Starbucks, Brandon Knight and Patricia Karnes were very pleasant and helpful. One thing I explained to Brandon Knight over the phone was that if there was not the ability to transfer customer data without us having to involve our customers in the process then I was NOT interested and we’d better not waste each other’s time. He assured me it was possible and that we should meet in person to talk about specifics. So I agreed and what I was told was is this, as I have it in an email: “We’ve got you set for tiered 1 pricing, .25% .10c trans fee + interchange. Also 25cents per ACH W/ 10$ service compared to your current 35cents & 20$ service fee. Were providing your swiper at no charge along with no set up fees.” Additionally, Brandon Knight told me in person that there would be no monthly fee.
Several days after our face to face things started to change. First, I could not get ahold of neither Patricia Karnes nor Brandon Knight to confirm when we could get everything set up properly. We have a great deal of customers on auto-pay and I clearly explained MULTIPLE times that if we had to invoke my customer’s input to get this setup then I would not change because I refuse to burden my customers just so we can get a better rate…they will always come first, unlike with Altiras in my experience 5 months later. Next I received a thick envelope in the mail with details of my account setup but still no reassurance that the customer data transfer would actually happen like what was promised. Then I received an email giving me username and password information to the payment portal but still no contact with Patricia Karnes, Brandon Knight, or anyone from Altiras because no one would answer the phones to answer questions about the payment portal, the envelope we received, or whether the customer transfer could happen. 1 month after receiving everything and keep in mind, we have never logged into the system, we get charged for our monthly service which at this point I’m left wondering what service they provided since I can’t get anyone to call me back. After calling at least once a week leaving messages and sending emails we got a second monthly service charge and I finally got ahold of Patricia Karnes. She told me she would take care of everything, which I was skeptical about since NOTHING we talked about had been done. The third month, I decided since there was no results, to block their transactions from our account.
Last week (month 4) I receive a charge of $495 for a payment processing device (what happened to the “swiper at no charge) and we NEVER received such a device. I told Brandon Knight and Patricia Karnes both to their face and at least 3 times on the phone that we don’t take credit cards in person and it is all done online so we didn’t want a “swiper”. Each time I told them they said that was fine and that we didn’t have to have one. Now (the beginning of month 5) I get a collections letter from their processor saying we owe $611.50 because a transaction was denied in our account. Well of course it was because you are charging us for a service we aren’t getting and a service I explained I didn’t want if you couldn’t keep your end of the deal which you didn’t.
If you are looking for a processing company, this is NOT the one for you. There are plenty to choose from but Altiras is not able to fulfill their commitments to their customers. I would recommend Forte Payment Systems to anyone as that is who we’ve used for the last 7 years and who Altiras tried to switch us from. I would be happy to change this review at any point if the things Altiras has caused can be resolved.
Welby Evangelista
Mr. Winfree,
I would like to apologize for the error and have begun to remedy this issue. There’s no excuse for this and we’ve since terminated the representative who was working your account. Please call our Dallas office back, we have issued refunds of the charges to your account.
Again, accept our apologies, we made a mistake and we will make sure that your funds are returned to you.
We appreciate your feedback and use it to improve our business. Good luck to you.
Regards,
Welby Evangelista
President
Altiras Advisors
Tonya Balduf
I must say I was happy when I signed up though this company in Carrollton Tx , to save a little on card transactions (1st pay mobile). Well three months later I am not pleased at all. I was not to be charged a monthly or yearly charge any charges for that fact. Well after two weeks had past our bank was debit for a monthly charge, then the second month rolls around and they debit our bank for a yearly fee, the same month they debit our bank for another month charge. I have contacted through email as well as called for three months now and there has only been one credit applied. I am very disappointed at their customer service and their lack of care at returning emails and or phone calls. Please make sure you know and have all the facts with these people and prayer you never have to contact them. It is a very disturbing time in our country when you can no longer trust companies that call on us to supposedly offer us their services.
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Are you with Altiras Advisors? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Welby Evangelista
Ms. Balduf,
Sorry to hear about the issues you have had with Altiras and thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I looked into your particular situation and from what I understand we have remitted 100% of the fees that were debited from your account. You should be receiving a check from our accounting department in the next few of days. If you have not received this refund by the end of the week, please contact our me in our Salt Lake City office and I will personally make sure that whatever refunds are due to you is received immediately. I will follow up with our accounting department tomorrow to make sure this is taken care of.
Unfortunately at times, maintenance requests like this take longer than anticipated to properly remedy in our system; it’s a challenge that we deal with due to the large number of merchants we work with. We apologize for this inconvenience, we are adding staff to help shore this up as quickly as we can. Each of our Advisors are trained to personally handle each account and they work very hard to make sure that they deliver the best service they can. We are very proud of what each of our Advisors deliver because we constantly train, mentor, and lead them to be the best version of an Altiras Advisors that they can be. We stand behind their work, the great, the good, the bad, and even the ugly. We are responsible for their action because we are the leadership that guides these wonderful individuals whom we’re proud to have represent our brand. So please be patient with us, we are a new channel, but with over 20-years of payment processing experience; we know what it takes to build a good brand and keep merchants happy.
As mentioned in the above review by Phillip Parker, Tony Norrie and I, Welby Evangelista, were founders and executive leaders of subsidiaries with First American Payments. First American Payments is a wonderful payment processing partner having served hundreds of thousands of merchant processing billions annually in transactions volume and amount annually. First American Payments has been in business since 1990 and their technology stack, processing reliability, data security, processing functions, gateways and shopping cart integration, software and complex accounting connectivity, large-volume processing boarding and management, PCI regulation compliance and protection, underwriting loss prevention programs, and live agent customer support offers Altiras with the ability to offer a multitude of solutions to our merchants that’s unrivaled in the industry.
We have since left our executive posts with First American Payment and their subsidiaries to start our new and exciting endeavor, Altiras Advisors. We have been in the payment processing industry since 1994 and started our first ISO (Independent Sales Organization) in 1998. If there’s one thing that our extensive experience with signing and providing service to over 100,000 merchants have taught us is that EVERY merchant matters. And it is up to our leadership (myself and Tony) to make sure that every one of our Advisors (ourselves included) are diligently following and executing on our promise to provide the best possible service; along with rates, terms, and fees that are fair and 100% transparent. Because we know all too well the negative repercussions to what happens when you get away from keeping your merchants #1. Therefore, we are committed to helping our merchants and partners find the best processing, funding, and growth strategy solutions that will help their business prosper and grow. We have learned from our decades-long experience that merchants appreciate the value of our one-on-one personalized relationships and understand that this cannot be delivered for “free”. We can be flexible in our suite of products and service offerings and hope to provide the best solution for our merchants, and if we’re not the best solution for a merchant, we’ll let them know.
We offer fair rates and fees, full disclosure on all of our contract terms and agreements, expert advice on how to build the right processing solution to naturally “upgrade” our merchant’s processing service, and fair prices for our products and services. We bring to the table expert knowledge on many types of processing environment, methodology, software, system, interchange and gateway management, or customized processing solutions. However, despite all of this experience and expertise, we’re fallible and make mistakes just like anyone else, the difference is with Altiras we try to remedy our error in the best way we can – as quickly as we can. Our goal is to always be a positive member and provider in the merchant processing industry, to be an outstanding partner to our merchants, and to provide quality service for a fair price.
Again, thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We welcome these types of comments because it helps us become better and we use it to train our current Advisors, and future ones, on the importance on paying attention to EVERY merchant – regardless of size, time in business, or their merchant processing volume. I feel bad that you received such a negative experience with us after such a wonderful start!! If there’s any way that we can win your business back, please let us know, we’ll be happy to do what it takes to do so. Your refund has been completed and I hope that we can win your business back.
Best Regards,
Welby Evangelista
President, Co-Founder
Altiras Advisors
http://www.altirasadvisors.com