American Payment Solutions Review

American Payment Solutions Pricing

An American Payment Solutions representative has stated that the company’s standard contract term is a three-year agreement through TSYS, although the company is flexible on the service length. For reference, typical TSYS rates vary around a swipe rate of 2.50% plus $0.20 and a keyed rate of 3.50% plus $0.20. A standard TSYS also includes a PCI compliance fee of PCI compliance fee of $18.80 charged quarterly.

The company representative also stated that American Payment Solutions will not charge early termination fees (ETF) if a merchant goes out of business, sells his or her business, or gives American Payment Solutions an opportunity to match the better rates being offered by another company. In other words, a merchant will only experience an ETF if the merchant cancels service before the end of the contract without offering American Payment Solutions a chance to match a competing offer. TSYS contracts typically include a $295 ETF in the event the company chooses to exercise the fee.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, American Payment Solutions also dedicates a portion of its website that advertises its virtual terminal and payment gateway services through Magento. However, pricing on either of those services is not disclosed. Additional rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these e-commerce services.

Early Termination Fee Complaints

At the time of a previous update, there was a Better Business Bureau complaint against American Payment Solutions that mentioned an early termination fee of over $1,000, and another complaint filed in the comment section below this review describes a similarly large fee. This unusually high fee may indicate a liquidated damages clause. The Better Business Bureau complaint went unaddressed by American Payment Solutions reps, but the complaint in our comment section received a response from a representative who denied that the merchant was an American Payment Solutions client.

Level 2 and Level 3 Processing Services

In addition to its traditional merchant services, American Payment Solutions also advertises that it provides level 2 and level 3 processing for b2b and b2g transactions. Level 2 and level 3 processing rely upon different interchange rates than traditional consumer credit transactions. Accommodating those rates requires different payment processing technology from a merchant account provider to transmit the amount of data required to facilitate the transactions. These services are reserved for b2b and b2g purchases that utilize corporate credit cards.

Few Contract Complaints

The low number of specific complaints about the company’s costs and pricing leads us to believe that most American Payment Solutions clients are satisfied with the service they receive. We therefore assign the company an “A” rating for the time being, but we do not consider it to be an especially cheap merchant account provider.

Low Complaint Total

We are currently unable to locate any negative American Payment Solutions reviews that accuse the company of being a ripoff or a scam. In fact, there are only three negative reviews of the company outside of the BBB at this time, and they mention unrealistic guarantees, questionable sales tactics, and poor customer service. One employee complaint describes unethical managerial practices and seems to confirm the company’s tendency for bait-and-switch tactics echoed in another complaint. American Payment Solutions’s’ low complaint total indicates to us that the company employs a capable and responsive customer service staff that generally does an effective job of resolving complaints in-house.

American Payment Solutions Lawsuits

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

American Payment Solutions Customer Support Options

It is also possible that some American Payment Solutions complaints get redirected to the online profiles of its processor, TSYS, but there is no evidence that this is occurring. Additionally, complaints meant for American Payment Solutions could be misdirected to other payment processors with similar names, such as American Payment Systems. The American Payment Solutions website appears to offer a dedicated phone line and email address for customer support but is not considered to be a top-rated merchant account provider for customer service.

No BBB Complaints

American Payment Solutions has been an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau since 2015. As of this review, the company has an “A+” rating with the BBB and has not had any complaints filed against it in the last 36 months.

What Merchants Say

Although American Payment Solutions has not received any complaints on its BBB profile, the company has received 2 informal reviews. 1 review is positive in tone while 1 is negative. That negative review is the most recently posted to the company’s profile by a merchant detailing a myriad of undesirable contract terms, among other issues:

Terrible lease, misrepresentation by sales, tech support never returns call or fix problem. Did not honor 30 day cancellation. Do not sign or read small print that they don’t tell you and lie about..48 month non cancellation fees and once sign don’t take responsibility for all the lies and bs problems. Terrible company only reason they get 1 star is because I had to in order to leave review

Merchant account contracts are as intricately written as any and require a thorough review before signing. Equipment leases like those referenced in this complaint can be especially costly, making it imperative to find terms and conditions the are uniquely suited for a merchant’s needs.

An “A” Performance Overall

Given the company’s clean complaint record and resolution ratio, we agree with the BBB’s rating. Merchants should still be aware that there are good reasons to be skeptical of the BBB’s reviews.

Inside Sales Team

American Payment Solutions appears to market itself through its referral network and an in-house sales staff. According to a company representative, APS does not utilize sub-ISOs or independent sales agents to acquire new clients. APS does form strategic partnerships as a sort of reseller relationship (for instance, offering its services to various professional associations), but this is not the same as a standard credit card processing industry reseller.

No Deceptive Advertising

We are currently able to locate only one American Payment Solutions complaint that is related to the company’s sales team, and this complaint states that APS representatives misrepresented the services they were capable of providing. To its credit, the company does not appear to engage in any deceptive advertising strategies in its official materials. If you suspect that American Payment Solutions is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden costs.