What to Expect Before Signing With AMP Payment Systems

Telemarketing and Outside Sales

AMP Payment Systems primarily markets its services through a combination of in-house appointment setters and independently contracted sales agents. This sales approach is also the standard at Eschelon and Smart Card, and it tends to generate a high number of complaints due to the lack of sufficient training and oversight for agents. AMP Payment Systems appears to be no exception, as we are able to locate a handful of AMP Payment Systems reviews that describe excessive telephone calls, aggressive in-person sales tactics, unprofessional conduct, and misrepresentation of AMP Payment Systems rates and fees. Some employees of the company also complain about low-quality leads, insufficient training, and high employee turnover.

A 2019 AMP Payment Systems review from a former employee on Glassdoor backs up these concerns, describing deceptive sales tactics that the company encourages in its sales agents:

Not 1 good reason to work there. They tell lies about the contracts we sign your company up for. Fake information given. Fraud advertisement. Bogus lease agreements Take care of your clients and their needs, instead of focusing on just making money for your company.

“Slamming” Concerns

Some business owners have accused Smart Card Merchant Services of tactics that closely resemble “slamming” scams, in which a Smart Card Merchant Services agent will call and claim to be with “Merchant Services” in order to persuade a business to purchase unnecessary new credit card processing equipment. This is supported by a comment that was mistakenly posted in the comment section below our CardSmart Merchant Services review:

Smart Card Merchant Services cold called me and said our business rating had changed and wanted to know whether I wanted to accept an upgrade to our account for better credit card processing fees.

The telesales agent made it seem like we had a relationship with them, but when I asked they said we did not. I asked them to put the upgrade offer in writing but she said she could not, but could schedule an in-person interview. We scheduled a date and time and I asked her to send email confirmation, but it never appeared. Strike 1.

On the date in question, I called the number on the website and reached someone who confirmed there was an appointment and they had my email address wrong. So obviously they don’t know much about my business, and when I said it was a cold sales call, they insisted it was not since they knew our credit rating had improved.

I told her I would be a little late for the meeting since it wasn’t confirmed. I was five minutes late – the rep was 45 minutes late. Strike 2.

During the meeting, the rep would not put anything in writing and proceeded with a number of hard sell / hard close sales gambits. He was vague about details and said I have to commit, they only review accounts once a year and I have to decide now. I told him I needed to talk to my partners and he continued to try to close the sale.

He finally wrote some things on his business card with a *not guaranteed* on it. He said he was not selling me, but rather his goal was to screen me out.

I called the next day and told him we were interested and whether he could send me the contract so we can review the terms and sign. He told me he can only meet in person. Since my partner is in another state, I told him we would be happy to do that but he would have to fly across the country. He said he can’t do that. Strike 3.

We decided the sales process and business practices are too sketchy for us to engage with them. They promise great rates, but won’t put anything in writing and keep saying “it depends”.

While we have not done business with them, they managed to waste a lot of my time and proved to be incompetent with sketchy business practices at best. At least as far as we are concerned, they are out.

It’s strange they behave so unprofessionally. We are currently paying sky-high rates for credit card processing and it appears they can save us a lot of money. But we can’t risk a core part of our business dealing with a vendor who:
1) Has deceptive sales techniques
2) Insists on meeting in person and is 45 minutes late
3) Won’t send a contract to review

If Smart Card Merchant Services uses this tactic, then it is possible that some AMP Payment Systems employees will also use this approach. One of the company’s alternate business names, “merchantsupport.services,” seems perfectly designed for sales agents to claim that they are with “merchant support.” In addition, we have seen a complaint stating that an AMP Payment Systems agent claimed to represent “The Interchange Provider,” which is similarly vague. This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Too Many Red Flags

We believe that AMP Payment Systems was created to provide Eschelon Financial Group with a clean alias to continue using the same sales tactics that clients have complained about from its other brands. We have not seen any indication that AMP Payment Systems’ approach differs significantly from the conduct of its partner businesses, and therefore we have given it the same “D” rating in this section as the other companies. Businesses are advised to review all documentation with extreme caution and be on the lookout for incomplete rate disclosures, hidden fees, and undisclosed equipment leasing agreements with AMP Payment Systems. If you suspect that AMP Payment Systems is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking an independent statement audit that can eliminate hidden fees from your monthly statement.