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Beacon Payments Review

Phillip Parker

I'm a business owner and merchant account expert who built this website 12 years ago to help other business owners find the ethical credit card processors. I've reviewed hundreds providers and been quoted in popular publications such as INC Magazine and The Los Angeles times. To date, I've helped over 5 million people better understand the credit card processing industry. Need advice on your processing from someone who isn't selling credit card processing services? Get in touch!

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Beacon Payments Overview

Beacon Payments Logo
4.8/5

Industries Served

  • Retail
  • E-commerce
  • MOTO
  • Mobile

Products & Services Offered

  • Debit and credit card processing
  • Mobile payment acceptance
  • Check processing
  • Merchant cash advance
  • POS equipment
  • Gift and loyalty programs

4.8/5
Beacon Payments Logo

Industries Served

  • Retail
  • E-commerce
  • MOTO
  • Mobile

Products & Services Offered

  • Debit and credit card processing
  • Mobile payment acceptance
  • Check processing
  • Merchant cash advance
  • POS equipment
  • Gift and loyalty programs

*Earning your trust is our highest priority. We live by the same values we expect to see from the companies we review: Honesty, transparency and respect. With this in mind we wish to inform you that we may in some cases, but not all, receive referral income if you choose a provider that we recommend. This income does not influence our strict editorial standards or our recommendations. Our mission is to provide you with the best information regardless of generating income.

An ISO of First Data

Beacon Payments is a merchant account provider that serves small, medium, and large businesses based in the United States. The company is a reseller of First Data’s products and services and is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, California.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts

Founded in 1998, Beacon Payments can be found at 25 Temple Place Suite 2L, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. David Selenow is listed as the managing of Beacon Payments and Gerald Kadish is listed as the company’s CEO.

Beacon Payments Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: Beacon Payments offers interchange-plus pricing via a three-year contract through First Data with a $495 early termination fee.
  • Complaints & Service: Beacon Payments has received fewer than 10 public complaints.
  • BBB Rating: Beacon Payments has an “A+” rating and has received 2 complaints and 3 reviews in the past 3 years.The company has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2011.
  • Sales & Marketing: Beacon Payments hires independent sales agents and has received a few complaints about its sales practices.
  • Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Beacon Payments

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Beacon Payments Rates, Fees, and Costs

Three-Year Contract

Beacon Payments is straightforward about its ability to offer Interchange-plus pricing to merchants. According to the company’s website, its rates are interchange plus 0.05% plus $0.22 per transaction. The transparency of the company’s pricing structure appears to have kept merchant complaints to a minimum, as there are only a few complaints about the company’s standard contract. This document describes a three-year agreement through First Data with a $495 early termination fee or Liquidated Damages, whichever is greater and an annual PCI compliance fee of $79. The company does not lease equipment but offers merchants the choice between purchasing it outright or placing a $99 deposit refunded upon the return of the terminal.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Beacon Payments also dedicates a portion of its website that advertises its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. According to the company’s website, its interchange-plus rates apply to its e-commerce platform. Additional  fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, and batch fees may apply to these e-commerce services.

Beacon Payments Fees

The only negative reviews of Beacon’s contract terms mention the company’s monthly minimum fees, which is $30 if merchants do not process at least $1,500 in a given month. In addition, there is a $10 monthly fee that may be applied to some accounts regardless of processing volume. Beacon Payments’ pricing is not competitive with cheapest merchant accounts at this time. If you have any knowledge about the standard Beacon Payments contract, please leave that information in the comment section of this review.

Beacon Payments Rates, Fees, and Costs

Key Points

Swiped Rate
Interchange + 0.05% + $0.22
Keyed-in Rate
Interchange + 0.05% + $0.22
Virtual Terminal Rate
Interchange + 0.05% + $0.22
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
Annual Fee
$49 Per Year
Monthly Service Fee
$10 Per Month
Monthly Minimum Fee
$30 Per Month
Early Termination Fee
$495
PCI Compliance Fee
$79 Per Year
Equipment Lease Terms
$99 Deposit

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Beacon Payments Complaints & Customer Reviews

Low Complaint Volume

At the time of this update, there are only a few negative Beacon Payments reviews outside of the BBB, indicating that the company is not a ripoff or a scam. The available complaints describe difficulty cancelling service, aggressive sales tactics, and dissatisfaction with the company’s monthly fees.

Beacon Payments Lawsuits

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

Beacon Payments Customer Support Options

Beacon Payments offers a dedicated 24/7 phone support number on its website, although it’s unclear whether this number is serviced by Beacon Payments or by First Data. Although Beacon Payments is not considered to be one of the top-rated customer service payment processors, the company’s overall complaint rate is low enough to warrant an “A” rating for the purposes of this review.

Beacon Payments Complaints & Customer Reviews

Key Points

Total Online Complaints

<10

Live Customer Support

Yes

Most Common Complaint

N/A

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Beacon Payments BBB Rating Summary

Under 5 Complaints

Beacon has been an accredited business of the Better Business Bureau since 2011 and currently holds an “A+” rating. At this time of review, Beacon Payments is showing 2 BBB complaints in the last 36 months, 1 of which related to billing and collection and 1 which was related to problems with product or services. Both complaints were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchants.

What Merchants Say

In addition to those 3 complaints, the company has also received 3 informal reviews. 2 of those reviews are negative while only 1 is positive. The most recent negative review describes difficulties resolving fees charges after an account cancellation:

THE absolute worst cc processing company I have dealt with in 10 years. I should’ve known from the start when their account rep Kevin P***** came into my business to install service prior to us agreeing on terms of the account and then having to literally argue with him about it for 10 minutes in the middle of a business day. Now spending months trying to get my $250 cancellation fee refunded per my contract. Nobody has been helpful here whatsoever and it has only been a headache.

Merchants who find themselves in this situation may benefit from taking the proper steps to cancel their merchant account without paying a fee.

An “A” Performance Overall

There are also four informal reviews posted to the company’s profile, all but one of which are negative in tone. Due to Beacon Payments’ low complaint volume and diligence in responding to all complaints it receives, we agree with the BBB’s overall rating.

Beacon Payments BBB Rating Summary

Key Points

Product & Service Complaints

1

Billing & Collection Complaints

1

Advertising & Sales Complaints

0

Guarantee & Warranty Complaints

0

Delivery Complaints

0

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Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Independent Sales Agents

Beacon Payments appears to hire independently contracted sales agents to market its services. As a general rule, this practice makes it difficult for any company to monitor and regulate its sales team’s behavior, which in turn tends to result in elevated complaint rates among merchants. Beacon Payments, however, does not appear to receive many complaints related to its sales force.

Sales Approach Complaints

We have located a few Beacon Payments complaints that criticize the company’s sales approach. In one complaint, a merchant was contacted by a sales representative, asked to sign a “merchant account application” that was actually a contract, and then was unable to reach the agent after that point. The merchant was surprised to see that they were being billed for a service they hadn’t received. Beacon Payments responded by issuing a full refund, and the merchant expressed satisfaction with the response and suggested that they had perhaps been too hasty filing a complaint. Some current and former sales agents with the company also state that Beacon Payments expects its agents to do a lot of door-to-door selling, which can be aggravating for both agents and merchants.

Transparent Pricing

The Beacon Payments website actively promotes Interchange-plus pricing, which is the most transparent rate structure available. This is a positive indicator that the company does not condone deceptive sales tactics, but the company’s overall rating does suffer from the few complaints available about its sales team. If you suspect that Beacon Payments is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden costs.

Sales & Marketing Example

Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Key Points

Employs Independent Resellers

Yes

Advertises Deceptive Rates

No

Discloses All Important Terms

No

Our Opinion Of Beacon Payments

Beacon Payments Logo

Solid Option for Most Standard-Risk Merchants

Beacon Payments rates as a reliable merchant services provider by our standards. The company appears to actively promote Interchange-plus pricing, and its low complaint rate is indicative of forthright sales tactics and competitive contract terms. Factors that lowered the company’s rating are its use of independent sales agents and complaints regarding its monthly fees. Even when dealing with credit card processors that rate highly by our standards, we encourage merchants to carefully examine the terms of any contract they are given and to compare its pricing to the top overall providers.

Phillip Parker - Creator of CardPaymentOptions.com
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Why I'm Qualified to Write About Credit Card Processing

I’m a small business owner who previously worked in the credit card processing industry. I started this blog in 2009 to help other business owners by exposing credit card processors that engage in unethical marketing, rate and fee trickery, and fine-print-contract schemes. Over the last decade, I’ve reviewed hundreds of merchant services providers which has helped to educate over 5 million businesses on the nuances of credit and debit card acceptance. I’ve appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Inc. Magazine and a host of other publications to offer insight on the subject of card acceptance. 

I offer merchant account and credit card processing consultation for the following needs:

  • Selecting the right credit card processing services for your business.
  • Reducing credit card processing fees with your current merchant account provider.
  • Negotiating credit card processing fees when changing merchant accounts.
  • Strategies for reducing and recovering funding holds and chargebacks.

 

Schedule a call with me today!

 

Leave Your Review For Beacon Payments

4 Responses

  2. I signed up with this company this year because of lower fees. Receiving any help or getting replies after signing up from my rep Kevin Pheley is a struggle. It’s really not worth it in my opinion and I wouldn’t recommend them to other businesses. Getting my cancel fee from my previous company is like pulling teeth. AVOID

    Reply

  3. The way the minimum fee is described is wrong. There is a 10 dollar monthly fee which is variable and a 30 dollar minimum fee. The minimum one must process is 1,500 dollars per month, if a client does over this only the 10 dollar monthly fee is charged.

    Reply

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