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Is BlueSnap Right for Your Online Business? Global Payments, Fraud Prevention & Pricing

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Maintained Since: July 10, 2014

We take our role in providing guidance and education regarding the card payment industry very seriously. At our own expense, we have vigorously defended our right to continue expose unethical and predatory practices in the industry, successfully defeating every attempt to silence us. However, fending off frivolous lawsuits is costly. To sustain these efforts, one of the ways we generate revenue is through affiliate partnerships with ethical providers. This means that some of our outgoing links connect business owners to trustworthy, low-cost payment processors, which is what most of our readers seek. We see this revenue channel as a win-win-win for everyone involved. Business owners find good processors, processors get good clients, and we are able to continue to provide a valuable service to the small business community. We also recommend and link to many services that do not compensate us. Our priority is to guide you to the best solutions for your needs, regardless of potential revenue. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.

All mentions of rate and fee costs are estimations based on publicly available information and client feedback. Actual costs may vary based on a variety of factors unique to your business.

BlueSnap
Rating
B
4/5
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Pros

Reliable processing.
Fraud protection.
Intelligent payment routing.
Easy integration.
All-in-one solution.
Free trial available.

Cons

Integration issues
Higher fees than competitors.
Slow customer support.
Complex interface.
Chargeback fees.
Payment delays.

Overview

BlueSnap positions itself as a payments platform built for e-commerce, offering tools like a global gateway, mobile payments, subscription billing, and fraud protection. This review explores how those features work in practice, how well BlueSnap integrates with shopping carts and business software, and what merchants report about their experiences. Alongside its strengths, we also address areas of concern such as fees, customer complaints, and past legal issues. The goal is to give you a realistic picture of what to expect if you’re considering BlueSnap for your online business.

About BlueSnap

Screen Capture of BlueSnap Homepage
BlueSnap Homepage

Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, BlueSnap is a merchant account provider specializing in online processing solutions for e-commerce businesses. The company was founded under the name “Plimus” in 2001, was acquired by Great Hill Partners in 2011, and was rebranded in 2013 following some negative publicity surrounding a class-action lawsuit filed against the company.

BlueSnap has partnered with a number of other businesses, including Splitit, TreviPay, KeyBank, and BitPay, and in 2019 they acquired Armatic.

Products & Merchant Services

Payment Processing

BlueSnap handles payment processing for all major debit and credit cards across various business types. Their services include POS systems, mobile solutions, virtual terminals, payment gateways, accounts receivable automation, fraud prevention, subscription billing, and data reporting and analytics.

Global Payment Gateway

BlueSnap’s global payment gateway supports over 100 currencies and more than 110 payment methods, allowing businesses to accept payments from customers worldwide.

Mobile Payments

BlueSnap provides a mobile payment solution that allows businesses to process transactions using smartphones and tablets.

Subscription Billing

BlueSnap’s subscription billing service automates recurring payments, reducing administrative tasks and ensuring timely payments. This service is ideal for businesses with subscription models.

Fraud Prevention

Security is a critical aspect of BlueSnap’s platform, which includes a fraud prevention system utilizing machine learning and customizable rules to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions.

Reporting and Analytics

BlueSnap offers robust reporting and analytics tools that provide insights into payment processing performance.

Integrations

BlueSnap integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce platforms, accounting software, and CRM systems. These integrations streamline business operations and allow for efficient payment processing within existing workflows.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Overview of BlueSnap Reviews

Our research has identified at least 50 negative BlueSnap reviews, with several users labeling the service as a scam or a ripoff. While older complaints primarily target BlueSnap’s former identity, Plimus, recent feedback reflects concerns under the BlueSnap name. Issues cited include being misled by vendors utilizing BlueSnap for selling fraudulent products, undisclosed fees, inadequate account support, and confusion surrounding the company’s branding. We encourage individuals with firsthand experiences to share their BlueSnap reviews in the comments section below to enhance community understanding.

Examining BlueSnap’s Customer Support

Despite numerous complaints originating from interactions with disreputable vendors using its e-commerce platform, BlueSnap’s efforts to vet its business partners have been questioned. The company provides phone support, email communication, and ticket-based assistance to its merchants. These support avenues surpass the offerings of many e-commerce competitors but do not meet the expectations set for leading payment processors renowned for exceptional customer service.

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop1
BBB Rating1
Trustpilot2.3
Google Maps3.4
Average Rating2.23

PaymentPop Rating for BlueSnap

Negative Feedback

A completely suspicious organisation. They are posting dubious transactions on customer accounts and when contacted regarding the transaction, they provide other payment provider companies’ support phone numbers. Do not trust this company!

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about BlueSnap on the PaymentPop website.

BlueSnap E-Commerce BBB Rating

BlueSnap currently maintains an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has been accredited with the BBB since August 2015. The company is showing 6 complaints in the last 36 months.

Note from the BBB

The BBB has deemed it necessary to add the following note to the BlueSnap profile:

“Please note that BlueSnap is a third party processing company.  BBB would like to make you aware, when making a purchase from a company that uses Bluesnap, the name of the vendor does NOT appear on the transaction rather the name BlueSnap appears on the consumers checking/credit card account.  When filing a complaint with BlueSnap please make sure your purchase was not with another merchant.”

What Merchants Say

BlueSnap has received 5 formal reviews in the past 36 months, all negative. The most recent negative review describes confusing charges and poor customer support:

I have a charge on my **** I cannot ID. The number beside it that **** tells me to call sends me to Blue Snap but the number always deadends and there is no ************ I can contact them to verify this charge was legit. They only want to talk to new businesses it seems. Could be legit but how would i know?Therefore a scam until they change their mode of doing business

Customer service is an essential component of a merchant account provider’s ability to effectively resolve complaints like these. Business owners should research how comprehensive their provider’s support options are to have confidence in being able to resolve any issues that may arise during their contract.

An “A” Performance

In light of the company’s low complaint rate and high resolution ratio, we agree with the BBB’s rating of an “A.”

Trustpilot Rating for BlueSnap E-commerce

BlueSnap E-commerce has a 2.3 out of 5 star rating based on 138 user reviews on Trustpilot.

Positive Feedback

Customer support is great and helped me with the solution. I’ve been using their services for a while for my website and everything has been good!

Negative Feedback

Very difficult documentation to follow. Their support team sent me in one direction. I did what they said then when all features were not working, I reached out to them and they sent me in another direction. I wasted so much time in integration.

Google Maps Rating for BlueSnap E-Commerce

BlueSnap E-Commerce has a 3.4 out of 5 star rating based on 41 user reviews on Google Maps.

Positive Feedback

A fantastic organization to partner with and do business. Friendly and timely staff alongside a global presence makes for a fantastic combination in the payments world, with a robust array of pre-integrated services and partnerships.

Negative Feedback

Pathetic, they scammed me of my my hard earned money and suspended my Ecomm store that was selling handmade jewelry. My money is stuck since 2019 and there was no response.

Processing Rates & Fees

BlueSnap Pricing

BlueSnap applies a flat fee of 2.90% plus $0.30 for US transactions, while international transactions incur a rate of 3.90% plus $0.30. Although it waives the $75 monthly minimum fee, clients are charged this fee in months processing less than $2,500 in transactions, making it less favorable for low-volume credit card processing. BlueSnap boasts no early termination fees.

However, section 5.1 of its Merchant Terms & Conditions outlines potential fund impacts upon account termination:

5.1.1 “Holdbacks” are sums that BlueSnap may in its sole discretion without prior notice hold in reserve against Merchant’s account during exposure or potential exposure to high frequency of refunds or Chargebacks or following significant variations in monthly sales volume, so as to ensure there are sufficient funds held in Merchant’s account to meet potential Refund and Chargeback requests. Should BlueSnap be subject to, or have reasonable cause to believe that it may be exposed to any negative Merchant account balance, or any claims, fines, penalties, non-compliance charges or additional fees levied by any Acquirer, Card Association or legal authority due to Merchant’s acts or omissions, or as a result of default, breach or termination of this Agreement, fraud, money laundering, illegal, unauthorized or improper actions of Merchant and/or Merchant’s customers, BlueSnap may in its sole discretion and without prior notice holdback in reserve additional sums for such period as it deems necessary to secure and make whole its financial position.

High-Risk Terminations

In late 2011, some vendors received emails from Plimus, informing them of temporary deactivation of their PayPal accounts due to high-risk business types associated with Plimus at that time. This could be attributed to high chargeback rates from specific business types Plimus partnered with. Business owners are advised to review BlueSnap’s current list of prohibited business types to avoid unexpected account closures. Businesses dealing with prohibited items may need to engage with a high-risk specialist. We recommend consulting our list of top merchant accounts.

Other BlueSnap Fees

BlueSnap also imposes dormant account fees ranging from $5 to $50 per month for clients inactive for over three consecutive months. While there’s no evidence of early termination or PCI compliance fees, your feedback on your experiences with BlueSnap is welcome in the comment section.

Lawsuits & Legal History

In January 2012, a lawsuit was initiated by Kimberly Yordy against Plimus (now known as BlueSnap), accusing the company of providing its affiliates with fake testimonials and reviews to mislead customers into buying access to illegal digital content downloads. Although the lawsuit was not granted class-action status in October 2013 and was subsequently dismissed, the allegations emerged before the rebranding to BlueSnap.

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

Inside Sales Team

BlueSnap appears to primarily utilize its website and strategic partnerships to market its services. There is no indication at this time that the company hires independent sales agents, and we have not found any BlueSnap reviews that describe unethical conduct by the company’s sales staff. This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

History As Plimus

One possible cause for concern in this section involves the numerous complaints about BlueSnap/Plimus’s former affiliations with fraudulent vendors. Although BlueSnap itself did not sell the products and services in question, it did provide payment processing through PayPal and other e-commerce features to these operations. By extension, the company was profiting off of unethical businesses on what appears to be a fairly wide scale. The complaints filed against BlueSnap regarding this issue have diminished in the last year, indicating that the company has taken steps to solve the problem. Still, the lawsuit was recent enough to warrant consideration in this review.

Add-On Fees

There are also a fairly large number of complaints online accusing BlueSnap of charging bunk fees and changing the terms of its contract without proper notification. Clients specifically claim that in early 2013 the company added a $75 monthly account maintenance fee for businesses that do less than $2,500 in sales per month. If you suspect that BlueSnap is overcharging you, you can double-check your monthly bill with a third-party statement audit.

BlueSnap Rebranding

The final noteworthy consideration when evaluating BlueSnap’s sales tactics is the company’s name change. While a name change alone is not a reason to lower a company’s score, there is some speculation that the company rebranded itself as BlueSnap to escape the negative publicity surrounding the Plimus business name. This strategy is slightly deceptive, since businesses that would ordinarily avoid Plimus may unwittingly sign up for the same company through the BlueSnap name. On its website, BlueSnap goes to great lengths to conceal its ties to Plimus, lending credibility to the claims that it changed its name to dodge the negative complaints it had attracted.

BlueSnap Competitors

Compare BlueSnap to competitors that earned top marks.

Host Merchant Services logo
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Helcim logo
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CDG logo
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Bottom Line

BlueSnap currently rates as an average credit card processing provider based on all available information. Its alleged history of partnering with questionable businesses raises concerns regarding its internal safeguards against fraud. However, the company has made efforts to bolster its policies and reputation over the past two years.

As BlueSnap continues to distance itself from the negative legacy of Plimus, its overall rating may improve. Meanwhile, business owners are advised to compare BlueSnap’s pricing and services to those offered by top-rated merchant account providers to ensure they receive the best possible deal.

Read Actual User Reviews

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All user reviews have been moved to our partner, PaymentPop.com

Contact BlueSnap

Contact & Customer Support
CEORalph Dangelmaier
Headquarters800 South Street, Suite 640 Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
Toll-Free Customer Support(866) 312-7733
Websitehome.bluesnap.com