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Cardservice International Review

Name: Cardservice International
Item: Cardservice International
Rating: 2.5
Author: Phillip Parker

Author: Phillip Parker

Updated: June 20, 2024

Maintained Since: July 16, 2012

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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.

Cardservice International

Rating

2.5/5

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Updated 2/11/2019: The former Cardservice International website (cardserviceinternational.com) was previously registered to a Doug Olsen of Spanish Fork, Utah, but Doug Olsen has informed us that he is not the owner of Cardservice International. Instead, Cardservice International appears to be a sales arm of First Data, which is supported by the fact that Cardservice International's original web address redirected to a website for First Data Independent Sales for a period of time.The same Doug Olsen also appears to have registered a merchant services company in Utah called mTech Payments (mtechpayments.com, cardservicewbs.com). Doug Olsen informed us that Cardservice International has been rebranded as Ignite Payments, which has since become CardConnect. Merchants should therefore note that Cardservice International, First Data Independent Sales, Ignite Payments, CardConnect, and mTech Payments are all related, if not all active enterprises. Merchants who are looking for information about Cardservice International should consult our CardConnect review. Cardservice International (cardserviceinternational.com) appears to be a sales arm of First Data’s independent sales division. The company’s website states that First Data’s Independent Sales Agent Program is operated by Cardservice International; however, it is not clear if the company is a subsidiary of First Data, an alternate DBA, or a wholly independent reseller. In addition to providing credit and debit card processing services, Cardservice International also supplies processing equipment and a variety of other electronic payment services. The company claims to have begun operating in 1988. Cardservice International does not appear to have a dedicated Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile for the company itself; however, there are a few profiles that look like sub-ISOs or independent offices located in different parts of the United States. For the purposes of this review, we will not include ratings of sub-ISOs since most operate independently. Outside of the BBB, Cardservice International (mostly alongside First Data) is named in approximately 100 merchant complaints. On a positive note, it appears that far fewer complaints have been filed in 2011 and 2012 versus years prior, and many of the complaints appear to have a response by the company. The common types of complaints reported are poor communication, poor sales management and fund holding due to risk mitigation. Cardservice international may also operate under several aliases including Card Service International, Card Service Intl, Cardservice Intl, Cardservice Slc, and possibly others. If you have further information, please leave it in the comment section below.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

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Industry Scores & User Ratings

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Processing Rates & Fees

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Pricing

Bottom Line

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About Us

CardPaymentOptions.com

Established 2009

My name is Phillip Parker, and I started this website back in 2009 as a simple blog to call out shady credit card processors that were taking advantage of small business owners. At the time, I had no idea this side project would grow into a leading voice pushing for transparency and integrity in the payment processing industry. I also didn't anticipate just how far some of these companies' owners would go to try to silence me.

I was recruited out of college for a sales role with a credit card processor. At the time, I didn't realize the “training” was really about tricking me... into selling business owners expensive processing with hidden fees and long-term service agreements. In my first few sales, I unknowingly cost friends and family thousands of dollars after they trusted me to switch their services. When it finally clicked that something was seriously wrong, I was furious. I quit immediately and made a promise to expose that company and any others operating the same way. That promise is what led to the creation of this website.

As I wrote about these processors, their tactics, and the people behind them, the articles started to spread among business owners. News organizations picked up the stories, readers shared them online, and traffic to the blog took off. Unsurprisingly, that also caught the attention of the companies and individuals I was exposing.

Over the last 17 years, I've received several anonymous death threats and defeated four lawsuits meant to intimidate me into taking my blog down. Their efforts to muzzle me only made my determination to expose them even stronger, leading me to work with state authorities to help shutdown some of the worst offenders.

I'm proud to say that of the millions of people who have read my work, thousands have taken the time to write and thank me for helping them narrowly avoid a very costly mistake. This blog has played a small role in pushing the industry toward more ethical practices - but there are still bad actors out there, which means the work isn't done.

If I can offer one piece of advice, it's this: get every promise in writing, and take the time to review contracts carefully. Tools like ChatGPT can help surface red flags and uncover expensive surprises buried in the fine print.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I truly appreciate you being here, and I wish you every success with your business.

Our Research Methodology

Pricing & Fees

We analyze all costs including rate structures (interchange-plus, tiered, flat-rate, etc), monthly fees, equipment costs, early termination fees, and hidden charges. This data is gathered from service agreements, statements and client feedback.

Features & Technology

Evaluation of POS systems, e-commerce integrations, mobile capabilities, reporting tools, recurring billing..., and developer resources. When possible, we directly test services and hardware. Otherwise, we rely on client feedback and public information.

Customer Support

We evaluate availability across phone, email, chat, and social channels. Measuring hold times, night and weekend availability, and client feedback regarding effectiveness, professionalism, and resolution rates.

Contract Terms & Conditions

We review service agreements and equipment contracts for reasonability, transparency, and fairness. We focus on uncovering any predatory clauses, such as unjustified early termination fees, hidden costs, and unclear cancellation policies.

User Experience

We comb the internet and interview current and former clients to evaluate the overall user experience and identify any common pain points that may impact the user experience.

Sales & Marketing Practices

We evaluate sales tactics, marketing materials, and client feedback to determine the level of transparency and ethical nature of the provider's approach. Does the provider publicly disclose pricing? Do they use teaser rates? We score based on these and other factors.

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