| Category Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Sales & Marketing |  |
| Costs & Contract | |
| Complaints & Service | |
| BBB Rating |  |
Overall Rating
Overview
CDG Commerce Logo
Founded in 1998, CDG Commerce (cdgcommerce.com) is a well-established merchant account provider based out of Chesapeake, Virginia, with a west coast office in San Pedro, California. CDG appears to focus solely on providing credit card processing products and services, and offers a wide range including wireless and e-commerce processing solutions. Additionally, the company has its own payment gateway and virtual terminal called the “Quantum Gateway.”
CDG Commerce is a registered ISO/MSP of Columbus Bank & Trust, Columbus, Georgia, and the First National Bank of Omaha, 1620 Dodge St., Omaha, Nebraska.
Sales & Marketing | A+
| Key Points – Sales & Marketing | |
|---|---|
| Uses independent resellers? | Yes |
| Promotes deceptive rate quotes? | No |
| Discloses all important terms? | Yes |
CDG Commerce does not use any misleading marketing or deceptive sales tactics that are apparent to this reviewer. The company relies primarily on strategic partnerships and independent resellers to bring in accounts. Normally the use of independent resellers would lower a company’s score in this section, but CDG appears to have policies in place to eliminate the typical problems associated with the marketing practice. Therefore, the use of resellers will not count against the company unless evidence arises that suggests it should.
Costs & Contract | A+
| Key Points – Costs & Contract Terms | |
|---|---|
| Swiped rate: | 1.90% + $0.30 or 1.70% + $0.25 |
| Keyed-in rate: | 2.90% +$0.30 |
| Termination fee: | None |
| PCI compliance fee: | None |
| Equipment lease: | Variable |
CDG’s pricing page lists its qualified and non-qualified fees for retail, mobile, and online transactions. Although its website quotes a set of standard rates, it’s likely that the company will offer competitive quotes if their standard rates are higher than a merchant’s current rates. The company is also capable of offering Interchange-plus pricing to merchants who request it.
As for the merchant account contract offered by CDG, the company offers a standard month-to-month agreement with no cancellation fee and a $10 monthly support fee. Not only is this rare in the credit card processing industry, but it is ideal for most businesses. Merchants are encouraged to fully read and understand the terms of the contract before signing with CDG Commerce or any other provider.
Complaints & Service | A+
| Key Points – Complaints & Service | |
|---|---|
| Total complaints: | 10+ |
| Live customer support: | Yes |
| Most common complaint: | Poor service |
CDG Commerce has very few public complaints posted in the usual forums, which is excellent for a provider that has been in business for 13 years. The few complaints that have been posted have received direct, professional responses from the company’s CEO that reflect well on CDG despite the fact that a complaint was posted. Amazingly, in the two threads linked above, multiple members of the forums in question came to CDG’s aid and defended the company against the lone complainants. This is an uncommon degree of support for a company and a reliable indicator of CDG’s emphasis on great customer service.
BBB Report | A*
| Key Points – BBB Report | |
|---|---|
| Product/service: | 3 |
| Billing/collection: | 2 |
| Advertising/sales: | 0 |
| Guarantee/warranty: | 0 |
| Delivery: | 0 |
As of this update, CDG Commerce has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2007 and holds an “A+” rating with five complaints in the last 36 months. Three of the complaints are in regard to problems with services and two are due to billing disputes. CDG was able to resolve four of the complaints, but one merchant reported dissatisfaction with the company’s response despite the BBB stating that CDG made a “good faith” effort to resolve it. Since it is our philosophy that “A+” ratings should be reserved for companies with zero BBB complaints, we have slightly adjusted CDG’s grade in this section.
* Denotes CPO-adjusted BBB score
Bottom Line
CDG Commerce Review
Rated out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Phillip Parker
Reviewed on 2014-07-07
CDG Commerce is one of the best-rated providers that this reviewer has researched. The company offers transparent and low pricing, multiple services for most business needs, and month-to-month contracts. CDG also appears to value active, professional customer support.
This review was originally published on 10/25/11 and was last updated on 7/7/14.
Leave your review of CDG Commerce in the comment section below:
I saw CDG’s stellar reviews online and made the switch from Wells Fargo. My terminal arrived last week, and as I needed some assistance in setting up the machine I called their technical support line. I was disappointed to discover that their technical support department consists of an answering machine. I’ve left three messages in the last 2 days and still cannot get the terminal to print the correct phone number. More importantly, the terminal has not settled my batch and seems to require a password to do so. I was never issued a password. After reading the A+ and 5-star reviews, I have to say I’m a little disappointed, and I’m beginning to think they are just a bunch of sheisters like every other merchant processor of dealt with in the last 15 years.
I am the CEO and co-founder of CDGcommerce and the above post was brought to my attention by our staff. I would like to reach out to whomever the merchant in question was here to see if I can personally ensure that your matters are successfully resolved. Our reputation has been earned by always putting our clients needs as our top priority and that is the philosophy that our business has been operating on for 15 years.
Please contact our support team at 888-586-3346 x3 and reference this post and ask to be connected directly to me. Without knowing your merchant name or other information I can’t pull up any information on your account but please rest assured that we stand by each and every one of our merchants, 100% and there is nothing more important to us than customer service and always taking care of every single one of our merchants. I look forward to making sure that you get immediate assistance with any of your credit card terminal issues!
We have been with a lot of merchant providers in the past and CDG is one of the only true, honest companies we have found. They don’t have any long term contracts or huge termination fees like most providers, and your monthly fees will never go up. Refreshing to not have to worry about all the hidden fees.