Celerus Payments Review

By Phillip Parker

I was tired of watching unethical merchant services companies take advantage of unsuspecting business owners, so I built this website and wrote hundreds of reviews to expose their shady business practices.

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Celerus Payments Overview

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 2/5

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 2/5

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UPDATE 2/15/19: Celerus Payments is no longer an active brand. A Talus Pay representative has contacted us to state that the Celerus brand has been retired, and that the company does not intend to market under the Celerus name in the future. We therefore will no longer update this review. See our Talus Pay review for up-to-date information about this company.

Celerus Payments (celeruspay.com) is a Dallas, Texas-based merchant account provider that appears to be a newly created DBA of Future Payment Technologies, which is itself a DBA of Crescent Processing Company and Park Central Company. It appears that another DBA called Talus Payments has been launched around the same time as Celerus. All five companies share the same address and sell the services of Crescent Processing Company, so merchants should expect costs and policies to remain consistent across all five. Celerus Payments is technically a registered trademark of FPT Operating Company (possibly short for “Future Payment Technologies Operating Company”), which may be the umbrella entity that the owners of this company are now using to launch new brands. Like its affiliated businesses, the company is headquartered at 12700 Park Central Drive, Dallas, Texas, 75251. Celerus Payments is a registered ISO/MSP of Synovus Bank, Columbus, Georgia. Chad Smith was listed as the CEO of Future Payment Technologies, but the only confirmed executive of Celerus that we can currently find is Cindy Thompson, the vice president of client services.

Key Points

Sales & Marketing: Celerus Payments appears to hire independent sales agents but has not yet received any complaints about its sales practices.
Costs & Contract: Celerus Payments appears to offer a multi-year contract with an early termination fee of $495 or more.
Complaints & Service: Celerus Payments has received fewer than 10 public complaints.
BBB Rating: Celerus Payments has an “A-” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received zero complaints since its profile was created in February 2017.
Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Celerus Payments

Celerus Payments Rates, Fees, and Costs

Cost Summary

Swiped Rate	Variable
Keyed-in Rate	Variable
Early Termination Fee	$495
PCI Compliance Fee	Variable
Equipment Lease Terms	Variable

Since Celerus Payments appears to be a rebranding of Future Payment Technologies, it is highly likely that Celerus’s contract terms are identical to those offered by Future Payment Technologies. According to the company’s public responses to merchant complaints, the standard Future Payment Technologies contract is an automatically renewing agreement of up to four years that includes a $495 early termination fee and a monthly minimum fee that takes effect after a couple of months. Because the company provides its sales agents with smart tablets and encourages them to collect signatures digitally, many merchants complain of never receiving full hard copies of contract terms. It is unclear whether this practice continues under the Celerus brand. Merchants also report confusing cancellation policies that only provide a brief window of time for termination. With the exception of the use of tablets, these terms are also consistent with those described in complaints about Crescent Processing and Park Central Company.

An alarming number of merchant complaints describe sudden increases in fees without notification and incomplete provision of paperwork at the point of signing. This may be due to the company’s use of a small (eight pages or so) merchant agreement, which is presented to the merchant at the point of signing, and a much larger (over thirty pages) program guide, which is only provided after a period of time or at a merchant’s request. It appears that many complainants found their unexpected costs embedded within this larger document, so merchants are encouraged to specifically request it. Additionally, we were unable to find any mention of a specific PCI Compliance fee among complainants, but this fee may constitute some portion of the sudden rate increases that have been reported.

Celerus Payments Complaints & Customer Reviews

Complaint Summary

Total Online Complaints	<10
Live Customer Support	Yes
Most Common Complaint	N/A

We are currently unable to locate any negative Celerus Payments reviews, but this is likely due to the short amount of time that it has been active. It also seems that Celerus is one of FPT Operating Company’s lesser-used brands, as the company specifically states that it has changed its name to Talus and does not mention Celerus on its website. However, Celerus lists its address at the same location as Future Payment Technologies, Park Central Company, and Crescent Processing Company, which indicates that is effectively the same organiation. For this reason, we consider all of the complaints filed against Future Payment Technologies and Talus to apply equally to Celerus. The available complaints against Future Payment Technologies allege deceptive sales tactics, nondisclosure of contract terms, poor customer service, expensive fees, and confusing cancellation policies.

Regardless of what this company chooses to call itself, the consistently negative experiences reported by merchants suggest that it does not offer quality service or support.

Celerus Payments BBB Rating Summary

BBB Summary

Product & Service Complaints	0
Billing & Collection Complaints	0
Advertising & Sales Complaints	0
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints	0
Delivery Complaints	0

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

Celerus Payments currently has an “A-” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has been BBB-accredited since April 2017. The company has received zero complaints to its BBB profile. Although the company’s new name has granted it a new BBB profile, we feel as though the profile for Future Payment Technologies (which has received 130 complaints in the past three years) should also apply to this review. In light of the full scope of complaints filed against this organization’s various BBB profiles, we have adjusted its grade to a “D” in this section.

Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Key Points

Employs Independent Resellers	Yes
Advertises Deceptive Rates	No
Discloses All Important Terms	No

Celerus Payments appears to market itself primarily through the use of independent sales agents, resellers, and telemarketing. Although there are no public Celerus Payments complaints at this time, we have no reason to believe that the company’s practices are an improvement over those used by Crescent Processing and Future Payment Technologies. Merchants can therefore expect to experience misleading rate quotes, nondisclosure of contract terms and fees, and deceptive sales practices. One complaint by a former employee of Future Payment Technologies describes minimal support and training for sales agents and a lack of qualified leads. Another Future Payment Technologies complaint by a merchant describes nondisclosure of terms and misrepresentation of fees.

Sales & Marketing Example

Our Opinion Of Celerus Payments

Celerus Payments appears to be no more than a rebranding of Future Payment Technologies, a company that rates very poorly according to our criteria. We have accordingly given Celerus a “D” rating overall, and we will need to see a long track record of positive merchant feedback and transparency from the company before that rating will improve. Merchants should not expect Celerus Payments to be any different than Future Payment Technologies in its service or support.

About Phillip Parker

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.

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