In the late 2000s, as a broke college student struggling to make ends meet, I was contacted by a merchant services company after uploading my resume to a job listings website. This company promised substantial commissions and ongoing residual income for simply persuading businesses to accept credit card payments. It seemed straightforward enough—after all, what business doesn’t need to process credit card payments? Following a phone interview with a persuasive “sales director,” I found myself embarking on what I believed would be an easy job that would significantly boost my bank account with reliable monthly income and large sales commissions. However, the lessons I learned would profoundly change my life in ways I could never have imagined.
After completing my sales training, I hit the ground running, eager to make sales. This broke college student was determined to improve his financial situation! My first attempt at a cold call, with no prior appointment, ended with a burly man in his 50s yelling at me to leave, claiming he had been “totally robbed” by someone like me before. As I hastily exited, puzzled and intimidated by his reaction, I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant. Throughout the day, I encountered similar hostility from other business owners, all expressing disdain for the industry I had been so excited to join that morning. Confused and curious, I decided to shift my approach from selling to listening.
I quickly uncovered that the merchant services sector was riddled with unethical practices, including hidden fees, deceptive marketing, fine-print traps, and much more. It dawned on me that I had nearly been tricked by a dubious company into selling overpriced services under contracts with long-term commitments, all without being fully aware of what I was promoting. Outraged, I resigned from that company but learned that there were indeed ethical credit card processing companies that treated their clients fairly. Over the next four years, I worked for one such company, assisting hundreds of businesses in securing cost-effective processing solutions. Yet, I also met many more who had been misled and trapped in onerous service agreements. Determined to help people steer clear of these unscrupulous providers, I launched this website in my spare time, dedicating myself to researching and sharing my findings on every merchant account provider I could investigate.
Gradually, more and more business owners began to discover my articles. As word spread, search engines started to rank my content highly, amplifying its reach. My efforts were making a difference! Eventually, the website garnered enough traffic to enable me to leave my job and focus on it full-time, a journey that has now spanned over a decade. This path has not been without its challenges; unscrupulous company owners have tried to intimidate and sue me into silence on several occasions. Yet, I have stood firm against each threat. Here I am, continuing to publish reviews and articles, hoping to safeguard others from the pitfalls of the credit card processing industry.
If you believe in my mission and wish to contribute, please share my articles on your websites and social media. Thank you for visiting!
Steve Donato
This company is run by charlatans and scam artists who lock you into a fee structure, and then – without your knowledge or permission – raise the fees through the roof. The head charlatan, Pete Pistone – tried to ding me for not being “PCI Compliant.” This was utter nonsense, as I was completely within the PCI Compliant regulations and guidelines. When I cancelled this horrible service, he threatened me with collections. This guy has been trying to ding my credit for 10 years, because I refused to succumb to his bully tactics and pay his gangster fees. AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.
This post will help: PCI Compliance Myths and Misunderstandings
-Phillip
Nancy M
ClearGate charged me for a $300 machine to allow our business to use chip cards. It took them 4 months to make the machine actually take the new chip cards, all the while charging the same fees as before. Using chip cards is supposed to save businesses money in processing fees since the responsibility for fraud is now put on the business, rather than the credit companies. We did not receive any such discount in fees so we changed to a new processing service and are now in a fight with ClearGate to stop charging our bank $59.90 each month for services that they are no longer providing. Nothing has been processed through them for 2 months and yet we are still getting charged what they call access fees. I guess because they still have access to my bank account I am paying them $59.90 a month to steal from me. I would highly recommend using another service instead. We changed to Costco processing and are saving hundreds of dollars in monthly fees.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee