Commerce Payment Systems Review

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How did they treat you? ▼

UPDATE 8/14/2021: The Justice Department has charged Michael Mendlowitz and Richard Hart with wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in relation to their operations as executives of Commerce Payment Systems. The Justice Department charges the company with “masterminding a years-long scam that took more than $30 million from more than 10,000 small businesses, who relied upon CPS to help them process debit card and credit card sales,” specifically stating that Mendlowitz and Hart “operated a fraud scheme founded on false claims of very low fees, along with false promises that there were ‘no hidden fees,' and that rates were ‘guaranteed for life.' In truth, however, CPS customers were charged all manner of hidden fees, and MENDLOWITZ subsequently altered customer accounts to add even higher fees. Among other deceptive tactics, MENDLOWITZ and HART used a ‘cost comparison calculator' that ostensibly showed potential customers a direct comparison between what they were currently paying versus what they would pay if they became customers of CPS. However, these cost comparison calculators were intentionally designed to conceal many of the fees that the customers would be charged.” Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. According to the same source, a “trial is scheduled to begin in United States v. Michael Mendlowitz & Richard D. Hart on April 29, 2019 at 10:00 AM in Federal District Court Southern District of New York, 40 Foley Square New York, New York.”   It is unclear what the final sentences were.

The Commerce Payment Systems website is no longer active, and it appears that the company has closed. We are unable to determine whether this closure is temporary or permanent, but we have ceased updating this review for the time being. A LinkedIn profile for a Michael Mendlowitz names him as the president of Sapphire Capital, but it is unclear whether this is the Michael Mendlowitz who formerly served as CEO of Commerce Payment Systems. If you have any information about the current status of Commerce Payment Systems (including any rebrandings or DBAs), please share it in the comment section below this review.

Likely an EVO Reseller

Commerce Payment Systems (commercepaymentsystems.com, commercepaymentgroup.com) is a merchant account provider serving small merchants in most industries. There is some evidence that Commerce Payment Systems is an ISO of North American Bancard. According to multiple complaints, however, the company also does business as Evolution Bankcard, which is a subsidiary of EVO Payments International. It is therefore possible that Commerce Payment Systems is somehow linked to EVO Payments International, but this relationship is unconfirmed at this time. Launched in 2006, Commerce Payment Systems is a registered ISO/MSP of Deutsche Bank AG in New York. Michael Mendlowitz is listed as the CEO of Commerce Payment Systems, which is located at 1465 Broadway, Hewlett, New York 11557.

Commerce Payment Systems Customer Reviews

Here's What Their Clients Say

Customer Reviews Summary
Total Online Complaints 90 Plus
Live Customer Support Yes
Most Common Complaint Hidden Fees

High Complaint TOtal

We are currently able to locate over 90 Commerce Payment Systems complaints that accuse the company of being a ripoff or a scam, and the bulk of these complaints have been posted to the comment section of this review within the last two years. Common themes among complainants include unexpected fees and rate increases, difficulty canceling the service, unavailable or unhelpful customer service representatives, misleading advertising, and expensive equipment leases. Many merchants report an average hold time in excess of 30 minutes when attempting to call Commerce Payment Systems customer support, and there are also reports of disconnected customer service lines. Some merchants report receiving letters in the mail from the company, selling a mystery shopper program. Once customers followed directions on the letter, they had lost anywhere from $1100 to $2700 of their own money.

Commerce Payment Systems Lawsuit

As mentioned above in detail, Commerce found itself on the wrong side of an extensive lawsuit by the US federal government in 2019. This lawsuit appears to have caused the company to close.

Commerce Payment Systems Support Options

The overwhelming consensus appears to be that Commerce Payment Systems does not have capable customer service to manage the many complaints stemming from its sales practices and contract terms. Additionally, as noted above, the company appears to have loaded some consumer protection sites with fabricated testimonials in an attempt to manipulate its reputation among merchants. These factors have lowered its grade in this section to a “D.”

Commerce Payment Systems Online Ratings

Here's How They Rate Online

Online Ratings Summary
Product & Service Complaints 63
Billing & Collection Complaints 165
Advertising & Sales Complaints 30
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints 0
Delivery Complaints 8

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.

Commerce Payment Systems is not an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. As of this review, the company holds no rating with the BBB and has had no complaints filed against it. This is very likely to do with the closing of the company, as at the time of our last review, it had 266 complaints filed against it in the last 36 months. Of the total complaints, 8involved problems with delivery, 30 stemmed from advertising or sales issues, and 63 cited problems with the company’s products or services. The bulk of the complaints (165 of them) were filed in regards to billing or collections disputes. 103 complaints were resolved to the satisfaction of the merchant, while 148 either were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant. The remaining 15 complaints remain unresolved. In light of the company’s complaint rate and resolution ratio, we agree with the BBB’s previous rating of “F”.

Commerce Payment Systems Fees, Rates & Costs

A Closer Look at The Contract

Cost & Fees Summary
Swiped Rate Variable
Keyed-in Rate Variable
Early Termination Fee None
PCI Compliance Fee $99
Equipment Lease Terms Variable

Commerce Payment Systems Contract

Numerous merchant complaints have described the standard Commerce Payment Systems contract as a three-year agreement with a high annual fee, a PCI compliance fee at or in excess of $99, a monthly statement fee of $10, an annual fee of $79, monthly minimums as high as $34.95, and other various fees. The company does not appear to charge an early termination fee (ETF), but merchants have reported total annual expenses that far exceed the one-time expense of a standard ETF. In addition, the company’s fraud prevention policies appear to be generating many merchant complaints, as complainants report receiving their funds only after an excessive delay and many complaints. Commerce Payment System’s apparent affiliations with North American Bancard and EVO Merchant Services are likely responsible for some of these complaints about its contract terms. If you have any knowledge of the standard Commerce Payment Systems contract, please leave that information in the comment section of this review.

Commerce Payment Systems Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs

Should You Work For Them?

Jobs & Marketing Summary
Employs Independent Resellers Yes
Advertises Deceptive Rates Yes
Discloses All Important Terms No

Outside Sales Teams

Commerce Payment Systems appears to utilize telemarketing, online advertisement, and independent sales entities to market its services. Many negative Commerce Payment Systems reviews accuse the company’s telemarketers and field agents of misrepresentation of rates and nondisclosure of fees. Additionally, Commerce Payment Systems appears to have paid other consumer websites for the privilege of posting positive reviews in an attempt to bury negative reviews. It is hard to find many verified reviews of this company that report a positive experience with its sales staff.

Deceptive Rate Quotes

The Commerce Payment Systems website advertises debit card rates of 0.35% and credit swipe rates of 1.59%. These rates are likely the company’s “Qualified” rates for these transactions, and the website makes no mention of the higher “Mid-Qualified” and “Non-Qualified” rates that merchants will pay for the majority of their transactions. We consider this type of rate quoting to be deceptive, since it may give merchants an unrealistic expectation of the rates they will pay. We have also seen Commerce Payment Systems advertisements on various websites that promote these misleading rates. Below is a screenshot of such an advertisement:

Misleading Rate Quote Example

The terms enclosed in red are textbook examples of misleading advertising in the credit card processing industry. It is unclear what the company means by “Unbeatable rates-.25%.” Is this the company’s only rate? Which transaction types will receive this rate? The answer, in all probability, is none of them, since it’s an absurdly low rate for any processor to offer. Merchants should not expect to pay an effective rate that low anywhere.

The “Free Credit Card Terminal” claim is a common one among merchant services providers. The terminal may be initially free on a monthly basis, but there are always strings attached. Usually, the free terminal is included as part of a merchant account contract, meaning that a merchant is required to keep and use the terminal for the entire duration of the service term. In addition, the monthly cost of the terminal may simply be included as part of the merchant’s overall processing fees rather than be totally free. Upon canceling service, a merchant may be required to ship the terminal back at his or her own expense or to pay a termination fee of some kind–again, not exactly free.

“No locked-in contracts,” like the rate quote above, is a vague term that leaves a lot of wiggle room for the advertiser. Does this mean that there are still contracts, but that they just aren’t “locked-in”? How is “locked-in” defined? Are there termination fees associated? Or are there other penalties for cancellation that basically function as an early termination fee? Merchants should not trust a claim like this one without carefully reading the actual terms of service provided by the company.

Our Commerce Payment Systems Review Summary

Our Final Thoughts

Commerce Payment Systems was already a substandard processor according to our rating system before its major lawsuit. It appears that this company very much deserved to be shut down, and it is advised to avoid anything to do with them or their leadership going forward.

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Which is Most Important for You?

If you had to pick one, which quality would you say will be the most important with your next credit card processor? Tap or click your selection to register your vote:

  1. Low Transaction Fees
  2. No Monthly Fees
  3. No Contract
  4. Reliable Customer Support
  5. Quick Signup

Testimonials & Complaints

How Did Commerce Payment Systems Treat You?

54 User Reviews

    • Susan Tague

      The people in this article are the people operating now as EVO Payment Systems. I’m having a problem with them releasing funds into my account so I pulled my original contract with Commerce Payment Systems and called the customer service number at the bottom to get my problem resolved and you get EVO Payment Systems so they are still at it. It’s been five months for me now and just wanted everyone to know not to do business with EVO. It’s a scam.

  • John Ghaly

    I signed up with Commerce Payment System in 07/2013 and never heard from them since. I never received a statement, or even a notification that I have an account established with them. I already had an account with INTUIT and they were processing my credit cards. I am a one person shop, so I’m very busy with administration and production, not to mention a few months of medical problems that disconnected me from my business for a while, and this lesson is one of the most expensive ones I got in my life. They were charging my merchant checking account starting with of $84.90 per month, escalating to $126.80 and they never processed one single transaction for me, ever. Their monthly fees on my statement DID NOT show any company name or telephone number to contact, which made it very hard to track down.

    I finally caught up with them with the long process of help from my bank in 07/2015 when I realized that it wasn’t INTUIT that was charging all those fees, and they send me a copy of the contract that I signed and the break-down of the monthly fees, that included $35.00 if I did not process any transaction during the month, but their total fees was only $91.85 not $126.80

    I am almost positive that this company is making their money on scandalous fees more than on servicing their clients by processing transactions, and I am definitely preparing to sue them if I didn’t get at least 50% of the fees collected over 2 years totaling almost $1,800.00

    Just the fact that they never sent me any statements, never reminded me that I didn’t have any transactions, never warned me that I have additional fees added on any given month due to NO TRANSACTIONS, tells me that their plan of business is really not to service clients as much as RIPPING THEM OFF. BEWARE.

  • Art

    I was seduced by their low rates. I believed the marketing material and the the sales call with Carolyn Golen. I failed to do due diligence. Now I’m paying for my failure. They sent me a terminal and I began processing charges. They immediately took money out of my account and never have put any in. I then investigated and was horrified by what I found. Everything I read at BBB and here is true. I put a stop on my account so they can’t take more money. Immediately I received a call from Patsy at Evo Merchant Services complaining that I did this. I have a transcript of this call and a recording. I called them back and was told that if I did not remove the block I would never receive my money. I realized then I never would no matter what. I later called back and asked the woman who answered the phone why I was getting a call from Evo Merchant Services when my contract was with Commerce Payments. After some reluctance she stated that Evo essentially owns Commerce and are legally responsible for Commerce. I thanked her for confirming this.
    I have filed a complaint with the Attorney General of New York State (the Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection), the Better Business Bureau and will follow up on the other suggestions in this site. Since they are an interstate business I will file with the Federal Trade Commission. I’m afraid the only way I’ll get my money is if I involve my customers. I hate to do that.

      • Art

        Too late I thoroughly read the contract I downloaded. The devil is in the details and they are awful. Essentially we gave away all our rights including suing them. It’s impossible to read the tiny print when you are on the phone with their salesperson so most of us just go with what we can see on the first page in big bold letters. All that looks great. Then in the fine print we give them the right to take money out of our account and charge us whatever they want to. It also says the salesperson we speak to is an independent contractor and they are not responsible for anything the salesperson says. Only in the fine print is it revealed that the real company you are doing business with is Evo Merchant Services. You will have to go to your bank and block them from taking more money out or they will continue draining money. To be on the safe side just close it. They will never stop stealing from you. I still have never gotten any of the money I processed through them.

        • David Guzman

          It is almost impossible to sign away your right to sue in the face of fraud. While the contract may have language built in as an attempt to protect the company, it does not protect them and in fact also obligates the company to a standard of performance. Deceptive sales practices and out-right fraud are not protected by a signature on a contract that the company conducting the fraud drafted. In fact, if the contract attempt to protect a company that engages in this behavior then that contract goes more to prove the issue of fraud, as it was pre-conceived with foreknowledge that the company intended to act in a malicious way.

    • Had Robinson

      I, too, was scammed by these people. My losses were around $500. If anyone files a group lawsuit, count me in. These is how they operate. Why are they still in business??? Why haven’t the AG’s in dozens of states taken care of this? What’s wrong with our government?

  • Mark McFarland

    This company is horrible to deal with. Stay away. We tried to cancel our processing with them in January. Starting in April, we began getting charged $99 inactivity fee. Charged $75 again in May and $74 again in June. They are impossible to deal with and very rude. I have never dealt with a company who’s CUSTOMER SERVICE was so horrible.

  • Brad

    I set up with them this week without reading any bad reviews beforehand…My bad! I as promised a terminal overnight, along with a tracking number! I was never provided a tracking number, nor did I receive my terminal. I called the 24/7 customer service and took 42 mins to answer. When I gave the rep my Merchant ID number, he could not find me in the system. While on hold, I looked up reviews on the company. Well, needless to say, I gave the rep 30 seconds to find my information before I threatened to report them. He mysteriously found my account, but proceeded to tell me that he cannot see any tracking number, or that the terminal was even sent out. I then told him to cancel my account, and his response was that he could not do that since he was with another company, not Commerce. He also stated that “EVO” was the mother company, so I asked for their 24/7 number. When I called it, I was sent back to the same guy. There is only (2) reps for all these companies that even answer after hours. I have sent numerous emails, with no response. I have already filed a complaint with VISA, and FederalReserveConsumerHelp.gov. I will be canceling all accounts associated with this transaction at the bank, and hopefully get away from these scammers without losing to much skin! Stay away from these people….the are Scammers!!!!
    Anybody else out there have any good advice for a good merchant account, please advise!

    • Joe

      Brad:

      Unfortunately, you were just like myself and the other scammed businesses reporting on this company. After I closed out with these crooks, I stared using Merchant Warehouse (now branded as Cayan) and have had very good results using their services. I sure wish the operators of Commerce Payment Systems could be brought to justice. Good Luck.

  • john m

    commerce payment systems is a total scam I was called out of the blue by a sales rap named Frank Scala he sold me a package that was hard to beat everything sounded great why wouldn’t I sign up with them they turned out to be the biggest con artist ever and I am going to make it my life’s mission to sink their ship this worthless company has been sucking money out of my account for far too long I recorded my phone call between franks Scala and I and I plan to bury them.

  • RobLee

    This company stole over $1100 from my company and then another $395 for double charges 3 months after closing our account due to fraudulent charges, they would take my customers transactions but never deposit money into our account. We are working with the Attorney General as i type to go after them. Never give up these are crooks. Did business with them for 5 years and then bam customer service even told me to block access with bank so they cant take money out because I will never get it back Yes and employee of there’s warned me. Commerce Payments a big FRAUD

  • Amber

    We called this company to sign up 2 weeks ago since we had a customer who wanted to pay with a credit card. We were told that sign up process is going to be quick and easy and told us we can go ahead and start using the virtual terminal right away. We were under impression that the approval process shouldn’t take more than one day, thus, we went ahead and entered the credit card card online. Next day we found out we needed to provide additional document in order to be approved. They needed to see utility bill. The following day the passport, the next day social security number, etc. In the meanwhile, we charged another card since we were being reassured daily that the approval process should only take one more day. After I entered the second card I was starting to get a hunch that this company is a scam and started looking at the reviews online that proved to be horrible.

    Here are the steps I was able to follow that hopefully will help some of you that are here looking for options. Most of you should have a virtual authorize.net account. If not, please call the commerce payment systems and obtain access to one. When I logged in I was able to modify my payments online. I canceled the second transaction right away because it has not gone through yet. Whew! In the interim I started working with another merchant to get set up so we could swipe the second payment with a new merchant as soon as possible. The first payment unfortunately showed as settled / charged, however, there was an option to refund it. I went ahead and clicked refund and the payment showed as refunded the following day. I called authorize.net and they told me it could take up to 5 business days for refund to happen because of the receiving bank. I have no confirmation yet on whether this refund has actually processed or not but I am hopeful. I can just contact the customer and ask them to confirm the receipt of it before charging the payment again with the new merchant.

    I contacted the commerce payment systems and asked them to cancel the contract and said I did not wish to continue going through with it anymore. They asked me why and I told them I was denied by them. They were all completely baffled about it. They asked me what I meant. I said well you asked me to provide my social security number and I don’t have it and thus, I cannot get approved by you guys. They transferred me three or 4 times and each time I said the same thing.

    I also told them I requested refund via the merchant.net system which they were not very happy about. I did get the cancellation form in the email which I faxed and emailed back and received email confirming the services have been cancelled. I have not received any charges in my bank account as of yet but if I see at least the smallest amount I will call bank and let them know those are unauthorized charges as the person above suggested.

    I’m not sure whether you are in a situation where you can hunt your customers down and issue refunds and reprocess payments with a new merchant but it sure beats getting no money at all. Authorize.net is the answer for that and they have a different customer service and work with various merchants and were more than helpful in walking me through refunds and voids of the transactions. I hope this will help someone else deceived by this joke of a company.

  • Daniel

    STOP STOP STOP. Dont sign up with this company. They are the worst company ever. If you sign up with them they will take you to hell. First thing they do is sign you up. You fill out their application. Once you are approved before even making any transactions they start drafting money from your account. They approved us and sent us the terminal. We started to make transactions but the money would never go to our account. So I called customer service and told them that we never received the money they then transferred us to their underwriting department. They started to ask for all kinds of info. They wanted my phone bill, electric bill, all kinds of business papers. They say that this is to prevent fraud. Well their is never an end with them. It has been 2 months and i still did not get my money. The customers all have been charged but the money is with commerce payment systems. They ask you for things that are impossible to get. This company also runs 3 different companies and are doing the same. So before you sign up with any company type in the name in google and check the reviews. I wish i did that with this company. This company is scamming Americans out of millions. This company should be investigated and shut down. But dont stop fighting them get your money back. HOW TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK. You can call a lawyer and file a lawsuit. You can call visa and file a complaint at 1-800-847-2911 option 3 or you can call every tv news station in new york and let them do their investigation. You can also call FEDERAL RESERVE CONSUMER HELP.GOV at 1-888-851-1920 and file a complaint. Look on google and their are many government agencies you can also call. If peoples voices are heard and government agencies get enough complaints the will investigate this ponzi scheme and shut this operation down and put the people behind it in jail. Also file a complaint on the BBB. DONT GIVE UP KEEP FIGHTING THESE CRIMINALS.

  • Eugene

    I signed up for service a week ago and am still waiting to get paid for two processed credit card transactions. Their fraud prevention routine is ridiculously burdensome for both the merchant and his/her customers. At this point, I am not sure whether I have been scammed or just subjected to poor management.

  • david

    i want recommend CPs. they have been a wonderful processing company. I had 2 other processors in the past and none came close to the service we received from CPS.

    Thanks so much

    David Simai MD

  • David

    Account closed Jan 8. They took $9.95 in March 4. And just took 108.95 April 2. Called customer service and got a runaround. Just want my money back. Good company if you want to keep paying for nothing. RIPOFF COMPANY BEWARE

  • Scott E.

    Sales Rep Danielle Cirillo talked a very slick, fast game about being the cheapest and best company around. I gave her the entire scope of my one-man business and the type of credit card amounts and transactions I use.

    Every step of the way she assured me that it was all a virtual “slam dunk” in terms of ease of processing and setting me up with an account.

    BUT BEWARE, after she sent me email notices saying all the usual hype like “welcome aboard” and “congratulations”, etc., etc., I received a curious letter 2 days latter from some idiot in the “underwriting department”. How this department operates is akin to a secret society of brown shirts. Once they use their sales rep to farm all of your confidential credit information, bank account numbers, addresses, phone numbers, etc, they then send you a letter saying everything is all set up………except for one little tiny remaining detail: you must sign a one sentence caveat in their little letter that states you will never exceed a certain amount of money and that no transactions will ever exceed a 30 day purchase time limit. WTF???? As a talent agency for celebrities, ALL of our events are booked for advance dates that far exceed the 30 day limit!!!! So why in the hell did the Sales Rep Danielle waste all my time with filling out applications, mailing 5 different forms of private ID’s for “proof of business operating address”??? Something is rotten in Denmark and it ain’t the cheese!!! It’s bad companies like COMMERCE PAYMENT SYSTEMS!!! Stay the hell away from these scam artists. Read at least 5 complaint letters on this website and that should do the trick for you. They will face their own special reward at the end of life……

  • Joe Walters

    Wish I had read the numerous negative comments related to this group of crooked B’s before I used them. Thank goodness I caught this early and it only cost me a couple of hundred extra bucks for this scam.

    DO NOT USE THESE CROOKS.

  • Mark Tyson

    This company should be investigated and charged with criminal activity. How are they getting away with robbing money from our bank accounts!!! I have been trying to get my money back for two months and they move from one lie to another and one scam to another and the state of New York is allowing this to happen! If you speak with Gavi Liebviwitz or Jena from their customer service – hang up and DO NOT offer any confidential information!!! They will debit your bank account without notice, permission or conscience.

  • Nate Johnston

    Worst company I have ever had to deal with in more than 20 years of business! Fee structure is extremely misleading. There are tons of extra fees on top of the .35% they take off the top for processing your credit card transactions. The fees are charges through third party companies instead of directly through Commerce Payment Systems, so technically they are only charging the .35% but the actual cost for each transaction is much, much higher than that.

    Stay away from this company! They will cost you a fortune!

  • jim o

    DO NOT use Commerce Payment Systems, it is a total rip-off. They will not return your calls but will take your money. I have had so many charges and have never used there machine. When I did get to talk to them all I got was a run around. I have cancelled with them but they still take money out of your account. When you talk to them they say we will put in for a refund and that accures at the end of the month. So far the charges keep coming in and the refunds are a joke!! Worst company that you could ever deal with! WOULD NOT want anyone to use this company!!! The best advice is to stay away from this company and change your bank account number….

  • alice

    Commerce payment systems has held tens of thousands of dollars of our funds. Their customer service is the runanround system and they currently are holding even more payments made to our company. We have to reconcileour books daily to make sure our funds are received. We cannot even get a return phone call from them.
    The funds are those we legitimately have received via our website from tenents. There are no unverified or bogus charges in the amounts withheld. In fact, they are entire accounts frim 2 corporations we own. DO NOT USE THEM. They are only great at the sales pitch. Afterwards they overcharge fees untill you call them on it and do not release YOUR money.

  • Patty Dowd

    Jay Leigh with the company gave incorrect information to gain a customer. We have cancelled and continue to receive charges that are not included in the contract. They deny receiving the cancellation notice and it has been emailed several times. There is no supervisor available to resolve issues after being placed on hold many times for hours and then Jay will not respond to emails or phone calls nor anyone else. This company should be closed down immediately. IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO GO WITH THEM FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING…DON’T BE A FOOL…TAKE ADVISE FROM ONE FOOL AND FIND A DIFFERENT COMPANY. FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH SIMILAR ISSUES, PLEASE SHARE HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.

  • Rose Ferraro

    We went through a 48 hour underwriting process to be able to take credit cards with Evolution Bank Card/ Commerce Payments. After this process they said we were approved to take payment. We are a contractor Elite Concept Services. We ran a payment for a large sum on July 23, 2013. The payment was approved by the customers card and funds transferred to Commerce Payments. They sent our account to risk management before we could get out funds. I had to spend hours providing additional information. They have us signed up to accept on line payments as well as a phone swipe. I had to go with the customer the bank to do a manual swipe. No one ever said we would need to do that. Once I provided everything to them they said 24 to 48 hours. Then when I called on Monday July 29th he said that we passed the risk management and it would be another 24 to 48 hours. I waited for the money to show in the account as of today July 31, 2013. I called to find out where the money was and they said they just received it July 30th from Evo international payments l the risk payment group. They told me they sent it Monday July 29th. Now Commerce payments told me today it was approved yesterday but would be 24 to 48 hours before we have the money. They are a total scam. THEY RIP YOU OFF HOLD YOUR MONEY> THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.

  • Brooklyn

    What a group of unprofessional people. First off the sales rep. checked out my license picture and used his personal cell phone to inform me how pretty I was and when was I headed in his direction. Second off the swiper could not be used on my phone because of the operating system I was using. Already had the device mind you. My bank account was charged $48 for a security on the device. This charge was not expected, we were told there were no upfront costs or fees. Then the other lady Im in business with also switched to Apriva Pay with Commerce Payment Systems and was billed an additional $144 a month after we had returned all equipment and cancelled the account. Upon calling back, because they tried to draft an additional amount, we discovered the account still had not been cancelled and told we were not eligible for any refund. I called again 2 days ago and spoke with a manager the told me he put in a request for our refund to the security company and it would be 5-10 days. The first time the refund was denied was because there supposedly wasn’t a description in the complaint. What a racket, hassel, ect!!!

  • David Guzman

    This has to be the worst company for credit card processing I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. If you call customer service, plan on at least a hour long wait while you get transferred from department to department. If your company has charges of $500.00 plan on sending in everything to get approved for any amounts over $500.00 (they do not inform you of this up front). You will never be able to speak with anyone that can answer a question directly. They will hold payments for any number of reasons and in my opinion border on criminal. I intend to follow up with my state’s attorney general’s office as well as any federal agencies that investigate this sort of thing.

  • Steve Oden

    By far the worst merchant provider out there. Fees were never what was quoted, never recieved monthly statements. Canceled account and still kept charging monthly fees. In the process of submitting a claim to the Better Business Bureau. Should have looked at the BBB report before going with them. Also you will wait on hold for 30+ min to talk about anything regarding your account. Merchants BEWARE!!!

  • Darlyn

    We returned the machine on 4/12/13 after only having it for 2 weeks. Not only have they NOT “cheerfully refunded every penny” like the website claims, they charged us another $20.65 on May 2nd! I have called over 7 times and had to wait on hold somewhere between 10-45 minutes at which time they always say the same thing, “you should receive your refund soon.”

  • Nic Huette

    Was told no other fees aside from their “low processing fees” yet annual fees unauthorized by me kept being charged with my monthly statement.
    When I contacted customer service they refused to return funds, especially after I cancelled my merchant account with them.
    This is a completely unethical company that takes advantage of businesses by passing on “made up” annual fees to merchants when Commerce Payment Systems should be covering those fees themselves.
    Go with a reputable company or local bank for card processing. My review of commerce payment systems is that they are snakes and liars and cheated me out of hundreds of dollars, wasted hours of my time, and caused me distress and frustration.
    I hope they get sued and would love to see a class action lawsuit filed against them and see them go out of business for doing business this way.

  • dawn

    I have 2400.00 in cc charges and they charged me 300.00 dollars visa network access fees..22.78
    visa assessment fees 41.80
    pci-dss regulation update 99.00
    this is a scam company I’m going to my bank
    so scared they will withdrawl all my funds

  • Peter

    This company is the worst I have ever dealt with, I started a small business nearly 3 weeks ago and I have been processing transactions since day one. When I contacted them regarding my funds being on 100% hold they told me I still needed to fax over a utility bill which I did right away. Then after various emails probably 10 or so between myself and a rep and after I had faxed the document I then asked could they let me know when the funds would be removed from hold, a couple of days go by and no response so i send another email and still no response, one final email and another couple of days still no response. I then get of the phone, and speak to someone, they say “we just need a voice recognition” so my funds are no longer on hold now then? “yes they replied you will have then within 24-48 business hours”. After this I send an email to say that I have been a bit disappointed in the service as a new business owner I need those funds and didn’t see why they had such a lack of response. What happens i get phone call the day after that there is another problem, back to square one my funds on hold again, seemingly another document is needed. I then asked what would be the cancellations procedure, well you can refund every transaction or you can cancel and we will hold your funds for 180 days. This has and is a bit of a nightmare for me just now, I really dont have much money left and they will have 3 weeks of funds after this weekend of business, I am now getting short on cash after just paying my 3 employees there first salaries and I have stock to purchase before 4th July week which is going to be crucial for me. If I get the funds cleared by what I have read I may also have a shock with fees, and if I get them to clear the funds and I survive through this I will be looking to tie up with my bank that they cannot take any money from me and I will cancel and go somewhere else straight away. Really disappointed I fell for this scam company and advise others not to make the same miss-take.

  • Dana

    Commerce Payment Systems is a SCAM! The sales person said they would save me over Square. NOT SO! Tons of hidden fees, charges coming in from Authorize.Net and American Express separately! Double charged or gateway fees. You can’t see all of this happening until the first statement cuts, 6 days after they bill your checking account! Super difficult to cancel, never received fax, customer service never gets me emails. Won’t issue credits/refunds. Square charges total for the month would have been $34.77. All the charges from me switching to Commerce, totalled $116.95 (for $966.96 worth of charges for the month). I just about fell out of my chair! This is highway robbery, besides the face they DID NOT SAVE ME over Square. BEWARE!!!!!

    • Dana

      Follow Up… asked to cancel last month, they give you the run around, say that the cancellation department handles all cancellations at the end of the month, but it didn’t get cancelled! Now I have $200 worth of PCI fees billed and I didn’t even charge anything! I just wrote to the attorney general’s office. I also sent my bill out on facebook to show the rest of the world what crooks they are! Hope it goes viral and puts them out of business!

  • Gary

    Right there with ya’ folks! We started with this company in Jan 2013. Nothing but run around just trying to get set up. Online application had online signature option, then underwriting says signature doesn’t match signature on driver’s licensce – duh! Had to jump through several hoops just to get set up (took nearly 2 months)
    Gateway technical issues, finally resolved, then took 2 weeks to process our first cc transaction – had to send invoices to CPS to ‘verify’, some stink about sending 2 transactions through on the same day. Then find that transaction was way overcharged – CPS stated someone entered $10 instead of 10 cents on each of several entries, and that they would refund – didn’t happen.
    As others state, calling is all but futile. Customer service reps say anything to pacify – if you can even get through to one!
    Monthly charge promised to be $4.95 + $5.00 for gateway. Monthly charge is $34.95 every month. Tried to access my account online, when I tried to register, website stated I was already registered. Requested ‘forgot password’ web site stated would email password reset – tried this 5 times, and never received an email to reset password – so, I cannot see what’s going on with the charges.
    This month, June 2013 – $133.95 charged to my account. Am now going to have to go through the process to cancel – wish me luck!!!

  • Laurie Wilson

    Set up an account with Commerce Payment Systems. Paid $60 for a small credit card terminal to use in my android phone. I downloaded Apriva Pay as instructed yet I was unable to use the device. I called technical support and went through the setup process again…still didn’t work. They advertise 24/7 technical support yet when you call your are left listening to music most of the time. When you do reach someone you are unable to get the issue resolved.

  • julie yudowitch

    This company lies, cheats, and steals your hard earned money. Sales says one thing and customer service says another. They will make unauthorized bank draft from your account for fees they promised you would never pay. if you call customer service about it you will sit on hold for hours just to get hung up on. If you try to cancel the account they will say they are sending you a form but they don’t actually send it. You will actually have to contact your bank to lock these people out of your account in order to end your “service” with them.

  • Artiness

    (Fixed errors)

    DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THIS COMPANY

    I contact commercepayment.com but get a call back from commercepaymentsystems.com

    My Sales Rep: John Lane [CPS] Senior Account Executive

    Here are the discrepancies and dishonesty:

    1. Sales: The monthly service fee of $4.95 is waived in June 2013. (one month free)
    Customer Service: “It’s not in writing, we do not know about it.”

    2. Sales: Never mention of other fee, such as $69 yearly fee or when I will be charged for it.
    He said I will be paying only $4.95/ month beginning in July 2013, but June is free.
    Customer Service: “There is $39 or $69 fee for the terminal”

    3. Sales: Offer me the wireless terminal FREE of charge
    Customer service: I have to pay $300 for it

    4. Since I do not agree to pay for terminal or yearly fee, I asked for cancellation.
    Customer service said he will send the form on Monday June 3, 2013
    On Wednesday June 5, 2013 I still never receive the form.
    The next day on Tuesday June 4, 2013 I am being charged $19.95 for 2 times.
    (Luckily I contact my bank and file claim against unauthorized charges and I got my money back)

    5. Sales replied my email one time on June 3, and never contact me back
    I try to contact sales, John, it went to voice mail.
    I tried to contact customer service. I am 14th on the line, after 30 minutes, it cut me off.

    I am so sorry I ever believe in the dishonest that the sales department to lies for customer to sign up. The customer service does not care about customers.

    I do not know how people can work in a place like this.
    It’s golden rule. You do good to others, good things come back to you and vice versa.

    • Artiness

      Update: Here is the whole story in details one more time:

      Tuesday May 21, 2013 – I spoke with John Lane (sales person): I asked how much I will be paying and he said its only $4.95 per month and I will be billed in July. June’s monthly service charge is free. I looked through all contract and discount rate, and asked him many questions. He confirmed it is $4.95 per month. That’s all I will be paying.

      Wednesday May 22, 2013 – I got email from underwriting team of my merchant id number

      Friday May 31, 2013 – I receive a terminal that I cannot use because it needs a land line, and I do not have a land line. So I email John (my sales person) that I need a wireless terminal. I received no reply.

      Monday June 3, 2013 at 11:30am – Since I received no reply from John so I call customer service to explain that I receive a terminal that I cannot use I asked him to send me a wireless terminal in replace for this one, but he want to charge me $350 for it. He also mentioned to me that there will be yearly fee either $39 or $69. (that I never know about)
      The customer service said the company will charge me the yearly fee at the beginning of July 2013.
      So I told him I do not know or do not agree to pay those amount. My sale person, John Lane, has never mentioned to me about it.
      I asked to cancel my account on Monday June 3, 2013. The customer service said he will email me the cancellation form for me to sign.
      I asked him to email me right away, so I could do it right away, but he refused but he just said good bye. And as of Thursday June 6, 2013 at 3:00pm I never receive any cancellation form.

      Monday June 3, 2013 at 12:15pm – John replied my email that the wireless terminal should be free and he was upfront about the cost.
      I replied his email to confirm with him whatever he said to me in writing because customer service wants those promotion in writing, not verbal. After I asked John to confirm his promised in writing, I never heard from him since.

      Thursday June 6, 2013
      2:21pm – Got another reply from anonymous underwriter with the same customer service phone number to call again. (The underwriter do not have cancellation form to send to me)

      2:57pm I called again, 4 lines were ahead of me and finally I get to speak to Denny, customer service, after 30 waiting time.
      Denny asked me why I want to cancel, and told him the whole story. He send me cancellation form right away as I asked.

      It is very hard to solve problem with the company because sales do not want to bother anymore after they finish their jobs. Customers have a hard time getting through the phone line to talk to customer service people. There is no collaboration between employees within the company. Other departments do not care about any customer service issue. Sales want to sale and make commission, and end up manipulate customers to sign contract and withholding the information of actual fees and charges that will occur. The company then once have my bank account information then decided to take any amount of money out any time they want.

      Thank God..!! Finally I can get this resolve and no one would ever take money from my bank account again..

  • Shannon Smith

    Slime, slime, slime…
    I checked my bank transactions and saw a charge go through our bank account. There was another charge from a gateway billing company. Called Commerce and thier charge was explained satisfactorily. I asked about the gateway charge and the service rep told me I had to call the gateway company as they shouldn’t be billing us. Called the gateway company and was told that Commerce set up the account for direct billing to our account so between the two of them we are getting a double dip on fees. Gateway said I had to call back Commerce and get them to fix it. Waste of my time.

    During the original call to Commerce also asked the rep about a $7.95 Amex fee. He said that that was a merchant bank fee and Commerce was not responsible for it. He told me to call Amex and tell them that if they did not remove the fee we would stop taking Amex. I told him that we did not want to quit taking Amex. He said “they don’t know that.” I asked the service rep why we had to fix this when we did not give Amex our bank account information in the first place but Commerce did. He said that Commerce did not authorize it. I stated then that the only option he could give me was to lie to Amex. He said he did not tell me to lie, but gave me an option that I could pursue. Slime.

    The piece that bites me the most is that these answers came readily as if this was not the first time the rep had handled these issues or else there was already canned jargon that pops up on the screen for these twits to read.

    I WOULD LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR MERCHANT SERVICES!!!

  • JL

    This company have kept over 6k from our company and 16k from our clients credit card, worst business experience ever!, we lost couple of our more important clients due to their multiple unauthorized charges, currently still dealing to recover our money since 2012, currently putting together al legal resourses to protect our company capital and evaluate damages.
    Doing business is a big challenge on these days but people without ethics like them is only taking advantage from many small new business.
    Recommendation: Save any kind of proof obtained from this company, letters, emails, telephone call records, request everything on writting to protect your company.

  • Matt

    Im reading all these comments and im scratching my head… I signed up with them a year and change ago and theyve been nothing but a pleasure! Great customer service as well as really cheap rates.

  • Connie

    Very poor customer service and it seems very fraudulent. What I told the sales rep and what is on the application are totally different. You can’t talk to them you have to wait for them to call you back. This company seems very fishy. Also they have an F with BBB

  • dung Tran

    This CPS is BS, it’s been 4 days and I didn’t see any fund in my bank account. Calling them every day, and they keep me run around with no result, they keep telling me that they are busy and it’s under the review, at one time they even asked my credit card to verify. I am switching to local. How do I get my money back from this Merchant account?

  • Sheila

    Very Poor Business Practices!Signed up with this company in Jan.2013.Actually did not set the cc machine up to start with this company till 3/292013.Called in that day to make sure everything “was a g”,was told by rep everything was fine.A month later our cc funds are not going into our business account.We call,stated signature was left off on the form.If we had npt called we would have been overdrawn.They never bothered to call or email us and let us know.When asked why they did not contact us,they stated we did in Ja. when we sent you the welcome package.Please! we did not actually hook the cc machine up until as I stated 3/292013.Good thing,we would have really been in the hole! My advice,find any cc processor,but do not go with these people! If this is not taken care of we will have to file suit as we have no choice.Paypal,the only way to go!And yes,they offer to businesses online or brick & mortar.TJB COLUMBIA,TN

  • Mike G.

    These guys are the worst merchant service ever! They completely BS the customer with false rates and they fail to tell you about all the monthly surcharges. When I asked why I was billed fees that weren’t in my contract, they said the very fine print says they have the right to change policy at ANY TIME WITHOUT INFORMING THE CUSTOMER!
    Do not use this company!!

  • MT

    CPS was the worst merchant credit experience ever! I wish I knew of this review site and had read Chris’s comment before I signed up. When I asked why I was billed fees that weren’t in my contract, they said the very fine print says they have the right to change policy at ANY TIME WITHOUT INFORMING THE CUSTOMER!
    Even after they emptied my bank account, I received no notification of any kind. They also seemed to have overcharged for processing payments. Sometimes calls would be answered by a “No longer in service” message or no call back. After nearly a month, I still have not received a response to my request to cancel, in spite of both calls and emails, it’s always “still in process”.

  • Chris

    ABSOLUTE worst credit card processing company we worked with. Lies, lies, and more lies re their fees, customer service, and reliability. I hope anyone who is considering signing up with these characters reads all the negative reviews and choose any other reputable company out there.

    • Narayan Swamy

      Commerce payment systems is a processor to be avoided at all costs and I hope others can join me in suing and stopping them from being in business to cheat gullible merchants. They trap by showing an aggressive price on the website. Upon submitting the forms, fraudulently add a different form, handwrite the signature and signup with a different rate structure. Charge undue annual fees/charge ETF when it is not even agreed to begin with. They are extremely difficult to deal with and there is no need to get trapped into such as an entity. AVOID THEM AT ALL COST. PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE AND RUN FROM Commerce Payment Systems.


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