First Choice Payments Review
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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.
First Choice Payments
Rating
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
We are currently able to locate only one negative First Choice Payments review, but this review does directly call the company a scam. As noted above, it describes a situation in which a sales agent misrepresented potential savings, signed the merchant up for a long-term equipment lease, and then became unreachable. We have also found more than 50 complaints filed against Wholesale Merchant Processing, Smart Choice Payments, and North American Processing Solutions. Common themes among complainants include nondisclosure of contract terms, poor customer service, expensive equipment leases, and an unprofessional work environment. Many complaints (and responses from company representatives) mention Smart Choice and Wholesale Merchant Processing as though they are the same company, and Smart Choice is a DBA of First Choice. We therefore will not differentiate between the four brands.
As also noted above, First Choice Payments has paid Ripoff Report in order to participate in that website’s “Corporate Advocacy Program.” This program makes it difficult to find the title and content of targeted complaints on Ripoff Report. Merchants are advised to scroll completely down the page to read the full details of each complaint.
First Choice has been assigned the same rating in this section as Smart Choice Payments and Wholesale Merchant Processing because there is no indication that the companies are different from each other. The company lists phone and email contact information on its website.
Industry Scores & User Ratings
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.
The Better Business Bureau does not maintain a profile for First Choice Payments at this time. However, Smart Choice Payments currently has an “A” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has been accredited since September 2015. In addition, Wholesale Merchant Processing has an “F” rating with the BBB. The reason for the discrepancy between these two grades is unclear, as the BBB lists both companies at the same address and names Todd McCartney as the president of both companies.
Smart Choice Payments is a DBA of First Choice Payments, and we have assigned Smart Choice Payments the same “F” rating that the BBB gave to Wholesale Merchant Processing. We will therefore apply the same rating to First Choice Payments for the purposes of this review.
Processing Rates & Fees
Unlike Wholesale Merchant Processing and Smart Choice Payments, First Choice Payments does not provide its contract terms on its website. However, First Choice Payments’s contract terms are probably identical to those offered by Smart Choice Payments. The standard Smart Choice Payments contract (available below) is a three-year agreement with an early termination fee of $495, a monthly PCI compliance fee of $4.95, a monthly minimum fee of $25, a monthly statement fee of $10, and an accompanying non-cancellable, four-year equipment lease through Northern Leasing Systems. In addition, we have found one report of an additional early termination fee of $900 that the company charges upon cancellation. This sounds a lot like a similar $893.98 fee charged by Wholesale Merchant Processing, but we are unable to determine why the company charges it under either name.
These contract terms warrant a “C-” rating on their own. However, two other factors lower the company’s score in this section to an “F.” First, Smart Choice’s agents appear to commonly package their processing agreements with long-term equipment leases through Northern Leasing Systems. Northern Leasing Systems is notorious for selling non-cancellable four-year leases that charge thousands of dollars for equipment that can be purchased for under $500. Second, the contract’s length and fee structure are especially damaging when combined with the poor disclosure cited in many merchant complaints. See the Smart Choice Payments Merchant Application and the Smart Choice Payments Program Guide.
First Choice Payments Competitors
Compare First Choice Payments to competitors that earned top marks.
Bottom Line
First Choice Payments rates as a substandard merchant services provider according to our rating criteria. All evidence suggests that First Choice Payments is the same organization as Smart Choice Payments and Wholesale Merchant Processing, and First Choice Payments has been rated as such. Merchants who have been contacted by Smart Choice Payments or Wholesale Merchant Processing are advised to request and review all documentation before signing up.
