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An Honest Look at FrontStream Payments

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FrontStream Payments

Rating
B
4/5
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Pros and Cons of FrontStream Payments

Pros

User-friendly interface
Secure payment processing
Integration capabilities
Customizable templates
Comprehensive solutions

Cons

Customer support issues
Pricing transparency issues
Platform stability concerns
Limited reporting features
Feature limitations

Overview

In this review of FrontStream Payments, a merchant account provider established in 2002, we cover key details such as rates, fees, contract terms, and user reviews to help businesses evaluate their services. Our analysis highlights customer complaints, industry ratings, and employee feedback to provide a clear view of the company’s reputation and performance. We also examine FrontStream’s marketing strategies, customer service, and recent legal issues, presenting both the strengths and drawbacks of the provider. This balanced overview is designed to help business owners and potential clients make informed decisions about working with FrontStream Payments.

About FrontStream Payments

Screen Capture of FrontStream Payments Homepage
Frontstream Homepage

Founded in 2002, FrontStream Payments is a merchant account provider that serves most standard-risk business types. Frontstream Payments originally operated as an independent e-commerce payment processor called FastTransact until it was acquired by “FrontStream” in 2010. Between 2010 and 2018, FastTransact’s products and services were sold under the FrontStream name. In May 2018, FrontStream was acquired by Marlin Equity Partners, and FastTransact was again spun off into an independent brand. Since then, however, FrontStream appears to have rebranded FastTransact as “FrontStream Payments”, and the company operates as a separate division focused on non-profit merchant accounts. In January 2021, FrontStream Payments integrated its disbursement services with Salesforce.org Philanthropy Cloud.

Products & Merchant Services

Payment Processing

FrontStream Payments offers payment processing solutions designed to meet the needs of businesses, non-profits, and fundraisers.

ArgoFire Payment Gateway

The ArgoFire Payment Gateway is a crucial element of FrontStream’s service portfolio. It provides a secure platform for processing online transactions, integrating with various payment systems to enhance the user experience.

Next-Day Funding

FrontStream Payments includes next-day funding services, which expedite the availability of funds for organizations.

POS Solutions

FrontStream Payments offers Point of Sale (POS) solutions tailored to the specific needs of different organizations.

Level II and III Processing

FrontStream also provides Level II and III processing services, which are designed for businesses that require detailed transaction data for commercial card transactions.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Overview of FrontStream Payments Feedback

Our analysis has not uncovered recent complaints labeling FrontStream Payments as fraudulent or deceitful. Complaints from 2006 and 2011, given their age, may not be as pertinent to current evaluations. More contemporary concerns highlight issues such as difficulties with service cancellation, inadequate customer support, undisclosed rates and fees, frequent rebranding, and unauthorized retention of funds. It is worth mentioning that a noticeable number of these grievances originate from individuals claiming to be past or present employees, potentially skewing the portrayal of customer experiences. We encourage the sharing of your experiences with FrontStream Payments in the comments section below.

Assessment of FrontStream Payments Customer Support

FrontStream Payments offers customer support via phone and email, as indicated on their website. The company’s representation of “dedicated relationship management” indicates an attempt to provide an elevated level of service, though more information is needed to fully assess this claim. The small volume of complaints suggests that FrontStream Payments’ support could be comparable to that of top-rated merchant account providers, but the true effectiveness of their customer support and relationship management remains to be seen.

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop3
BBB Rating1
TrustPilot Rating4.4
Google Maps4.7
TrustRadius Rating4
Our Rating4
Average Rating3.62

PaymentPop Rating for Frontstream

Negative Feedback

This companies fees are ridiculous, both on the organization side, and the donor side. What they don’t tell individual donors or companies who use them for direct donations through payroll, they will deduct $20 for every check they send to the benefiting nonprofit. I doubt they tell the donors this. If I donated $35 a month to an org, and $20 of it was being put in the pocket of this company, I would be PISSED.

Positive Feedback

FrontStream Payments has truly been a game-changer for my business! Their seamless payment processing solution has made handling transactions a breeze. From the moment I signed up, I knew I was in good hands. The user-friendly interface makes it so easy to manage payments and track transactions, saving me valuable time and effort.

The level of customer support they provide is top-notch. Whenever I’ve had a question or needed assistance, their team has been quick to respond and incredibly helpful. It’s clear that they genuinely care about their clients and their success.

Thanks to FrontStream Payments, I now have a reliable and secure payment system that my customers love too. It has not only boosted my efficiency but also improved my overall business reputation. I couldn’t be happier with the service they provide. Highly recommended!

FrontStream Payments BBB Rating

FrontStream Payments is not BBB accredited and has an “A+” rating. The business has been operational for 16 years. There are two customer reviews on the BBB website for FrontStream Payments, Inc. However, there are 2 customer complaints closed in the last 3 years, with none closed in the last 12 months.

Negative Feedback

Our charity was told we would be docked $25.00 per check unless we switched to paperless. They claimed it would be an “easy” process (ha). We submitted the personalized bank letter they requested and pres**ent’s ** separately and were rejected because we d**n’t submit them at the same time (we d**n’t have the letter yet). Coinc**entally they rejected us just as another check was slated to go out. We will be contacting donors to urge them to donate to us directly to avo** so much of their money being eaten up by Frontstream’s fees.

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about FrontStream Payments, Inc. on the BBB website.

Trustpilot Rating for FrontStream Payments

FrontStream Payments has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, based on 21 customer review. The company is categorized under the Card Processing Service sector. The single review available is positive, highlighting a quick response and helpful service.

Negative Feedback

I am extremely disappointed by my experience with all of Frontstream products. They are extremely clunky and not user friendly at all. Support is helpful sometimes, but more often not.

Positive Feedback

Always fast and amazing customer service when there is any issue I may be having. Thank you!

Google Maps Rating for FrontStream

FrontStream has a 4.7 out of 5 star rating based on 92 user reviews on Google Maps.

Positive Feedback

I am so excited to start my new venture & FrontStream has been very patient with me & helped me get all my documents together & communicated with me on a daily basis…Catastic!

Negative Feedback

This is the most unprofessional and unorganized company I have ever worked for in my entire life! I have never seen a business hire people, don’t give them any kind of formal training, have managers that have no idea what they’re doing and then fire them within 30 days of employment due to their “performance”. I plan to file many complaints about this business as well as other courses of action. Piss poor management!

TrustRadius Rating Analysis for FrontStream

FrontStream’s software service Panorama has a score of 8.0 out of 10 on TrustRadius, based on 6 reviews. The software is used primarily in the nonprofit sector for fundraising activities like auctions and event management. The reviews highlight its ease of use, reporting capabilities, and community fundraising features. However, some users have expressed concerns about its dated appearance and customer service issues.

Negative Feedback

We are currently using Firstgiving as a peer to peer solution for a fundraising campaign. This is the 5th annual event and we have always used this platform. We are a small organization and this is one of our largest fundraisers so we cannot afford to have issues, but this year the product has not functioned in the way it is supposed to and we are losing donation dollars as a result. Two weeks ago we started receiving questions from donors because they were having trouble making donations. The pages wouldn’t load or they would get part way through the donation process and the page would buffer and they couldn’t complete the process. Some had tried to donate 3 or 4 times unsuccessfully. We have been told this is fixed now, but we still hear intermittent comments from people with issues. Customer Service has been awful. It is difficult to reach anyone and when you do the updates are not not very helpful. It has been nearly two weeks with no progress. – Review from October 22, 2019

Positive Feedback

We have used FrontStream Panorama to utilize the Bidding for Good platform. We have been using this to have online silent auctions and mobile bidding for our annual fundraisers. It was easy to use and also easy to learn and set up. I also liked that our event was shared with the Bidding for Good community to leverage more donations. Bidding for Good offered a robust training and tip library, as well as many reports and email communications. – Review from May 15, 2022

Source: TrustRadius

Processing Rates & Fees

Three-Year Contracts

The FrontStream Payments First Data Program Guide and the FrontStream Payments Merrick Bank Program Guide convey multiple standard contracts through different backend processors. The company’s standard contracts through First Data and Merrick Bank are both three-year agreements with an unspecified early termination fee. This fee should be listed in section 9 (“Service Fee Schedule”) of each merchant’s application. It is unclear whether these contracts renew automatically, and the available documentation does not disclose the company’s monthly minimum fees, PCI compliance fees, or rate structure.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

The company relies upon First Data’s Payeezy payment gateway. Payeezy provides merchants with 2 options for service, its Basic and Pro plans. The Basic Plan assesses a transaction rate of 2.90% plus $0.30 with no setup, gateway, statement, or batch fees. The Pro Plan’s rate is 1.89% plus $0.23 without any of the aforementioned fees. However, the Pro plan charges a monthly fee of $19.95

Long-Term Equipment Leases

FrontStream Payments’ First Data program guide includes a built-in equipment lease agreement through First Data Global Leasing. This is a non-cancellable lease for an unspecified length of time, which means that merchants who terminate the lease will be required to pay the entirety of the remaining months of the lease in one lump sum immediately. We strongly recommend purchasing rather than leasing equipment if possible, because equipment leases almost always end up costing far more than the retail price of the equipment itself. A table of fees associated with the lease is also included in the company’s contract:

FrontStream Payments Fee Table
FrontStream Payments Fee Table

Level 2 and Level 3 Processing Services

In addition to its traditional merchant services, Frontstream Payments also advertises that it provides Level 2 and Level 3 processing for B2B and B2G transactions. Level 2 and Level 3 processing rely upon different interchange rates than traditional consumer credit transactions. Accommodating those rates requires different payment processing technology from a merchant account provider to transmit the amount of data required to facilitate the transactions. These services are reserved for B2B and B2G purchases that utilize corporate credit cards.

No Contract Complaints

Despite the company’s three-year contract and non-cancellable equipment lease, we are unable to locate any FrontStream Payments complaints that specifically mention the company’s pricing as a problem. We will therefore assume for now that most of the company’s merchants are satisfied with the rates and fees they are paying. If you have been charged fees that you feel were excessive or improperly disclosed, we advise you to leave a comment below this review or contact an independent third-party fee reduction analyst.

We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of thebest merchant accounts.

Lawsuits & Legal History

There are no identified ongoing class-action lawsuits or Federal Trade Commission complaints against FrontStream Payments at this time. Merchants seeking to address grievances without resorting to litigation should consider reporting their issues to the relevant regulatory bodies.

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

Outside Sales Team

FrontStream Payments appears to partner with ISOs and independent sales agents to market its services. In general, this practice is often tied to high complaint volumes, as it is difficult for any company to monitor the conduct of independent sales entities. We are unable to locate any FrontStream Payments complaints that accuse FrontStream Payments of unethical sales tactics. This compares favorably to our list ofbest credit card processors. However, we have found numerous negative FrontStream reviews posted online by former and current employees. These complaints may or may not apply to FrontStream Payments due to the shared locations and structural overlap between the two companies.

FrontStream Employee Complaints

Some FrontStream employees express dissatisfaction with the hiring decisions made by management and the lack of support for lower-level workers in the company. There are also multiple reviews accusing FrontStream management of posting fake positive reviews. Several of the positive reviews we found did seem to describe a sudden and improbable turnaround in the company’s policies, and these reviews stood in stark contrast to the larger overall pattern of dissatisfaction expressed by other employees. We are therefore inclined to believe that the more negative takes on the company’s corporate environment are accurate.

A Tentative “A”

An unhappy workforce can sometimes translate to negative experiences for merchants, which is why we have given FrontStream an average grade of “B” in this category. However, FrontStream Payments markets an entirely different set of products and may have a better office culture than its affiliated company. We will therefore give FrontStream Payments an “A” until we have more merchant feedback.

FrontStream Payments Competitors

Compare FrontStream Payments to competitors that earned top marks.

Bottom Line

FrontStream Payments holds its ground as a competent merchant services provider suitable for most standard-risk businesses. The company doesn’t fall into the budget processor category due to its industry-standard contract terms, which do not particularly stand out in the competitive landscape of payment processing. However, its standing in the merchant community is generally positive, lacking significant controversy or widespread complaints that could deter potential clients.

Merchants considering FrontStream Payments should proceed with caution by actively seeking out, scrutinizing, and understanding all pricing details and contractual paperwork prior to commitment. This level of diligence ensures that businesses fully grasp what they are agreeing to and can prevent any surprises related to fees or contract stipulations. While FrontStream maintains a decent reputation, businesses should still consider a thorough comparison with other service providers to secure the most favorable terms and conditions for their specific needs.

Read Actual User Reviews

All user reviews have been moved to our partner, PaymentPop.com

Contact FrontStream Payments

Contact & Customer Support
CEOPaul Plaia III
Headquarters11480 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 300, Reston, Virginia 20191
Toll-Free Customer Support(866) 800-4758
Websitefrontstreampayments.com