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Tell us about your experience with Funds Transfer Alliance in the comment section below.
Updated 1/30/2019: The website for Funds Transfer Alliance is no longer active, and the company’s Facebook page states that it is permanently closed. It is likely that the full Funds Transfer Alliance portfolio was absorbed by the BluePay brand, but it is also possible that Funds Transfer Alliance is still active under a different name. If you have any knowledge of Funds Transfer Alliance’s current status, please share that information in the comment section below this review.
Funds Transfer Alliance (the-fta.com) is a merchant account provider based in Phoenix, Arizona. Although Funds Transfer Alliance (FTA) has a very official-sounding name, this company is simply an independent sales organization much like most other merchant services providers. Funds Transfer Alliance claims to have been founded in 1999, but other sources show that it was incorporated in 2007, so the exact founding date is unclear. It also appears that Funds Transfer Alliance was acquired by BluePay at some point in late 2011. FTA uses First Data as its primary card processor but may use others depending on a merchant’s processing needs. Funds Transfer Alliance is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, California, with headquarters at 10429 S. 51st Street #100, Phoenix, Arizona 85044. Brian Martin is listed as the CEO of Funds Transfer Alliance.
Funds Transfer Alliance Reviews and Complaints
Here's What Their Clients Say
Complaint Summary
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Total Online Complaints
20+
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Live Customer Support
Yes
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Most Common Complaint
Sales Tactics
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We are currently able to locate over 20 Funds Transfer Alliance negative reviews, many of which accuse the company of being a ripoff or a scam. The majority of these complaints have been posted to a telemarketing complaints forum and describe aggressive or rude interactions, high-pressure tactics, and frequent hangups. Complaints filed outside of this forum list higher-than-expected costs, undisclosed lease terms, and deceptive sales tactics. One merchant reported receiving a deceptive telemarketing call from a representative explaining that they were not making a sales call. When the representative was pressed by the merchant to explain how it wasn’t a sales call, the agent froze and was unable to provide an answer. Overall, Funds Transfer Alliance’s sales force does not appear to be exceptionally trustworthy, which has lowered the company’s score in this section.
Funds Transfer Alliance BBB Rating and Report
Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment
BBB Summary
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Product & Service Complaints
0
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Billing & Collection Complaints
0
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Advertising & Sales Complaints
1
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Guarantee & Warranty Complaints
0
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Delivery Complaints
0
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As of this review, the Better Business Bureau is reporting that FTA is not accredited and has an “A-” rating. The company’s lone complaint is attributed to an advertising or sales issue (which seems to mirror the telemarketing issues mentioned earlier in this review). This complaint did not receive a response from FTA. Considering FTA’s low complaint total and complete failure to address the complaints it has received, we agree with the BBB‘s rating at this time.
Funds Transfer Alliance Fees and Rates
A Closer Look at the Contract
Cost Summary
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Swiped Rate
Variable
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Keyed-in Rate
Variable
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Early Termination Fee
$299 or None
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PCI Compliance Fee
Variable
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Equipment Lease Terms
Variable
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FTA appears to customize fees and contract terms based upon varying merchant needs. However, a representative stated that the standard agreement is three years with no cancellation fee. Merchants should read their contracts closely before for signing with FTA, because a three-year agreement without a cancellation fee is not typical of this industry. Additionally, we have located some merchant complaints that do mention an early termination fee of up to $299, so it might be that some of the company’s contracts do include one. It’s also entirely possible that FTA charges PCI Compliance fees and monthly minimum fees.
One consistently reported complaint about FTA has to do with its equipment leases through First Data Global Leasing. Multiple merchants report signing up for service through FTA for three years, only to find that they have also been locked into a non-cancellable, 48-month equipment lease. The company enforces the last year of the equipment lease in these situations. Although we lack specific information regarding FTA’s contract terms at this time, it does appear that many of the company’s clients are dissatisfied or at the very least disappointed with their costs through FTA. If you have any knowledge of the company’s contract terms, please share that information in the comment section of this review.
Funds Transfer Alliance Jobs and Employment
Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment
Key Points
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Employs Independent Resellers
Yes
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Advertises Deceptive Rates
No
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Discloses All Important Terms
No
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FTA’s biggest area of concern for this reviewer is with the company’s marketing strategy. There is evidence that this provider relies mostly on outbound telemarketing and sometimes uses slightly deceptive tactics with their calls. These tactics include posing as Visa/MasterCard representatives and attempting to convince merchants that they have been flagged as overpaying for credit card processing services and telling merchants that it is not a sales call, even though it clearly is one. There are also numerous merchant complaints about FTA failing to disclose the one-year difference between the company’s processing agreement (36 months) and its lease terms (48 months). Merchants report paying more than they had expected upon signing and not being able to get out of their agreements despite having been misled.
Funds Transfer Alliance Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts and Opinions
Funds Transfer Alliance rates as a substandard merchant services provider according to our rating system. The company appears to be using a few “smoke and mirrors” tactics in its sales process, and it has seen a corresponding increase in complaints. The BBB has raised its rating for the company since our last update, but at this time there is very little to recommend Funds Transfer Alliance to merchants. The company seems to be having some serious transparency issues and is doing a poor job of earning its potential customers’ trust.
If you found this article helpful, please share it!
Chaz
Run as fast as you can when FTA rep contacts you. Ryan Jacques is a liar, and a cold call sales person has as much BS as the company has taught him. There rates after the first year are non competitive, they will not neogiate a new agreement and it is for 3 years as someone said. My own fault and lack of planning got me in this situation and I have less then one year and I am out.
If I can save one person in busines from these people I hope it is you reading this!!!
Charles
Be vey cautious with the FTA sales representative as they lie to get you into a lease with First Data for processing equipment that in outrageous and so called reduces rates . I was told I needed new updated equipment to use their processing system and get the huge discounts they could get me.
As it turned out due to my own lack of knowledge I signed a lease that I later learned I did not need, my equipment worked on there processing data, and the cost of leasing was four(4) times that of an outright purchase price.
I cannot get out of the lease nor negotiate a buy out!! FTA sales representative was just that a professional cold call sales rep.
If negotiating get everything in writing, do not agree on any deals until you have time to review your figures and stay away from any Lease with FIRST DATA, you can outright purchase equipment for thousands of dollars less than there 4 year lease.
Craig
While we agree about the misleading way they contact you in the beginning, we have found FTA to provide excellent customer service and good rates. This is after trying four other merchant services companies we were quite unhappy with.
As to the lease, ALL of those sales reps lie to get your business. It is the definition of caveat emptor — let the buyer beware. Our advice is don’t get a machine unless your are pretty confident you will need it for the term of the lease. And NEVER let them do an automatic bank draft. Since it is a business contract, the bank will NOT stop the payments coming out if you dispute them. And since they hit you every 30 days, it makes it nearly impossible to close the account.
Use only a credit card or a deduction from your mechant transactions. Credit cards will almost always put a block on anyone you ask and if you leave the provider, they can’t take payments out of a non-existent account.
Anyway, FTA has been better than the four awful companies we used before. Sales is a bit shady. But service has been excellent. They even assigned a specific person to handle our account personally so we get the same support each time.
Trish Hodge
At the time FTA sold the account to me I expressed concerns about the 4 year lease of the equipment. The salesman/actuary assured me that if I went out of business before the lease was up that the lease would be cancelled. I am now closing my business and FTA says they can/will do noting about cancelling the lease and I must deal directly with First Data, the company to which they have assigned the lease. Representatives at First Data tell me that salesmen make such promises all the time but the lease is non cancellable and I am liable for the remaining $900+ of payments. They are correct about the terms of their lease and my complaint is not with First Data. My complaint is with the misrepresentation by the salesman from FTA. I should have got it in writing but I took him at his word.