A Major Credit Card Processor
Global Payments Inc. is one of the largest credit card processors in the merchant account industry and has been in business since the 1960s. The company has partnerships in 31 countries worldwide. It’s also one of the few merchant account providers to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: GPN) as part of the S&P 500. In December 2015, the company announced its acquisition of Heartland Payment Systems, another very large credit card processor based in the U.S. The acquisition came a year after Heartland Payment Systems filed a lawsuit against Mercury Payments, an ISO of Global Payments, alleging that the company has committed false advertising and other tactics to damage Heatland’s reputation as a competitor.
Acquisition of TSYS
On May 28, 2019, Global Payments announced its acquisition of TSYS in a $21.5 billion all-stock deal. The acquisition had been speculated upon for some time in the months preceding its confirmation. TSYS is among the largest merchant service providers in the world, making Global Payments acquisition of the company a seminal moment for the industry. The announcement follows a flurry of acquisitions among competitors as FiServ announced its acquisition of First Data in January for $22 billion as well as FIS’ acquisition of Worldpay for approximately $35 billion.
Global Payments Headquarters and Ownership
The company’s headquarters are located at 3550 Lenox Road, Suite 3000. Atlanta, Georgia 30326, Global Payments supplies nearly every service a merchant would need, from setting up the merchant account to supplying the processing hardware. Through its OpenEdge division, the company also provides integrated merchant account software. The CEO of Global Payments is Jeffrey S. Sloan. The company announced the departure of its former president and COO David Magnum. A press release regarding Magnum’s exit stated that Sloan and Cameron Bready, the company’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will assume Magnum’s former roles while extending their respective employment agreements until August 2021.
Global Payments Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: Global Payments offers a multi-year contract with a variable early termination fee.
- Complaints & Service: Global Payments has received more than 100 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: Global Payments has a “A-” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 318 complaints and 9 negative reviews in the past 3 years.
- Sales & Marketing: Global Payments hires independent sales agents and has received complaints about deceptive rates, poor customer service, and its sales practices.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Global Payments
** DO NOT DO BUSINESS with Global payments.**
If I could give a negative number, I would. We have had nothing but issues with them from the beginning. It should have been a huge warning sign when we were finding “mistakes” with fees in the contract versus what had been quoted to us. Fees not listed in the contract are constantly being added. These are not just nickle and dine fees. The added reoccurring monthly fees are hundreds per month. Then there are the quarterly added fees and the annual added fees. We were also incorrectly charged PCI noncompliance fees for over a year when we were in compliance. We have made numerous calls to try to find out what fees were, corrections that needed to be made, and follow-ups from credits due.
When we initially signed with Global payments (also know as Open Edge), we were told and shown that we would save on average about $200 a month in fees. When doing a cost comparison, we found that in 2019 our overall credit card revenue went down from 2018 by 2.6%, but our fees went up 12.6%!!!
The absolute worst staff ever! my Debit machine isn’t working, they said it was my internet provider, I called Cogeco, my internet is fine because all my other devices are working perfectly, then they said it was my router and on their advice I bought a $180.00 dollar router, and still the debit machine isn’t working.
But the worst thing is Global Payments thinks I should pay for something I don’t own $150.00 dollars for a technician to come out and fix their machine.
And the other worst thing one of their Technician John that I last spoke with said I wasn’t allowed to talk with a manager, disgusting, and towards the end of the conversation I was in the middle of speaking and John just hung up on me. What a way to treat your clients. Global Payments you should be really proud of yourself, I gave you a 1 star because you without doubt deserve it.
Unethical & poor business practices. Large increases on monthly miscellaneous fees without proper notification. Huge rates on transactions. Unwarranted fees. Upon trying to cancel the service they charge a $875 fee per account, one per currency one per Visa/MC. This company has access to your deposit accounts and should not be trusted. Other services have lower or no monthly charges.
Steve,
This article should help: How to Cancel a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee.
-Phillip
Terrible customer service, incompetent staff, overpriced and hidden fees. Terminal cash/ disconnect every week. This company should be rate Z- not C- . I will switch as soon as my contract is over!
[AVOID AVOID AVOID] Business located in Calgary – This company overcharged us about $9,500 in fees over 1 year and 3 months. Initially, you start out paying the average collective ~5% for processing credit cards (including monthly fees, and their thousand other fees). Then they increased it (by adding more fees) June 2018 to 8-9% of our sales. Apparently, they gave us “notice” through back page on our month statement that does not get mailed out (you can only access through website, and my parents are not tech savvy nor is their primary language English). AND THEN, they added MORE FEES AGAIN in March 2019 to collectively equal 10-12% of our total credit card sales. THIS IS ROBBERY. If you don’t refute within 3 months, it means you’ve accepted the rate. My parents only started taking notice when their bank account balance seriously began to dwindle then I came in to investigate. They have offered to lower the collective rates to about 40% of current 10-12% charge, but that’s still higher than other major merchant rates. We are going to change.
WATCH OUT everyone. They’re scam artists, they tell you to go get a lawyer if you want to try to get your money back. Terrible. They will keep increasing your fees if you don’t take notice and they will singlehandedly BANKRUPT you. Also, there is a $700 cancellation charge because your contract “auto” renews, so even if you’ve been with the company for 6-7 years, and they havemade a fortune off you, they will still do this. Check their 2018 earnings result – RECORD HIGH – at the cost of their customers.
Totally disappointed with Global. We cancelled our contract. We had been using them for years and they were charging us, by the time we paid fees, admin…. 4.79%.
This is totally wrong and when the machines crashed, they didn’t answer their phones.
NEVER AGAIN
This post will help: Best E-Commerce Merchant Accounts
-Phillip
This company with holds money until you call them. Then they tell you it will be two to three business days before you get your money. They do not resolve your issues. I will not recommend this company to any one. Stay Away
This post will help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money
-Phillip
We have been connected to Global Payments by intermediary company called RMS.
Global payments charge £44.60 inc VAT just to be PCI compliant (if you have multiple accounts it will be more)
And if you are unlucky and were non compliant for a month it is £150. Extortionate.
Their customer service is non existent, they will take 45-60 minutes to answer the phone and will not hesitate to put the phone down on you if they dont like your tone.
A very bad blast from the past – you’d think this level of service doesnt exist in 2019….
I paid my way to disconnect any contact with them, and wouldnt recommend them to anyone.
This post will help: Best UK Merchant Services Providers
– Phillip
Stay away. Long story short I got defrauded by them (Craig Jackson). When I called and tried to argue and dispute it, they did not return my emails or calls. i’m getting charged 230 a month still! Very Very bad experience.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
They don’t even deserve one star. HORRIBLE customer service. They put you on hold for hours and transfer you from one country to another to get to their “Correct” department. They increase their rates without notice. When we closed the account, they kept charging us monthly to suck every penny we got. Whenever we tell them that we already close the account, they say that this is the last charge, yeah right.
Can’t get rid of them unless you change bank account. They are like parasites. Avoid at all cost.
From The Editor
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