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In this review of Talus Pay, we examine this merchant account provider’s services and reputation, covering payment processing, equipment, mobile payment solutions, and merchant cash advances, along with rates, fees, contract terms, and feedback from both customers and employees. We highlight the company’s efforts to rebuild its image under new ownership since 2016, including leadership changes, customer service improvements, and responses to past complaints. Our analysis also addresses Talus Pay’s legal history, customer support, online ratings, sales tactics, and workplace culture to give a well-rounded view of its current standing in the industry. This review provides insights into the company’s operations, challenges, and transformation to help businesses understand whether Talus Pay is a suitable partner for their payment processing needs.
About Talus Pay
Talus Pay Homepage
Also known as “Talus Payments” or “TalusPay,” Talus Pay is a Dallas, Texas-based merchant account provider that was originally created as a DBA of Future Payment Technologies, one of the worst merchant account providers we have reviewed. Future Payment Technologies was itself created as a DBA of Crescent Processing Company and Park Central Company, two other providers with poor reputations. Talus also launched an enterprise-oriented DBA called Celerus Payments, but it has since retired that brand. Talus Pay is technically a registered trademark of FPT Operating Company (possibly short for “Future Payment Technologies Operating Company”), and the Talus Pay website currently states the following:
“AMCP Payments Intermediate Company LLC is doing business as Talus Pay, Talus Payments, Prolific Business Solutions, LTD Merchant Services, MSP Consulting, Granite Payment Alliance, Philadelphia Processing, City National Bank Merchant Services and Merchant Bank Partners.”
This means those dealing with Talus are likely dealing with an arm of AMCP Payments Intermediate Company LLC, and it is not yet known what the level of sharing of people, information, and contracts is between the various branches of AMCP.
Talus Pay appears to primarily be a reseller of First Data and TSYS. In 2022, Talus Pay partnered with Factor4, LLC, a gift card and loyalty program solutions provider.
Under New Ownership
In December 2016, Talus Pay (then known as Future Payment Technologies) was purchased by two private equity firms named A&M Capital Partners and Juna Equity Partners. A company representative has stated that the new owners changed the name from Future Payment Technologies to Talus Pay due to a trademark dispute. The new owners also created Celerus Payments as a way to market directly to enterprise-level organizations, but they decided to retire the Celerus Payments brand in mid-2017 and focus solely on Talus. Representatives of Talus Pay now claim that it is the only brand that the company plans to use to market credit card processing services.
Attempting to Put the Past Behind Them
The new ownership team has claimed to have taken a number of steps intended to distance Talus Pay from the negative reputations earned by Crescent Processing Company, Park Central Company, and Future Payment Technologies. However, the company has continued to suffer from similar complaints under the Talus Pay brand name.
According to representatives, David Kesler and Jon Frankel, the previous owners of Crescent Processing and its affiliated brands, are no longer executives at Talus Pay. In fact, most of Future Payment Technologies’ previous management team appears to have moved on to a new company called “Clearwater Payments“. Talus initially retained a few members of that original ownership group—most notably CFO Chris Dierks, Director of HR Leslie Lee, VP of Client Services Cindy Thompson, and then Director of Sales operations Daniel Carleton (representatives state the Daniel Carleton left in 2020).
Products & Merchant Services
Payment Processing & Equipment
Talus Pay processes all major credit and debit cards, offering services such as card swipers, POS systems, mobile solutions, PCI compliance, next-day funding, cash discount programs, inventory management, data tracking and analytics, gift cards, cash advances, and a surcharge program. The company provides common credit card terminals, including Clover Flex, Clover Mini, and PAX A920 models, all of which support EMV and NFC payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay. However, these terminals are often offered through costly leasing contracts.
Point of Sale Systems
In partnership with Fiserv, Talus Pay offers the Clover Station Solo and Clover Station Duo POS systems. They also have proprietary Talus Pay POS software that can be installed on most iPads or Android tablets. Both the Clover systems and Talus Pay POS software typically require a monthly subscription fee, with exact pricing dependent on negotiations.
Mobile Payments
Talus Pay provides mobile payment solutions with Clover Go or SwipeSimple card readers. These devices, compatible with iOS and Android, support EMV, NFC-based, and magstripe payment methods.
Merchant Cash Advance
Talus Pay offers merchant cash advances, providing businesses with a lump sum of cash in exchange for a percentage of future credit and debit card sales. This advance can be used for various business expenses, including inventory, marketing, and expansion.
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
Reports of Unsatisfactory Sales Experiences
Talus Pay has received over 50 public complaints, with some users labeling the company as a scam or ripoff. Many of these grievances stem from aggressive sales calls, as documented here. Additionally, customers express frustration with the company’s various aliases. Although Talus Pay has made recent efforts to address these issues, they may still linger as legacy problems. We welcome your own Talus Pay review in the comments below.
Continuing Complaints and Areas for Improvement
Other complaints highlight concerns about undisclosed fees, misrepresented rates, and unfavorable contract terms. While Talus Pay has shown improvements and garnered more positive feedback in recent months, negative reviews suggest ongoing transparency and customer service challenges that resemble past issues with Future Payment Technologies.
Initiatives for Enhancement
Talus Pay reports initiatives to enhance customer support training, expand personnel dedicated to client retention, and directly gather feedback from customers. These steps aim to elevate Talus Pay from its previous reputation to one of the industry’s top merchant accounts. Dissatisfied clients are encouraged to engage with these channels for issue resolution.
Positive Trends Amidst Challenges
Although recent reviews indicate positive changes, Talus Pay has yet to fully overcome historical complaints, warranting a “C” rating. The company seems proactive in managing online feedback, but lingering issues prevent a higher grade.
Industry Scores & User Ratings
Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop
1.6
BBB Rating
4.79
Google Maps
4.3
Average Rating
4.54
PaymentPop Rating for Talus Pay
Negative Feedback
They have not paid me going on a 10 days and they closed my account and I’m still waiting for my money and still nothing
Positive Feedback
I have always had great customer service when dealing with Talus, they are easily available, understand my issue/question and take care of me right away.
today I callled and talked to Melissa who solved a complex issue while on the phone.
She did a great job.
Doug G. Pennsylvania
Talus Pay BBB Rating
Talus Pay has an average customer review rating of 4.79/5 stars on BBB based on 164 customer reviews. The company has been accredited since April 10, 2017, and has been in business for 6 years. There are 14 customer complaints closed in the last 3 years, with 8 closed in the last 12 months.
Negative Feedback
I stopped using Talus pay 4 years ago they just randomly started charging as of jan 2024. I cant get anyone to call me back or even listen to me.
Positive Feedback
Very satisfied the the service I have received from talus .
Google Maps Rating for Talus Pay
Talus Pay has a 4.3 out of 5 star rating based on 577 user reviews on Google Maps.
Positive Feedback
While setting up my account, I had to call in and spoke with 3 different reps. Each one was fantastic, very professional, easy to speak with, very helpful. The overall experience was great, not what you typically get these days when you call in for help. The service I received that day alone was reason enough to stay with Talus! Great job CS team.
Negative Feedback
Do not use this company. Rates are super high and mouthy fees are astronomical. They can’t even process regular payments over phone. They’ll put you in a category and it never change. It should as your business grows. DO NOT USE THEM!
Processing Rates & Fees
Three-Year Contract, Significant Cancellation Fee
As outlined in a previous Talus Payments Merchant Application and the Talus Payments Program Guide, a three-year term with automatic renewal for two-year terms is presented, accompanied by an early termination fee of $295 or liquidated damages (whichever is greater). Additionally, an application fee of $99, a monthly account maintenance fee of $9.50, a variable monthly minimum fee, an annual “Corporate Fee” of $98 per location, a card data security (PCI compliance) fee of $9.95 per month, and various recurring and one-time fees are indicated. A company representative has suggested that these fees are negotiable, reflecting varying customer needs. We also encourage business owners to explore our list of the best merchant accounts.
Update: 7/3/2023
In response to the previous paragraph, a representative stated: “We have month-to-month contracts. We no longer have long-term contracts and there are no cancellation fees on any of our agreements. If there are any changes that need to be made to a merchant’s account, they will always receive a memo at least 30 days beforehand, but changing prices is not a normal practice.”
Pricing Options
Talus Pay offers either tiered or interchange-plus pricing. However, businesses should thoroughly understand all applicable rates under a tiered plan. Overall, the company’s contract terms are pricier than industry averages and do not notably improve upon those offered by the previous ownership team.
Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing
Apart from its in-store payment processing services, Talus Pay advertises its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. Nevertheless, pricing for these services is undisclosed. Additional rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates, generally apply to these e-commerce services.
Claims of Incomplete Documentation
Some Talus Pay reviews highlight sudden fee increases without notification and incomplete provision of paperwork at signing. A company representative addressed these issues by providing instant access to the full contract terms post-account approval and by prominently listing rate increases on monthly statements.
Not a Top-Tier Option
Talus Pay’s pricing and contract terms do not stand out favorably, and recent efforts by the company do little to position it as a budget-friendly merchant account option.
Talus Pay offers point-of-sale equipment, among its other services
Talus Pay appears to market itself primarily through the use of independent sales agents, resellers, and telemarketing. The majority of Talus Pay complaints (most of which are found in the comment section below) are related to the company’s sales practices, specifically its telemarketing approach. Clients often complain of being contacted despite the fact that they are on the no-call list. Other business owners cite misrepresentation and nondisclosure by sales agents as their primary complaint. One complaint by a former employee of Future Payment Technologies describes minimal support and training for sales agents and a lack of qualified leads. Another Future Payment Technologies complaint by a client describes nondisclosure of terms and misrepresentation of fees.
Update: 7/3/2023
A representative of Talus Pay claims that the company no longer engages in telemarketing and has provided the following information:
“Talus Pay does not have an outbound tele-sales team. We have instead switched to a model that allows us to work with businesses at a local level by hiring Fulltime Sales Consultants that live within those communities – This program began in Jan of 2021. While we do have some agents, the majority of our sales are done by Employees of Talus Pay”.
No Physical Paper Trail
Because the company provided its sales agents with smart tablets and encouraged them to collect signatures digitally, some businesses have complained that they never receiving full hard copies of contract terms. A typical complaint posted to Google states the following:
I signed the Talus Representatives ipad to initiate the change from Square after comparing rates with their sales rep. The calculation based on my prior month statement with square showed significant savings. It turned out to be false. I requested a copy of my contract because the one on the ipad I signed was a “generic” one not set with my negotiated terms I was told. I was given runaround until a customer service rep finally sent a hard copy to me a few weeks later, that I received a day ago, with some agreed upon rates and fees but many that were undisclosed at the time of signing. Can’t reconcile the negotiated rates with the contract and with reality of what they are settling and depositing in my acct. At the end of the day, averaged for transactions processed and settled and deposited, I’m calculating around a 4% cost for their service, at least 3x what I was promised.
Update: 7/3/2023
In response to this section a representative stated the following: “In our newest system, signatures are obtained through an email sent to the Merchant so that they will always have a copy of what they have signed. They then receive an emailed copy as soon as they submit.”
Steps Toward Improvement
The Talus representative has also stated that Talus Pay has purchased and now adheres to the “do not call” lists for every ZIP code in the U.S., has turned over 70% of its legacy sales staff in the past year, and is instituting additional training and oversight programs to address customer complaints. The specific steps that he has described appear to be good faith efforts to improve the Talus sales experience, but the company has received public complaints about its telemarketing team and sales staff recently. We therefore will not change the company’s rating in this section at this time, but we will continue to monitor whether Talus’s newly implemented procedures will have a tangible positive effect on client feedback in the long term.
Talus Pay Competitors
Compare Talus Pay to competitors that earned top marks.
Talus Payments currently rates as an average credit card processing provider. Initially, the company seemed poised to follow the low ratings of its predecessors, Crescent Processing Company and Future Payment Technologies. However, a new management team has shown a commitment to enhancing Talus’s reputation. Despite this, some of the prior owners’ sales practices and contract terms remain, impacting Talus’s rating in this review.
While we acknowledge the company’s efforts to improve its standing, we will continue to monitor how these changes affect its reputation and adjust this review accordingly. In the meantime, business owners may find better terms and service with top-rated merchant account providers.
