Can You Trust i3 Verticals for Your Payment Processing? Full Review Here

i3 Verticals, LLC, formerly known as Charge Payment, LLC, is a merchant account provider based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was founded in 2012 by Greg Daily, the former CEO of iPayment. i3 Verticals owns the following 13 companies, each one of which is focused on a different sector of the payment processing market:

• • Axia Payments (axiapayments.com)

• • Infintech (infintechllc.com)

• • PaySchools (payschools.com)

• • Place (placepay.com)

• • RU Practical (rupractical.com)

• • Local Level (localevelevents.com)

• • EZ Pay (866myezpay.com)

• • Bill & Pay (billandpay.com)

• • San Diego Cash Register (sdcr.com)

• • Court Solutions (courtsolutions.info)

• • Fairway Payments (fairwaypayments.com)

• • EZ Courtpay (courtpayment.com)

• • Business Information Systems (bisonline.com)

Serving Former Payment Systems Corporation Customers

We have received an email alleging that i3 Verticals is the company that manages the merchant portfolio of the now-defunct Payment Systems Corporation and that old Payment Systems Corporation merchants are now receiving service from i3 Verticals. There are also multiple online comments that support this claim. Payment Systems Corporation is one of the worst-rated merchant accounts on CPO. i3 Verticals is a publicly traded company that has grown rapidly in the past three years by acquiring or merging with a large and growing number of other payment-related businesses.

POS Solutions

i3 Verticals offers Point of Sale (POS) systems that aim to improve operations in retail and hospitality. These systems help manage transactions, inventory, and customer interactions. They are customizable to fit the specific needs of different industries.

Mobile Solutions

The mobile solutions from i3 Verticals allow businesses to conduct transactions on the move. This includes mobile payment processing and management tools.

ACH/Check Processing

i3 Verticals provides Automated Clearing House (ACH) and check processing services to support secure and efficient electronic payments. These services are designed to handle large volumes of transactions, reduce processing times.

Access to Payment Gateways

Businesses using i3 Verticals can access various payment gateways to securely process credit card and electronic payments. This service ensures encryption and compliance with industry standards.

Other E-commerce Solutions

i3 Verticals offers a range of e-commerce solutions aimed at optimizing online sales. This includes integrating shopping carts, securing payment processing, and managing orders and inventory.

E-invoicing

The e-invoicing solutions from i3 Verticals enable businesses to create, send, and manage invoices electronically. This can streamline billing, reduce paperwork, and speed up payment cycles.

Software Integration

To support seamless operations, i3 Verticals provides software integration services that connect their solutions with existing business systems. This integration aims to enhance data flow, reduce manual data entry, and improve overall efficiency.

Gift & Loyalty Programs

i3 Verticals offers customizable gift and loyalty programs to help businesses attract and retain customers.

Rising Concerns and Feedback

There are over 20 i3 Verticals reviews accessible online, with some alleging the company’s involvement in deceitful practices or labeling it as a scam. These reviews come from a mix of sources including the comments section of review websites, former employees, and third-party review platforms. Reported issues predominantly focus on misleading sales strategies employed by the company’s resellers, burdensome contract conditions, lackluster customer service, and unsatisfactory workplace conditions.

i3’s Approach to Ethics and Compliance

i3 Verticals promotes an internal hotline dedicated to reporting potential ethical violations, aimed primarily at employees. The company, however, may also consider feedback from merchants about any breaches of company policies. According to i3 Verticals’ statement:

The company encourages reporting of any activities believed to contravene laws, the Code of Conduct, or company policies, assuring that reports made in good faith will be protected from retaliation.

Contact for reporting is available through the Ethics Point website or by phone at (844) 395-9332.

Performance and Customer Perception

Despite its connections with Payment Systems Corporation, iPayment, and United Card Solutions, i3 Verticals has a relatively low number of complaints. This could suggest that many grievances are handled by its subsidiaries and resellers. At present, while i3 Verticals does not excel in customer support, it also does not rank among the best merchant accounts. The company provides contact options through phone and email, though it is not specified if these are managed directly by i3 Verticals staff.

Legal issues, particularly the 2016 fraud accusation and the cybersecurity breach allegation, significantly impact the company’s reputation in this sector.

PaymentPop Rating for i3 Verticals

Negative Feedback

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about i3 Verticals on the Payment Pop website.

i3 Verticals BBB Rating

i3 Verticals a payment processing service company, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and holds an A+ rating. The company has been in business for 9 years and has been BBB accredited since February 18, 2019. There are no customer reviews on the BBB website, but there are 5 customer complaints closed in the last 3 years, with 3 closed in the last 12 months. The complaints primarily focus on issues related to billing and collection.

On a previous update the BBB profile had the following user review but it has since been removed.

Negative Feedback

We switched merchants service in 2016 and cancelled I3 service due to poor customer service. We noticed they have been billing us $219 a month 2 date Our merchant # *************** Has been billed $218.89 for the past 4 years. We never renewed our “supposedly contract” not one transaction has been taken. We need some form of credit. It was an overlook on our past trusting our employee with our bank account. She thought it was the current company charges. I called to get reimbursed they were very unprofessional and said we should have cancelled formally. We never received one correspondence of any renewal or upgrade like most companies offer. I would like some kind of refund. This is a very unethical way of doing business. Where are people’s integrity. Thank you, ***** – Complaint from January 28, 2021

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about i3 Verticals on the BBB website.

Google Maps Rating for i3 Verticals

i3 Verticals has a 2.3 out of 5 star rating based on 6 user reviews on Google Maps.

Positive Feedback

i3 Verticals provides software and payment processing to several different markets including nonprofit, property solutions, education, merchant solutions, health care, and private sector.

Negative Feedback

Terrible. I made a rookie mistake using them and learned an expensive lesson. Fees are high and support is terrible. And good luck getting out of your contract, without lots more fees.

Revdex Rating Analysis for i3 Verticals

On Revdex, i3 Verticals has one customer review. There is no explicit overall satisfaction rating provided. The review present on the page indicates significant dissatisfaction with the company’s customer service.

Negative Feedback

Worst customer service from any company I’ve ever experienced. – Review on Revdex

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about i3 Verticals on the Revdex website.

Source: Revdex

Reseller-Determined Pricing

i3 Verticals keeps its standard contract terms private, making it challenging to understand the specifics of its merchant account offerings. Nonetheless, an example of an i3 Verticals contract available through United Card Solutions, a reseller, reveals a three-year term with First Data (now known as Fiserv). This includes a flexible early termination fee, an undefined monthly minimum fee, and a permanent lease agreement via First Data Global Leasing.

Virtual Terminal and Gateway Costs

i3 Verticals allocates part of its website to promote its virtual terminal and payment gateway solutions without specifying fees. Expect additional charges, including gateway fees, support fees, batch fees, and more transaction rates, typically associated with these e-commerce solutions.

Consistent Terms

The conditions of these contracts are akin to those set by iPayment and do not offer standout competitiveness within the sector. While certain resellers of i3 Verticals might adjust these terms, potentially affecting merchant costs positively or negatively, the core contract language tends to be uniform across all resellers. Generally, merchants can anticipate standard industry rates unless they successfully negotiate more advantageous terms.

Merchant Feedback

i3 Verticals has seen a moderate increase in complaints concerning its contract conditions. Reported issues include rates as high as 7%, a yearly fee of $79, monthly lease expenses surpassing $99, cancellation fees of leases above $1,000, and a cancellation fee of $299. There are instances where merchants were billed post-cancellation request, with some also experiencing unexpected rate hikes. For those concerned about potential increases in rates or hidden fees, it’s advisable to consider a complimentary, third-party statement review. Furthermore, merchants are recommended to explore top-rated merchant account providers.

General Assessment

At this juncture, i3 Verticals is rated “C”. Should you possess detailed insights into the standard i3 Verticals agreement, your input could be highly beneficial to other merchants.

Legal Challenges Faced by i3 Verticals

Greg Daily, CEO of i3 Verticals, was implicated in a 2009 legal dispute over the ownership and origin of iPayment, concluding with his departure from iPayment in early 2011 following a settlement.

In another case, Starr Indemnity & Liability v. i3 Verticals, LLC, filed in November 2016 in the Middle District of Tennessee’s United States District Court, the plaintiff accused i3 Verticals of knowingly committing fraud against merchants. The lawsuit, initiated by the company’s insurer, alleged that i3 Verticals had violated their policy agreement through fraudulent activities. This case was resolved through an out-of-court settlement in April 2019, as evidenced by a joint dismissal submitted by both parties.

Additionally, in June 2021, the state of Louisiana initiated a, i3 Vertical lawsuit over an alleged cybersecurity incident involving customer data, focusing on i3- Software & Services, a subsidiary based in Louisiana. This lawsuit is presently active.

In-House and Outside Sales Agents

i3 Verticals appears to market its services via regional sales representatives and in-house sales teams, as well as through its subsidiaries and acquisitions. The company does not appear to directly hire independently contracted sales agents, but its sub-ISOs may make use of 1099 sales reps. We can find a few i3 Verticals complaints that mention nondisclosure or misrepresentation by the company’s sales agents, but these complaints remain relatively rare for a rapidly growing company. This is surprising considering the fact that the company was founded by the former CEO of iPayment, a company that has received a large number of complaints related to its sales tactics. This lack of complaints compares favorably to our list ofbest credit card processors.

No Direct Marketing Concerns

i3 Verticals and its subsidiaries have not received excessive complaints about their marketing strategies, although some of the company’s resellers such as Performance Merchant Alliance, United Card Solutions, and Direct Processorsreceive very low ratings for some deceptive sales tactics. We consider i3 Verticals partially responsible for the negative outcomes that the merchants working with these companies have reported.

“B” Rated For Now

The company’s overall complaint rate coupled with the fact that i3 Verticals does not list any misleading rate quotes in its official materials would normally earn the company an “A” in this category. However, the overwhelmingly poor reviews of its resellers and subsidiaries have lowered its grade slightly to a “B.”

i# Verticals has significantly expanded its footprint in the payment processing industry through strategic acquisitions, including the merchant portfolio from the now-defunct Payment Systems Corporation. This growth has lead to its status as a publicly traded company. This processor’s business practices reveal a complex picture involving customer complaints, legal challenges, and scrutiny over contract terms and fees. Despite some reported issues related to customer service and ethical practices, the company continues to offer a diverse range of payment services that contribute to a prominent position in the card payment industry. Potential clients and partners should be aware of the concerns raised about its sales tactics and customer support as these could impact their experience and the overall value offered by i3 Verticals.