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(800) 203-7981Compare i3 Verticals
Company Overview
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 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.
i3 Verticals Payment Processing
i3 Verticals processes all major debit and credit cards for most business types. Their services include:
- POS solutions
- Mobile solutions
- ACH/check processing
- Access to payment gateways
- Other e-commerce solutions
- E-invoicing
- Software integration
- Gift & loyalty programs
Location & Ownership
i3 Verticals is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA; RBS Worldpay; Deutsche Bank, USA, New York, NY; Merrick Bank, South Jordan, UT; BMO Harris Bank NA, Chicago, IL; and Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati, OH. Greg Daily is the CEO of i3 Verticals and Rick Stanford is president, and the business is headquartered at 40 Burton Hills Blvd, #415, Nashville, Tennessee.
Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: Offers a three-year agreement with a variable early termination fee and…
- Complaints & Service: Has received more than…
- BBB Rating: Has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has…
- Sales & Marketing: Appears to hire independently contracted agents but has not…
i3 Verticals offers standard payment processing services
i3 Verticals Reviews and Complaints
Here's What Their Clients Say
Complaint Summary
|
Total Online Complaints
20+
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Live Customer Support
Yes
|
Most Common Complaint
Poor Customer Service
|
Rising Complaint Total
We are currently able to locate more than 20 i3 Verticals reviews, some of which claim that the company is a ripoff or a scam. Most of the available complaints have been left in the comment section of this review, but some also come from former employees of the company and other third-party review websites. Common complaints include deceptive sales tactics by the company’s resellers, expensive contract terms, extremely unresponsive customer service, and a poor work environment at the company.
i3 Verticals Lawsuits
The CEO of i3 Verticals, Greg Daily, was named as a defendant in a 2009 lawsuit disputing the origin and proper ownership of iPayment. This lawsuit was settled when Daily left iPayment in the spring of 2011.
The company was also the defendant in the matter of Starr Indemnity & Liability v. i3 Verticals, LLC in the United States District Court’s Middle District of Tennessee in November of 2016. The plaintiff in the case sued i3 Verticals on the basis that they knowingly engaged in fraud against merchants. The plaintiff, as i3 Verticals insurer, filed suit on the basis that the company entered their policy in bad faith as they were knowingly defrauding merchants. As of April 19, 2019, a joint dismissal was filed by the plaintiff and defendant, indicating an out-of-court settlement.
In June 2021, the state of Louisiana sued i3 for an alleged cybersecurity breach for its customers’ data. The suit specifically names i3- Software & Services, a Louisiana-based branch of the company. The suit is currently ongoing.
i3 Ethics Hotline
i3 Verticals maintains an internal hotline for reporting ethics violations at the company. This phone line appears to be intended for use by employees, but it’s possible that i3 would also accept merchant feedback regarding violations of company policy. From the i3 Verticals website:
If you see something you think may be in violation of law, the Code of Conduct or any Company policies, you’re encouraged to bring that to the attention of the Company. It is The Company’s promise to you that any good faith report of non-compliance can be made without fear of retaliation or retribution.
The company directs interested parties to submit information at this page or via phone at (844) 395-9332.
A Steady Drop in Performance
i3’s complaint total is surprisingly low given its affiliations with Payment Systems Corporation, iPayment, and United Card Solutions. It’s possible that the company’s subsidiaries and resellers absorb many i3 Verticals complaints, and there is some evidence at this time that this may be occurring. For now, i3 Verticals does not rank terribly for customer support, but it is also not a top recommended processor for quality customer service. The company offers phone and email contact information on its website, but it’s unclear whether these channels are serviced exclusively by i3 Verticals.
The company’s troubling legal history is the main factor behind its grade of a “D” in this category. The accusation that the company knowingly committed fraud against merchants in a 2016 lawsuit and the alleged cybersecurity breach are the most troubling aspect of the legal action taken against the company.
i3 Verticals Customer Service
i3 Vericals offers a number of customer service avenues, though it is unclear what level of quality this service is.
We have located multiple i3 Verticals customer service numbers:
(800) 203-7981 – Toll-Free General Customer Service
(800) 204-6431 – Live Client/Partner Support
(888) 251-0987 – Investor Relations
i3 Verticals also offers a customer support form and the following customer service emails:
[email protected] – General Customer Service
[email protected] – Sales Support
[email protected] – Live Client/Partner Support
[email protected] – Investor Relations
While this is a decent number of customer support options, the lack of 24/7 support or chat mean that i3 is not up to the standards of our highest-rated customer service processors.
i3 Verticals BBB Rating and Report
Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment
BBB Summary
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Product & Service Complaints
1
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Billing & Collection Complaints
0
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Advertising & Sales Complaints
0
|
|
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints
0
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Delivery Complaints
0
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Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.
The Better Business Bureau assigns an “A+” rating to i3 Verticals and does not award the company accreditation at this time. The BBB has received six complaints about i3 Verticals since it opened its profile in April 2015. Complaints were related to product or service, billing, and marketing problems. Three were resolved to the satisfaction of the merchants, while the others either were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant. Given the short period of time that the profile has been active, we have adjusted the score to a “B” under our criteria.
Under 10 Complaints
The Better Business Bureau assigns an “A+” rating to i3 Verticals and has been an accredited business since February 2019. The BBB has received 1 complaint about i3 Verticals in the last 36 months. The 1 complaint relates to product or service problems. The complaint was either resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant.
What Merchants Say
The BBB is currently showing no informal reviews for i3. Previously, the company also had received 2 informal reviews from merchants, both of which were negative in tone. The most recent negative i3 review cited high fees, poor service, and fund holds:
I have been a business owner for almost 20 years and i3 Verticlas is a company I can positively tell you to stay away from. Horrible follow up and incompetent in every role of the company I spoke with. Tons of hidden fees, no answer when you ask a questions, and very rude employees. 1 month of no response from i3 Verticlas and they are holding my money hostage and will not return my calls (Agisha or Albert ).
This merchant might have benefited from taking immediate action to make i3 Verticals release their money.
An “A” Performance Overall
Given the company’s low complaint total in the three years that it has had a BBB profile, we feel that the BBB’s grade is appropriate.
i3 Verticals Fees and Rates
A Closer Look at the Contract
Cost Summary
|
Swiped Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
|
Keyed-in Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
|
Virtual Terminal Rate
1.00% - 4.99%
|
|
Payment Gateway Fee
Undisclosed
|
Annual Fee
$79
|
Early Termination Fee
$299+
|
|
Equipment Lease Fee
$99 Per Month
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Lease Cancellation Fee
$1,000+
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Equipment Lease Terms
48 Month (locked)
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Pricing Set By Resellers
i3 Verticals does not publicly disclose any information about its standard contract, so it is difficult to assess the company’s merchant account terms at this time. However, we have found an i3 Verticals contract offered by United Card Solutions, one of the company’s resellers. This contract is a three-year agreement through First Data (now Fiserv) with a variable early termination fee, an unspecified monthly minimum fee, and a built-in non-cancellable lease agreement through First Data Global Leasing.
Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing
In addition to its storefront payment processing services, i3 Verticals also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. However, pricing is not disclosed on either of those services. Additional rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these e-commerce services.
More of the Same
These terms bear a strong resemblance to iPayment’s contract terms and are not especially competitive for the industry. It’s possible that some i3 Verticals resellers can modify this agreement in a way that dramatically raises or lowers costs for merchants, but the basic language is likely to remain consistent among all i3 Verticals resellers. Merchants will likely receive industry-average pricing unless they negotiate the lowest possible rates.
What Merchants Are Saying
i3 Verticals has received a low-to-moderate number of complaints related to its contract terms, and this number appears to be rising at a steady rate. Dissatisfied merchants cite effective rates of up to 7%, an annual fee of $79, monthly lease payments over $99, lease cancellation fees over $1,000, and a termination fee of $299. Some merchants state that they were not only charged after submitting their cancellation requests but that their rates were increased. If you suspect that i3 has raised your rates or added undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a free, independent statement audit. We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.
An Average Performance
We have assigned i3 Verticals a “C” rating in this section for now. If you have any specific knowledge of the standard i3 Verticals contract, please share that information in the comment section below this review.
i3 Verticals offers e-commerce solutions including access to a payment gateway
i3 Verticals Jobs and Employment
Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment
Key Points
|
Employs Independent Resellers
Yes
|
Advertises Deceptive Rates
No
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Discloses All Important Terms
No
|
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 of best 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 Processors receive 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.”
i3 Verticals Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts and Opinions
An Industry-Average Processor
i3 Verticals rates as an average merchant services provider at this time. The company is showing a low-to-moderate number of complaints online, but the one sample contract we’ve found for the company does not compete with the cheapest merchant accounts available. Our rating for i3 Verticals will continue to evolve as we receive more feedback about the company.
Alex Gilshteyn
Do not sign up with company. they over charge for their old terminals like first Data.. Salesperson told me that he gave me a second terminal as a backup. But actualy I am paying $85 for each terminal a month for 4 years. Customer service is horrible.They dont puck up the phone. They make you sign a contract for 4 years. Bad experience
CPO
Alex,
This article may help: How to cancel a merchant account without paying a fee.
-Phillip
Akex Gilshteyn
Bad customer service. Very rude. Twice hanged up on me.
Very high fees. Charging over $170 a month for two cc terminals. I did not ask for the second one. They said it is a back up. Teeminals are old models and dont ask if the card is oresent for over the phone orders.
While bank reviews alleged fraudelent charge they hold all credit card transactions as a hostage without bank permission and failed to notify my company. Very bad experience.
Maria Almaguer
Worst card processing EVER!!!! They make it difficult to cancel and charge ridiculous prices, they never call back. Beware!!
Mike
Worst company i have ever dealt with i dont recommend them, and there will be no service with you guys in the future.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best All-Purpose Merchant Accounts
Nick
Cancelled our account in March; charged for the month of April because it takes 60 days to CANCEL the account.
Manny, apparently the guy who thinks he runs the place (hint: he doesn’t), refuses refund and hangs up on me.
Nice job Manny!
Worthless company. F+ rating.
Ernest Williams
We have been trying to close our account for MONTHS now. MONTHS!! Apparently we were in a contract till February and had to wait till then for our contract to end. We were told as soon as it ended and we did not resign another contract, everything would be done! Well we got another bill. So we call them again and they stated that there was a cancellation paper that we needed to sign for us to no longer get billed! They did not tell us about anything of the sort the 5 phone calls prior to this. So they send us the cancellation papers and stated it would take another month to get processed and we would receive another bill (they take it out of our account every month and just send us a notice stating they have done so) in the mean time till they get it processed. We then get another bill like they stated but it is DOUBLED what we normally pay. They will not refund it either. We have already paid them so much money and now its going on 2 months of what should have been they last payment for good and we are still paying them so much money! They are just taking it out of our account still!!! Oh and when they realized we wanted to stop their money flow, they became very very rude to us. They would even hang up the phone and everything. Very unprofessional.
Peggy Anderson
My contract is up next I tried calling , left a message to call me back.They never called me back. I mailed them a check for last payment and put a block on my account. I’m finished with these crooks they take whatever amount they want. No more they are not getting any more money from me.
Chinh vo
This company want to do whatever they want to do without rules.They increase the rates, fees… and charge you whenever they want.If you called them to ask them why your bill higher than previous bills, they don’t mind to rude and hang up on you. Maybe they have been trained to do that way to stop the clients keeping complaints.They don’t mind to tell you go to another merchant services if you are not happy with them, but you are tight up with them by contract,you have to pay them to get out!!!!! All merchant services companies are the same rules : rude and rid of.
Renea
RE: Clover Equipment
Monday, November 13, 2017 12:29 AM
From:
“Renea Tutson”
To:
“Doreen Milton”
Raw Message Printable View
Doreen good morning we’ve decided to go with your company but we really are concerned about the price of the machine the other company actually match your rate but your machine is $1,000 more is there anything that can be done on the price of your POS system
As you can see per my email to the representative that sign my up I ask to cancel via several email. Was not told anything about a cancellation form. This company has been billing me since Nov 2017 to present. DO NOT use this company dishonest and very unprofessional.
Amy
Higher rate than others. Rude account manager who simply says that they will not lower rate because we are not going to stay in business with them. It’s because of higher rate that is why we are switching. We gave them the whole year to work on lowering the rate but each month is the same or even higher than the last.
Kim Niedbalski @ Jays Auto Repair
i3 verticals is a terrible company that will not cancel your account and make it impossible to escape. We filled out their form and sent it in with a ridiculous amount of money. They claim not to have received the check but when I pushed the issue they suddenly found it (within minutes ) and still claimed it was too late to cancel and not be charged yearly account fees. I tried from August to December to get the form needed and get it sent it in. They claim they sent it via email several times yet not was received even after giving multiple email addresses. In short this company will scam you for as long as they can and do everything possible to keep you from cancelling this service. The worst ever!!!!
Nancy
We are a small buisiness that has been trying to cancel our contract with I3 or Payment Systems which ever one you want to call them. We filled out the cancellation form that they sent us and took a pic with my phone and sent it right back to them. Their response was that they couldn’t read it. We could read it just fine on our end. This was back in March of 2017. Today we again tried to get this contract cancelled and still got the run around. We talked about what we had sent them back in April and then we got a reply that their computer system must have kicked it out as not viable. We now have a scanner and scanned it as a .pdf, which is the form they say they need it in today, and re-emailed it to them once again. Never before have we heard so many excuses and song and dances to try to screw us out of more money. Everytime we asked to speak to a supervisor or someone higher up they would tell us there is no one. We had switched to another company prior to this and have had no problems. When someone says that they will send you a confirmation e-mail to confirm that they have finally cancelled your contract and you have to call them back and still get the run around I would suggest no one do any business with these people. They are pure scam artists. It’s already been over an hour and still we have not gotten a confirmation e-mail telling us that they cancelled our contract even though they said they didn’t want to do buisiness with us again. We told them that we are going to keep calling them everyday until this is resolved. We called them right back and they hung up on us.
Peggy Anderson
I can’t finish reading the email you sent me. I pressed the link to finish reading and it opens a blank screen.
Steve Gobin
Hello ever one, My name is Steve Gobin. I own European Automotive Inc. I believe I to was scam by i3 vertical my cc procedes was not being deposited into my account and still have not since 11/28/2017. I spoke with Alex she said the system was running slow in the mean time my account is still not being funded. Alex also said we will deposit the amount of $6.700.00 into my account on 12/08/17 that did not happen. They deposit the amount of $961.60.
I was schemed by them
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/two-former-executives-ipayment-agree-plead-guilty-fraud-scheme-embezzled-over-5-million
Seems interesting….
Watcher
I3verticals is Payment Systems po box 71409 Los Angeles CA 71409 merchant agreement was with I3verticals, statement says Payment Systems. Lease was with lease finance group actually National Leasing Systems. That should be a red flag by itself. Very predatory business practices. Ask 3 people the same question and get three conflicting polar opposite answers. Payment systems AKA i3Verticals should be avoided like herpes.
Chester W Bombriant
I too was scammed by a guy named me Beverly hounding my husband for a no 16th stating he works for the back end who processed our credit card payments. He had most of our info like drivers licence and copy of check but just needed anew copy of both. Hesitant…I got on phone and asked more questions.he said they would pay our cancellation fees with the former company now i3 who bought out payment systems. He said we were not comisnt with our machine…..I advised yes we are…it accepts chips and swipe. So I called i3 the next day with The number on our machine and spoke to a person who states they had several complaints. Advised our machine is compliant. I emailed this Mr Beverly and became back with sarcastic threatening message he is going to notify visa and master card that wearenot compliant. What a crock of shit.
Matthew Kucharski
To put this review in context: I am the General Manager for a business that was scammed by First Data and IPayments.
I received a phone call on June 28th, 2016 from i3 Verticals telling me that they are now our “back end merchant provider.” The person I spoke with was Ross Small. He stated that so many people were scammed from their previous merchant service providers that when i3 Verticals acquired these accounts in early 2016, they needed to reach out to these businesses to rectify the situations on behalf of VISA/MASTERCARD.
He conveniently ‘forgot’ to tell me we were on a recorded line by the way. When I asked him, that is when he said that the call was being recored. I would classify this phone call as a “high pressure- empathy” sales phone call where he was clearly working the angle that we had been done wrong in the past by our previous provider and i3 Verticals was here to “save the day”.
I clearly stated to him that we were scammed by the previous company that they acquired with a long term non-cancellable lease. He offered to give a number to a company called “Prodigy” which he described as a Lease Dispute Company. He said that Prodigy is waiving the retainer costs, currently settling close to 1000 clients, and resolves the matter in 30-45 days.
He offered to send us a new contract to get us in compliance with VISA/MasterCard and help us get out of our current situation. Everything sounded like it was going to work out.
Well, he sent us the new contract which ended up being ANOTHER NON-CANCELLABLE lease!!! This is the same scam that was tried the first time. When he called back the next day, I did not lead onto the fact that I already knew he sent me another scam. I let him dig his own grave by letting him tell me about the new contract. He never once told me that this was another non-cancellable lease until I asked him directly. Only then did he admit it was.
I became furious with him and told him never to contact me or our company again. The next day we received an email from him stating that he was sorry for upsetting me and continued to try to sell me on why we would sign this contract. I do still have this email, unfortunately it has a “Confidentiality Notice” at the bottom stating that I cannot redistribute, copy, or print the information contained in the emails.
So, for the record, I was contacted by Ross Small stating he was from i3 Verticals. The contract he sent me was from 123 Merchant Services. His email address was from iPaymentsnv.com. The ‘new’ lease company that was named in our new contract was from Ascentium Capital LLC. As far as I’m concerned, these business are all SCAMS and not to be trusted.
Peggy Anderson
I am also in two contracts thanks to Ross Small.Anyone have any knowledge of these lease disputes.First with Prodigy Fulfillment,who now changed to RADIANT Merchant Services.
Julie
* We had a sales rep with Advanced Payment Solutions stop in and look over our current payments for credit card processing. He assured us we would save $150.00 a month by switching. He also said, if we were NOT satisfied we would be able to cancel our contract and they would do a “We owe You” on the cancellation fee. They would also pay our current provider to switch. The only reason they paid off our former provider is because I had to call and remind them about that promise. My costs have increased by about $200 a month and each month I call to complain they give some bull [email protected]#! about “oh your cost are higher because you accept payment over the phone.” We stopped doing that, and again, our cost went up this month. So, once again, as each month I have received a bill, I call to question my rates and the bill…and it is pointless. I can gladly cancel my policy for a mere $979 cancellation fee…no “we owe you!” This company is a horrible company to have the “power” to lock us in as such astronomical rates. We are a small, local company and I feel trapped to be with i3Verticals. I will NEVER recommend them, and am to the point of letting others know my experience with these people. It is horrible, they do not follow through with what was originally sold to us and I look forward to my contract being up….unfortunately, that is several years down the road:(
Akerr
I Ami in the merchant services industry and just set up a customer that was with I3 Verticals and they to were scammed for an outrageous amount for a terminal that only cost $200 brand new! The main goal for me as a rep is to sit down in person with the customer and show how Credit card payment services works and what true cost is then what processor mark up should be based on the business type. Education is key!