Integrated Card Service Review

Moderate-to-High Complaint Total

We are currently able to locate over 40 Integrated Card Service reviews on this and other consumer protection websites, many of which accuse the company of being a scam or ripoff. Complainants consistently report deceptive sales tactics, expensive contracts that are difficult to cancel, unhelpful or unavailable customer support, unauthorized debiting of undisclosed fees, and refusal by the company to provide a copy of the full processing contract. Some of these complaints have been filed against a DBA of Integrated Card Service, International Card Services. If you have your own Integrated Card Service review to make, please do so in the comments below.

Integrated Card Service Lawsuits

We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Integrated Card Service. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

Integrated Card Service Customer Support

Generally speaking, Integrated Card Service appears to have a severe problem with its customer service team, which is consistent with the reputation of its apparent processor, iPayment. In fact, it is possible that Integrated Card Service outsources its customer service to iPayment, which would scatter complaints across both entities. The company does not appear to offer a direct phone line to its support team on its website. Integrated Card Service’s lack of dedicated customer support paired with its complaint record prevents it from being considered a top merchant account provider for customer service.

No Dedicated BBB Profile

The Better Business Bureau’s profile for Integrated Card Service has been deleted, and the BBB currently groups Integrated Card Service’s complaints with complaints about iPayment, which itself has been conflated with Paysafe:Group.

Three-Year Contract

Integrated Card Service appears to resell the contracts of iPayment, which are typically three-year agreements with automatic renewal and an early cancellation fee of $350 if service is canceled before the first year of service, a fee which drops to $250 after the first year of the contract is completed. We have located some mentions of a PCI Compliance fee at or around $100, and businesses report discount rates that are less than competitive. Client reviews also reflect a PCI non-compliance fee of $30 per month, a monthly statement fee of $8, and a chargeback fee of $25. Generally speaking, these terms may vary from agent to agent but are far from likely to be competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts.

iPayment also utilizes First Data Global Leasing for payment processing hardware. First Data Global Leasing contracts for equipment are 48-month, non-cancellable agreements that usually cost far more than the actual market price of the equipment. At the end of an equipment lease, the client does not become the owner of the equipment but rather may purchase the equipment for an additional cost that is calculated with respect to the length of the lease. In the event that a business owner wishes to cancel before the conclusion of the lease, they will owe the entirety of the remaining monthly payments on the lease in the form of one lump sum (essentially a Liquidated Damages fee), which can often total thousands of dollars.

Dissatisfaction with Contract Terms

The most consistent negative factors appear to be an early termination fee, high processing rates, and a pattern of nondisclosure by sales agents. We also encourage business owners to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.

Sales Complaints

Integrated Card Service appears to hire independently contracted sales agents to market its services. This is a common hiring practice within the industry that usually results in elevated complaint rates among merchants, and it appears to be a major problem for Integrated Card Service and its clients. We are currently able to locate numerous negative Integrated Card Service reviews that describe misrepresentation of rates and fees by the company’s sales agents, sudden charges for contracts that business owners claim to not have signed, and nondisclosure of contract length at the point of signing. If you, too, suspect that Integrated Card Service is charging you hidden fees, we recommend a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate undisclosed charges.

Some Red Flags

There was also some confusion over an advertisement formerly posted to the company’s website that promoted free service for the first 90 days. Although the fine print on the Integrated Card Service website explained that the company only waives the monthly service fee (while other fees remain active), many clients expressed confusion and surprise upon being charged for their first three months. The consistent nature of these complaints led us to believe that it is a common practice among Integrated Card Service agents to intentionally fail to disclose certain contract terms. This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors. We therefore award the company a “C” in this category.

Integrated Card Service receives a substandard score as a credit card processing provider according to our rating system. The credit card processor has a persistently high complaint rate that appears to stem from its sales tactics and uncompetitive contract terms. Even more troubling is the fact that there does not appear to be a concerted effort to improve these undesirable factors. Because Integrated Card Service is rated as low as some of the worst merchant account providers on CPO, merchants would be better served by selecting a top-rated option for merchant account needs.