We take our role in providing guidance and education regarding the card payment industry very seriously. At our own expense, we have vigorously defended our right to continue expose unethical and predatory practices in the industry, successfully defeating every attempt to silence us. However, fending off frivolous lawsuits is costly. To sustain these efforts, one of the ways we generate revenue is through affiliate partnerships with ethical providers. This means that some of our outgoing links connect business owners to trustworthy, low-cost payment processors, which is what most of our readers seek. We see this revenue channel as a win-win-win for everyone involved. Business owners find good processors, processors get good clients, and we are able to continue to provide a valuable service to the small business community. We also recommend and link to many services that do not compensate us. Our priority is to guide you to the best solutions for your needs, regardless of potential revenue. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
All mentions of rate and fee costs are estimations based on publicly available information and client feedback. Actual costs may vary based on a variety of factors unique to your business.
Founded in 2003, Integrity Payment Systems is a merchant account provider that offers a wide range of credit card processing services for small and medium-sized businesses. Integrity Payment Systems was acquired by Payroc in February 2018. The company claims to be a direct processor through its partnership with First Savings Bank. As of late 2020, Integrity Payment Systems website now forwards to Payrocs homepage, possibly indicating future plans to scale down the brand.
There are more than 20 negative Integrity Payment Systems reviews filed outside of the BBB, and some of these complaints describe the company as a scam or a ripoff. Complainants primarily cite hidden fees, difficulty cancelling service, and fund holds. The complaints related to cancellation can generally be attributed to nondisclosure by the sales agents who set up these accounts or the customer service reps who provided inaccurate instructions for cancellation. However, they have been posted with increasing frequency in the few years that we have been monitoring the company. We will not penalize IPS for the complaints regarding fund-holds because it appears that the company is managing its risk in accordance with industry standards.
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Integrity Payment Systems. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
A few of the available complaints were filed before 2011, so they have not impacted the company’s score in this section too harshly. IPS advertises that it maintains its own in-house phone support and does not outsource its customer service. However, this lone channel is not sufficient to qualify it as a top-rated credit card processor for customer service.
| Product & Service Complaints | 18 |
|---|---|
| Billing & Collection Complaints | 2 |
| Advertising & Sales Complaints | 0 |
| Guarantee & Warranty Complaints | 1 |
| Delivery Complaints | 3 |
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 currently shows an “A+” rating for Integrity Payment Systems under the Payroc profile, with 24 complaints filed in the past 3 years. 18 of the complaints were due to a problem with a product or service, 2 were billing or collections issues, 1 was an issue with a guarantee or warranty, and 3 were issues with delivery. Only 10 of these 24 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 14 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.
In addition to the 24 complaints filed with the BBB, 10 informal reviews have also been posted to its profile, with only two negative. This is a major step up from the 6 negative reviews from the former profile before the Payroc merger. One merchant describes deceptive fees and difficulty resolving issues with customer service:
We have been a long-term users of Payroc Credit Card Processing Services. They refuse to credit our bank account for the Transaction we used their services on the final day of service with them. Be Very, Very Careful if you use Payroc and make sure you get the Money entitled to your business. They refuse to credit our account. Thankfully it was only 2 transactions that day but the point of the matter that they processed the transactions and did not pay is not good business! Be Very, Very Careful if You are Considering or Doing Business with them.
Merchants should research providers with a reputation for excellent customer service so they are able to effectively find resolutions to their issues if and when they arise
Given the company’s complaint rate and resolution ratio, we have slightly adjusted its grade to a “B” for the time being.
According to a very old copy of the standard Integrity Payment Systems contract, the company offers a three-year agreement that automatically renews for successive two-year terms. Though the company does not disclose its rates, the agreement reflects that keyed-in transactions are assessed a surcharge of 1.79% plus $0.10 on top of the negotiated swipe rate.
The merchant agreement goes onto detail that if service is canceled within the initial three years, a $395early termination fee will apply. This number drops to $295 and then $195 in each successive two-year renewal period. The contract also lists a $79 annual fee, a $25monthly minimum fee, a $12 monthly maintenance fee, and a PCI compliance fee of $3.63 per month or a non-compliance fee of $19.95. We have found recent merchant complaints that mention an early termination fee of up to $595, indicating that this number may vary.
These numbers are slightly less competitive than industry averages, especially considering the automatic renewal clauses that could push the agreement to seven years. It is possible and even likely that the company’s contract terms have changed since the creation of this document, so merchants are encouraged to inquire about all possible fees and hold policies. Merchants should also compare IPS’s pricing to cheap merchant account providers. If you have any specific knowledge of the current Integrity Payment Systems contract, please share that information in the comment section below this review.
Integrity Payment Systems appears to utilize a combination of independent sales agents, traditional marketing strategies, and referral partnerships to sell its services. The use of independent sales agents is commonly tied to high complaint rates in the industry due to the minimal training and oversight that these agents receive. In this case, we have located a handful of Integrity Payment Systems complaints that describe misrepresentation or nondisclosure by the company’s sales team. The primary issue described in these complaints is nondisclosure of the company’s termination fee and fund-withholding policies.
In a few of the available public responses to these complaints filed by IPS, the company agreed to refund merchants when it was clear that an agent had failed to disclose key terms. These responses, along with the fact that there is no misleading promotional information on the IPS website, help raise the company’s grade in this category to a “B.” If you suspect that Integrity Payment Systems is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a free third-party statement audit.
Compare Integrity Payment Systems to competitors that earned top marks.
Integrity Payment Systems rates as an average merchant services provider according to our rating system. The company is showing a moderate number of complaints for its size and time in business, but an old copy of its contract reveals higher than average fees in its standard agreement. Integrity’s complaint rate has jumped significantly over the past two years, and its rating is quickly trending in a negative direction. We will continue to monitor feedback about the company to determine whether it will sink down to the level of the worst-rated providers or be able to eventually compete with top-rated payment processors.
