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Tell us about your experience with LawPay in the comment section below.
(866) 376-0950 An AffiniPay Brand
A subsidiary brand of AffiniPay, LawPay is a merchant account provider that exclusively specializes in payment processing for lawyers and law firms. Even though LawPay is technically “an AffiniPay solution,” it constitutes by far the largest percentage of AffiniPay’s overall merchant portfolio. LawPay claims to serve more than 50,000 lawyers and is the exclusively recommended payment processor of the American Bar Association. In 2022, AffiniPay acquired law practice management platform MyCase. LawPay also announced integration with Nota, a fintech solution being developed to help lawyers quickly and easily track and manage client funds in compliance with state requirements.
LawPay Payment Processing
LawPay processes all major debit and credit cards for businesses in the law industry. Their services include card vaults, ClientCredit “buy now, pay later,” mobile payments, QR-code payments, scheduled payments, e-check processing, data reporting and analytics, and continuing education seminars.
LawPay Location & Ownership
LawPay is a registered ISO of Synovous Bank, Columbus, GA, and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Cincinnati, OH. The company appears to share a headquarters with AffiniPay at 3700 N Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 420, Austin, Texas 78746. Amy Porter is the founder of AffiniPay and LawPay and the executive chairman of LawPay. Dru Armstrong is the CEO of LawPay.
LawPay Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: LawPay offers monthly and annual agreements that include flat-rate pricing and may or may not charge early termination fees.
- Complaints & Service: LawPay complaints number fewer than 10 on public complaints forums.
- BBB Rating: LawPay (as AffiniPay) currently has an “A+” rating and has received 2 complaints and 1 review in the last 3 years. The company has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2010.
- Sales & Marketing: LawPay does not hire independent sales agents and has not received any complaints about its sales practices.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With LawPay
LawPay offers payment processing for the law industry
LawPay Customer Complaints & Reviews
Here's What Users Think
Complaint Summary
|
Total Online Complaints
<10
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Live Customer Support
Yes
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Most Common Complaint
N/A
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Clean Complaint Record
We are unable to locate any negative LawPay reviews, which is a good sign that the company is not a scam or a ripoff. The company’s clean track record is consistent with that of its parent company AffiniPay, which has received one complaint on CPO in the past six years. LawPay’s clean complaint record is especially impressive considering its high brand awareness within the legal services industry. If you have your own LawPay review to make, please do so in the comments below.
LawPay Lawsuits
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against LawPay. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
We did find evidence of a patent infringement lawsuit brought by OHVA, Inc. in the Western District Court of Texas against LawPay’s parent company AffiniPay. The case was opened in early 2020 and closed less than a month later with few details on the outcome of the case.
LawPay Customer Service Options
LawPay offers live phone support, live chat support, email support, and an online knowledge base for all of its users.
We have located multiple LawPay customer service numbers:
(800) 459-5798 – Toll-Free General Customer Service
(866) 376-0950 – Sales
LawPay also offers a customer support form on its website.
These channels appear to do an excellent job of anticipating and resolving merchant complaints, and we consider LawPay’s wide range of customer support options to be near or at the level of top-rated merchant account providers for customer service.
LawPay BBB Rating and Report
Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment
BBB Summary
|
Total Complaints
2
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Resolved Complaints
1
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Under 5 Complaints
The Better Business Bureau currently groups LawPay’s profile with other AffiniPay brands on the AffiniPay BBB profile. AffiniPay has been an accredited business since 2010 and has an “A+” rating with the BBB and has received 2 complaints in the past 36 months. 1 of these 2 complaints was resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 1 was resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.
What BBB Customers Reviews Say About LawPay
LawPay has also received 1 review on its profile, which is negative. This most recent review was written by a LawPay user who describes a poor customer service experience:
If I could review it 0 stars – I would. Started attempting to make an account with this company for a payment processor that I wanted to implement pertaining to my membership based subscription service business. At first, they stated that I could not make an account with them because the *** business registration code was not supported by their bank. After providing more information about my business the representative stated that his manager approved the decision and to submit financial documents, bank information, and also a personal ID card. I just formed my LLC so some information I did not have access to – such as recent bank statements. How would I have statements if I am trying to set up a payment processor?? But that is besides the point. So now, after having access to my bank information (account and routing numbers) and also my photo ID, they decided to deny my request for an application. Even after their manager approved it, all of a sudden they tell me they cannot move forward with my application due to the original reasoning that my business is not supported. This company is a scam, and just straight up fraudulent liars. Now I am trying to make sure they utmost properly dispose of my personal, sensitive information. The only reason I was using this company was because the other company I set up my website with (where I will be accepting the payments from) had Affinipay as their default partner and also with the lowest fees (other companies you have to pay additional, such as registration costs, monthly subscriptions, and payout fees). So I wasted weeks where I could have already set up the payment processor. The original representative I was chatting with back and forth via email just straight up stopped replying, and another rep took over. Please do yourself a favor and pick another merchant to process your payments. Very unprofessional and very fraudulent to deny my application after I submit sensitive info. AVOID AT ALL COSTS NOT WORTH IT.
An “A” Performance Overall
LawPay’s low complaint total with the BBB and attempts toward complaint resolution are worthy of an “A” in our view. Therefore, we agree with the BBB’s rating.
LawPay Fees and Rates
A Closer Look at the Contract
Cost Summary
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Flat Rate
1.95% + $0.20
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AmEx Rate
2.95% + $0.20
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eCheck Rate
0% + $2.00
|
|
Monthly Fee
$20
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Early Termination Fee
Undisclosed
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PCI Compliance Fee
$0
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PCI Non-Compliance Fee
$19.95 Per Month
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Equipment Lease Cost
$0
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LawPay Standard Pricing
The standard LawPay contract appears to be a month-to-month or one-year agreement with a monthly fee of $20 ($15 per month if paid annually) and no PCI compliance fees. A complaint on a third-party website indicates that LawPay charges a PCI non-compliance fee of $19.95 per month to users who do not maintain PCI compliance. The company’s flat rate per transaction is 1.95% plus $0.20, but this rate increases to 2.95% plus $0.20 for American Express and corporate, rewards, or international cards. Other conditional fees imposed by the major card brands are passed along at cost and are clearly disclosed on LawPay’s website.
Other LawPay Costs
LawPay does not state definitively on its website whether it charges an early termination fee on its standard plan. It also does not disclose the costs of add-on services such as integrations with partner products or special features like ACH and eCheck processing. It is unlikely that LawPay offers equipment lease contracts because its payment processing software does not require any special equipment.
No Negative Reports
We cannot find any LawPay complaints from users that mention higher-than-expected fees or unfavorable contract terms. This is a reliable sign that most LawPay users are satisfied with the rates and fees they pay. We do not consider LawPay’s pricing to be among the cheapest merchant account pricing available, but its specialized software for legal offices appears to deliver more than enough value to lawyers. We would encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.
LawPay Jobs and Employment
Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment
Key Points
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Employs Independent Resellers
No
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Advertises Deceptive Rates
No
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Discloses All Important Terms
Yes
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In-House Marketing
LawPay appears to market its services primarily through an in-house sales team as well as strategic partnerships with professional associations and other software vendors. There is no evidence that the company hires independent sales agents, and we are unable to find any LawPay reviews that accuse the company of misleading sales tactics.
This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.
Clear Pricing Disclosure
LawPay lists its pricing details for anyone to see on its website. The flat LawPay rate for qualified and non-qualified transactions is listed on their website as well as a linked list of special cases which may increase the costs of a transaction even further. This page is likely not inclusive of every possible LawPay fee, but it does clearly display most of the relevant pricing information that lawyers will be looking for.
No Red Flags
Neither merchant feedback nor the company’s marketing materials give us any cause for concern at this time. If you suspect that LawPay is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a free, third-party statement audit.
LawPay Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts and Opinions
A Great Option for Law Offices
LawPay rates as a reliable merchant services provider according to all available information. The company has received very few public complaints and appears to provide affordable products that are specifically tailored to the needs of lawyers. Although LawPay is a specialist in the legal industry, we encourage law firms to research all top-rated providers to see whether they can achieve a better value before opting for LawPay.
If you found this article helpful, please share it!
Charley Laman
I am a solo attorney in Phoenix, and recently had misinformation from LawPay when I was changing from one bank account for my LawPay payments to a new bank account at the same bank. As a result of this misinformation, I now have several thousands of dollors in banking limbo, and all LawPay states is as soon as the bank that they sent the funds to rejects the same because the account LawPay sent them to does not exist, LawPay will send them to the correct account.
For some reason, I do not have much confidence that this will happen soon.
SmallTownLawyer
I am an attorney using LawPay. They are better than an “old fashioned” terminal with associated monthly fees and rental and what-not, and have some lawyer-specific features excellent for some firms, but small law firms should consider whether they would make off better with a Square account. LawPay appears to be up-front, but their interface is clunky and mysterious fees appear (e.g., they’ll charge an extra $19/mo if you don’t go through a “compliance” review, they’ve added random lines with something like $1.55 for a “correction” to the fees they charged the prior month).
We’ve run LawPay side-by-side with Square. Even though LawPay’s processing % is less than Square, I’m not convinced it is the better option for lower fees. For example, on a month with $1,500 – $2,000 in Lawpay charges, total processing charges ran a bit over 5%. That included a $19 ding for apparently not filing out a compliance review. Processing $3k-$4k/mo, total processing charges ran 3.11% In comparison, our Square charges are always what-you-see-is-what-you-get.
LawPay has lower ACH charges than Square but unlike Square there is no way to select e-check / ACH as the preferred payment method when you send out the bill.
About 6 months in to the side-by-side comparison I’m not sure we’ll keep LawPay. If we used a case management platform with LawPay integration or took credit card payments for retainers LawPay would be the obvious choice.
VedaL
I am a consumer. I paid my first $1300 installment to my attorney and was charged an an administrative fee by LawPay of 29.99. I will definitely will find another method of payment.