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North Payment Processing: Exploring How a Rebranding Has Reshaped Reviews

Name: North Payments
Item: North Payments
Rating: 2
Author: Phillip Parker

Author: Phillip Parker

Updated: June 30, 2025

Maintained Since: November 2, 2010

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North Payments

Rating

2/5

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Pros

Quick approvals

Supports high-risk industries

Offers next day funding

Cons

Pricing not transparent

Some features lacking

Termination fees reported

Reports of hidden fees

Poor support reported

Contract complaints

Article Overview

North American Bancard has positioned itself as a major player in U.S. payment processing, offering a wide suite of services for businesses. As part of its evolving identity, the company has rebranded under the simplified name “North,” signaling a potential shift in market strategy and brand positioning.

This review examines the company’s product offerings, fee structures, and contract terms, along with its corporate trajectory. From traditional payment systems to modern integrations, North payment processing presents itself as a one-stop solution, but a deeper look reveals important questions around pricing clarity and merchant expectations.

About North Payments

Screen Capture of North American Bancard Homepage — North American Bancard Homepage

North, operated as North American Bancard, has been in operation since 1992 and has grown into one of the largest merchant services providers in the United States. The company acts as a large super ISO that specializes in providing credit card processing services supplied primarily by Fiserv and Global Payments, but appears to have partnerships with several other banks and processors. These numerous partnerships enable the company to approve a wide variety of merchant types for payment processing services, which is especially useful in for businesses in need of “high-risk” credit card processing.

Despite placing its clients with various processors, it appears that North manages the customer support directly rather than outsourcing it to the processors. North also operates several subsidiaries, including Electronic Payment Exchange, Humboldt Merchant Services, CDITech, Money Machine, Point & Pay, Velocity, Inovio, Total Merchant Services.

In September 2020, North acquired SALIDO, a leading hospitality technology provider and, in March 2022, the company acquired the B2B payments firm, Paytrace.

Products & Merchant Services

Payanywhere: Point-of-Sale and Mobile Payments for SMBs

A cornerstone of North’s offerings is Payanywhere, a point-of-sale (POS) and mobile payment platform geared toward small and mid-sized businesses. Launched in 2011 by NAB, Payanywhere enables merchants to accept credit and debit card payments in-store, online, and on the move via a single platform. Payanywhere provides an all-in-one POS application and an array of proprietary hardware options, including a compact Bluetooth card reader that that connects to a smartphone, a mobile tabletop terminal, and an all-in-one POS tablet with optional receipt printer.

Beyond the payment swipe or tap, Payanywhere doubles as a business management system. The platform includes features like real-time analytics and reporting, inventory tracking, and employee management tools. For instance, merchants can monitor sales trends across products and locations and set up low-stock alerts.

Payanywhere also supports invoicing and recurring billing. Merchants can send digital invoices via email or text and schedule subscriptions or payment plans. All these functions are accessible through a cloud-based interface (often called the Payments Hub), which serves as a back-office portal. Gift card and loyalty programs are integrated as well, enabling small businesses to launch customer rewards or store-branded gift cards as part of the same system. North touts fast deposits for Payanywhere users, with options like same-day funding to improve cash flow for merchants.

Online and E-Commerce Payment Solutions

For e-commerce and remote payments, North provides a range of online payment processing tools marketed to serve everyone from small online sellers to established online retailers. Merchants who need to accept payments on their website or over the phone can use North’s virtual terminal and payment gateway offerings. The virtual terminal allows card processing through a web browser by enabling merchants to key in card details or reading the card via Bluetooth card reader. In addition, North offers plugins and integrations for leading shopping cart platforms such as WooCommerce and BigCommerce. For merchants without their own checkout system, North provides hosted payment pages that handle the card data capture on North’s servers.

Under the hood, these online transactions are powered either by North’s in-house payment gateways or via third-party gateways integrated into North’s platform. North has its proprietary gateway technology (bolstered by its acquisition of Inovio and the EPX platform), but it also supports many external gateways, including those tailored to high-risk verticals or specialized B2B needs.

B2B Payments and Virtual Gateway (PayTrace)

For business-to-business transactions, which often involve corporate purchase cards and invoices rather than consumer storefront sales. North offers specialized support via its PayTrace gateway. It is particularly known for handling Level II and Level III card data, which are the enhanced transaction details (like item description, quantities, tax, PO number, etc.) required to optimize interchange rates on corporate and purchasing cards. By using Level II and III routing, B2B merchants can qualify for significantly lower interchange fees on eligible transactions.

Omnichannel and Enterprise Solutions (EPX Platform)

At the high end of the spectrum, North markets custom solutions for large enterprises and omnichannel retailers, such as companies that may have complex needs across in-store and online sales channels. A key asset in North’s portfolio for serving enterprise clients is its EPX (Electronic Payment Exchange) platform. EPX is a full-service payments processing network that North acquired in 2014, and it operates as an in-house front-end and back-end processing system (from authorization through settlement)

Government and Public Sector Payments (Point & Pay)

North’s reach in payment services also extends to the public sector through its Point & Pay subsidiary. Point & Pay is a payments software platform tailored for government agencies, municipalities, and other organizations with public-facing payments (such as utilities and courts). Acquired by North in 2010, Point & Pay has become a leading provider of electronic payment technology for government transactions in the U.S.

Other Merchant Services

North rounds out its payment offerings with a variety of value-added services and programs that address other payment-related needs of merchants. These services are often bundled with North’s core processing solutions. Key programs include:

Gift and Loyalty Programs: North enables merchants to create and manage their own gift card programs and customer loyalty rewards. Through the platform, a business can issue physical or digital gift cards and track balances, or set up loyalty points and promotions for repeat customers. All of it is integrated into North’s POS and online systems, so redemption and tracking occur automatically at checkout.

EBT and Check Processing: For merchants in sectors like grocery or convenience that need to accept EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) cards for SNAP and other government assistance programs, North markets that it provides full support. This allows eligible food retailers to process EBT payments through the same terminals. Likewise, North offers electronic check conversion and guarantee services, meaning a merchant can accept a paper check from a customer and have it converted into an electronic transaction or verified by a guarantee network to reduce the risk of bounced checks
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Cash Discount Program (“Edge”): North has been a proponent of the emerging cash discount/zero-fee processing/surcharge model, which it markets under the name Edge. The Edge program allows merchants to essentially eliminate their credit card processing fees by adding a fixed surcharge to all card transactions (often around 3%–4%) while giving customers who pay in cash an equivalent discount.
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Analytics and Chargeback Management: Through North’s online dashboard, merchants have access to detailed analytics and reporting tools. They can review sales trends, breakdowns by payment type, and other key metrics across custom date ranges and across multiple store locations. Additionally, North provides a chargeback management portal where merchants are notified of customer disputes, can upload supporting documentation, and track the resolution process.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Numerous Customer Complaints

Prior to North’s rebrand, we have found a moderate-to-high number of negative North American Bancard reviews, many of which were filed in the comment section of this review (which have since been moved to PaymentPop). The company appeared to make some effort to respond to and resolve public complaints; however, complaints continued.

Common Complaint Themes

Many of the complainants reported difficulty resolving problems and minimal cooperation from North American Bancard. The most commonly reported problems were agents using deceptive sales tactics, hidden and surprise fees, sudden rises in fees shortly after service began, non-disclosure of the service length agreement which included a high fee for cancelling early. Nearly all of the problems could be traced back to agents who failed to verbally disclose important terms of the contract.

Post-Rebrand Customer Sentiment (After August 2024)

Despite North’s rebranding, the frequency of negative reviews does not appear to have abated. Complaints have continued through 2025, with at least several high-profile 1-star reviews in Q1–Q2 of 2025, including cases of fund holds, unfair monthly charges, and unresolved refunds .

Moreover, commentary from merchant feedback sites indicates that agent misbehavior and lack of transparency remain the dominant themes, suggesting that the rebrand has done little to address the core issues.

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop	1
BBB Rating	1.2
TrustPilot Rating	1.4
Yelp Rating	1.1
ComplaintsBoard Rating	N/A
Average Rating	1.23

PaymentPop Rating for North American Bancard

Negative Feedback

I own a company in northwest Ohio, and I North American Bancard for my credit card processing for over a decade, then in January of 2023 they had an online breach. They blamed me for their own incompetence ( i have emails that prove they were breached, not me) and kept over $10,000.00 of my money processed thru their company. Then they stalled for over 6 months with the excuse of an investigation that was just a cover story I found out for them to steal my money. I hired an attorney, but in their fine print-legal action can only be done in the state of Georgia. I cut all business ties with them immediately. Now almost a year later their collections department has been harassing about fictitious money I supposedly owe them. No one should ever use this company for anything, they are a dishonest, deceitful and a predatory bank processing company. It is no wonder that this terribly run company has only a single star rating and over 240 complaints in the last 12 months.

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about North American Bancard on the PaymentPop website.

North American Bancard BBB Rating

North American Bancard has a low average customer review rating of 1.2/5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, based on 50 customer reviews. The company has received 113 customer complaints closed in the last 3 years, with 39 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Common themes in the reviews and complaints include issues with billing and collection, dissatisfaction with the product or service, and difficulties in communication with the company.

Negative Feedback

This company charges you even when cancel, I had two different location using their card processor, we cancelled and returned terminals and still kept charging monthly and also charged thousands of dollars for the terminals even with proof of cancellation and returned items.

Positive Feedback

There are no positive reviews published about North American Bancard on the BBB website.

Trustpilot Rating for North American Bancard

North American Bancard has an average customer review rating of 1.5 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, based on 71 customer reviews. The distribution of ratings is as follows: 13% 5-star, 3% 4-star, 1% 3-star, 1% 2-star, and 82% 1-star. This suggests a predominantly negative perception among customers.

Negative Feedback

Do not do business with North American Bancard, rebranded to North Payments. After discovering so many hidden fees, I tried to cancel my account and it took 3 months to do so while I incurred extra fees. They also claimed they never received the terminal (even though I sent it with tracking) and charged me hundreds of dollars for it. I’ve never worked with such a corrupt business

Positive Feedback

We have been with North American Bancard since 2013 for our business. We are happy with the service and like that fact that we have a 24/7 help line if ever needed.

Yelp Rating for North American Bancard

North American Bancard has a 1.1 out of 5 star rating based on 164 user reviews on Yelp.

Positive Feedback

I love this company. Hands down the best merchant processor I have come across. They have excellent customer service and really neat products.

Negative Feedback

They will place your funds on hold and never release them to you. You will have to sue them for your money.

Processing Rates & Fees

Pricing Plans and Possible Commitments

At the core of North’s offerings are two distinct pricing structures: a month-to-month plan with no early termination fees, and more traditional multi-year agreements with fixed terms. While the former appeals to startups and seasonal merchants seeking flexibility, the latter is often tied to equipment offers and lower processing rates, locking merchants into three-year terms that include penalties for early cancellation. Businesses that cross processing thresholds, such as $100,000 in card volume over a short period may also be automatically shifted to longer-term contracts unless they opt out within a narrow window.

Cancellation Fees Reported

Despite the rebrand, much of North’s pricing architecture remains consistent with legacy industry practices. Businesses on custom pricing plans report early termination fees of up to $295, and in some cases, account closure fees of $500. Hardware is often bundled as “free” but may be contingent on the merchant signing a binding contract.

Surcharge Programs and Risks

North has also aggressively promoted EDGE, its surcharge/cash discount program, which shifts the cost of credit card acceptance onto the customer by applying a card usage fee while offering a cash price discount. While legal in most states, these programs require strict compliance with card network guidelines and varying state laws, and can lead to damage to customer loyalty and repeat business. Such risks are rarely disclosed by processors that market card payment surcharge programs.

Rates, Fees, and Sales Agent Compensation

Perhaps most notably, North delegates significant control over pricing and contract structuring to its resellers and independent agents. These partners are granted wide latitude to set fees and rates tied to their commissions. The higher the rates and fees, the bigger the commissions. These incentives often result in inconsistent merchant experiences that depend heavily on the integrity and transparency of the individual agent. This means that the burden is on business owners to understand how processing fees are assessed and scrutinize their agreements carefully before committing to them.

As North positions itself as a flexible alternative to legacy processors, the fine print still appears to carry the weight of traditional terms. The company has rebranded, but not necessarily reformed.

Lawsuits & Legal History

In September 2002, the State of Arizona filed a complaint against a client that processed through North American Bancard, a Nevada corporation called CP Direct, Inc., alleging violations of the Arizona Racketeering Act. CP Direct ultimately admitted to defrauding tens of thousands of customers by falsely advertising penis enlargement supplements. As a result, the company was ordered to pay restitution of more than $4 million and to forfeit assets totaling over $45 million. In May 2004, the receiver for CP Direct, Lawrence J. Warfield, filed suit against Marc Gardner of North American Bancard alleging violations under the RICO Act, conversion, and unjust enrichment.

Specifically, Warfield’s complaint alleged that Global Payments, the backend processor for North American Bancard, placed CP Direct on its watch list in under a year of processing due to an excessive rate of chargebacks. The complaint further alleges that as a result of this, North American Bancard advised CP Direct to create a new company and reapply for processing under the untarnished name. According to Warfield, CP Direct continued to accept its customers’ credit card payments under the fictitious and fraudulently maintained name of “Nutritional Supplements, Inc.” at the direction of North American Bancard. Warfield further claimed that CP Direct was ordered to pay a monthly consulting fee of $250,000 (plus bonuses of $50,000 for every million dollars over $8 million in monthly sales) directly to Marc Gardner as a condition of North American Bancard processing payments for the company. According to Warfield’s complaint, these payments totaled over $700,000. In July 2006, Marc Gardner was scheduled to be deposed in the case, but Marc Gardner’s counsel terminated his deposition immediately after he was sworn in.

Unfortunately, we are unable to locate any third-party sources or legal documents that explain how this suit was ultimately resolved. However, the parties were known to have reached a settlement amount in April 2006. It is therefore likely that the suit was settled. If you have any knowledge of how this case was resolved, please share that information in the comment section below this review.

In 2016, a number of suits were brought against North American Bancard regarding alleged illegal contacting of numerous parties by phone and fax. Allegedly, North American Bancard violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 by autodialing phone numbers and sending out advertising faxes without consent of the receiver. Many of these suits have reached settlement, including a recent $2.2 million settlement over faxes to a Chicago chiropractor and others.

In April 2020, former employee Teresa Harwood filed suit against Marc Gardner of North American Bancard, alleging that Gardner had created an environment of sexism at the company that was hostile to women. The suit seems to be ongoing at the moment of this writing.2021 saw a further settlement from North American Bancard in yet another alleged TCPA act violation.

There was a new suit filed in 2023 against NAB, but as of yet there is no public information on the case.

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

“Hiring Mill” Practices

This processor’s most frequently cited drawback appears to be its marketing practices. In particular, the company appears to function as a “hiring mill” that relies heavily upon recruiting independent agents and resellers. This marketing practice often results in problems for businesses and damage to a provider’s reputation because the sales practices of resellers are hard to control. This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Misleading Sales Tactics

Numerous North complaints suggest that its agents are poorly trained on the terms and conditions of the company’s merchant account contract and are encouraged to sell expensive accounts in exchange for large commissions. In fact, a large number of complaints report that agents misrepresented fees and policies in order to persuade them into signing up for services. It also appears that the company’s underwriting policies do a poor job of screening out businesses that are likely to have their funds frozen.

North Payments Competitors

Compare North Payments to competitors that earned top marks.

Pricing

Bottom Line

North’s 2024 rebranding from North American Bancard to “North” has done little to reduce merchant skepticism. While resellers applauded the brand refresh, downstream merchants continue to report hidden charges, disputed billing, and frozen funds. These issues do not have appeared t0 decrease in frequency; if anything, complaint volumes have remained steady or increased in the first half of 2025. Though North enjoys pockets of positive feedback, its core challenge remains trust. The persistence of classic grievances post-rebrand suggests that North’s makeover was cosmetic, rather than a signal of internal transformation.

Bottom line: North appears to have strengthened its reseller relationships but continues to struggle in delivering a transparent, trust-based experience for SMB clients. Without addressing the systemic complaint patterns, the company risks its brand redefinition becoming an empty veneer.

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Contact North Payments

Contact & Customer Support
CEO	Marc Gardner
Headquarters	250 Stephenson Highway, Troy, Michigan 48083
Toll-Free General Customer Service	(866) 485-8999
Sales Support	(877) 840-1952
Tech Support	(866) 485-8999, ext 1200
Website	northamericanbancard.com

About Us

CardPaymentOptions.com

Established 2009

My name is Phillip Parker, and I started this website back in 2009 as a simple blog to call out shady credit card processors that were taking advantage of small business owners. At the time, I had no idea this side project would grow into a leading voice pushing for transparency and integrity in the payment processing industry. I also didn't anticipate just how far some of these companies' owners would go to try to silence me.

I was recruited out of college for a sales role with a credit card processor. At the time, I didn't realize the “training” was really about tricking me... into selling business owners expensive processing with hidden fees and long-term service agreements. In my first few sales, I unknowingly cost friends and family thousands of dollars after they trusted me to switch their services. When it finally clicked that something was seriously wrong, I was furious. I quit immediately and made a promise to expose that company and any others operating the same way. That promise is what led to the creation of this website.

As I wrote about these processors, their tactics, and the people behind them, the articles started to spread among business owners. News organizations picked up the stories, readers shared them online, and traffic to the blog took off. Unsurprisingly, that also caught the attention of the companies and individuals I was exposing.

Over the last 17 years, I've received several anonymous death threats and defeated four lawsuits meant to intimidate me into taking my blog down. Their efforts to muzzle me only made my determination to expose them even stronger, leading me to work with state authorities to help shutdown some of the worst offenders.

I'm proud to say that of the millions of people who have read my work, thousands have taken the time to write and thank me for helping them narrowly avoid a very costly mistake. This blog has played a small role in pushing the industry toward more ethical practices - but there are still bad actors out there, which means the work isn't done.

If I can offer one piece of advice, it's this: get every promise in writing, and take the time to review contracts carefully. Tools like ChatGPT can help surface red flags and uncover expensive surprises buried in the fine print.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I truly appreciate you being here, and I wish you every success with your business.

Our Research Methodology

Pricing & Fees

We analyze all costs including rate structures (interchange-plus, tiered, flat-rate, etc), monthly fees, equipment costs, early termination fees, and hidden charges. This data is gathered from service agreements, statements and client feedback.

Features & Technology

Evaluation of POS systems, e-commerce integrations, mobile capabilities, reporting tools, recurring billing..., and developer resources. When possible, we directly test services and hardware. Otherwise, we rely on client feedback and public information.

Customer Support

We evaluate availability across phone, email, chat, and social channels. Measuring hold times, night and weekend availability, and client feedback regarding effectiveness, professionalism, and resolution rates.

Contract Terms & Conditions

We review service agreements and equipment contracts for reasonability, transparency, and fairness. We focus on uncovering any predatory clauses, such as unjustified early termination fees, hidden costs, and unclear cancellation policies.

User Experience

We comb the internet and interview current and former clients to evaluate the overall user experience and identify any common pain points that may impact the user experience.

Sales & Marketing Practices

We evaluate sales tactics, marketing materials, and client feedback to determine the level of transparency and ethical nature of the provider's approach. Does the provider publicly disclose pricing? Do they use teaser rates? We score based on these and other factors.

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