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PayAnywhere Review: Fees, Comparisons, Complaints & Lawsuits

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Rating

2/5
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Website
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(877) 387-5640

Most Recent Comment

  • Ss:
    "Used them less then 3 weeks and we were hit one chargeback so they held back our deposits and after a week of going back and forth with their..." Read More
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Rating:
2/5

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(877) 387-5640

Most Recent Comment

  • Ss:
    "Used them less then 3 weeks and we were hit one chargeback so they held back our deposits and after a week of going back and forth with their..." Read More
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A Robust Mobile Payments Platform

PayAnywhere, sometimes spelled as “Pay Anywhere,” is a mobile credit card processing service offered by North American Bancard. However, this service warrants its own review because it is a departure from North American Bancard’s traditional merchant services. It should be noted that even though the service is powered by North American Bancard, the actual processor of the credit card transactions is Global Payments.  The company also offers a tablet-based point-of-sale system called PayAnywhere Storefront in addition to its two mobile phone card readers.

PayAnywhere Payment Processing

PayAnywhere processes all major debit and credit cards for all business types. The company specifically focuses on its PayAnywhere software which includes a mobile app, a virtual terminal, invoicing, recurring billing, employee tools, inventory tools, data analytics, PCI Plus security, next-day funding. The software also is also included with PayAnywhere’s hardware offerings which include smart terminals, smart point-of-sale, mobile readers, and accessories such as printers, docks, and cash drawers.

A Growing Processing Service

PayAnywhere is North American Bancard’s answer to Square’s mobile credit card processing service. The service appears to have launched in 2010, but it has not enjoyed the same kind of buzz and popularity as Square. Even so, PayAnywhere has been garnering an increasing amount of media attention and has outlasted Intuit’s GoPayment as well as a few other early mobile competitors.

PayAnywhere Location & Ownership

PayAnywhere is headquartered at 250 Stephenson Hwy. Troy, Mi 48083. Marc Gardner is the president and CEO of North American Bancard.

Video Summary

PayAnywhere Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract:  Month-to-month contract with no early termination fee of…
  • Complaints & Service: More than 300 public complaints regarding…
  • BBB Rating: Currently has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and is not accredited. The company has received…
  • Sales & Marketing: Hires independent sales agents and has received some complaints about…
pay anywhere's pricing for services
Pay Anywhere advertises no cost for many support services.

Is the BBB Rating for PayAnywhere Accurate?

Better Business Bureau Profile

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BBB Summary

Product & Service Complaints 5
Billing & Collection Complaints 8
Advertising & Sales Complaints 1
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints 0
Delivery Complaints 1

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.

Over 10 Complaints

Pay Anywhere currently holds an “A+” grade with the BBB and is not accredited. It should be noted that at the time of a recent review, Pay Anywhere’s BBB account was under review with the BBB and has since been restored. In being restored, the company’s previous complaints and reviews have been effectively wiped, meaning that the current numbers do not represent the company’s overall complaint totals. The company’s profile is currently showing 15 complaints in the last 36 months. 5 of the complaints were due to a problem with a product or service, 8 were billing or collections issues, 1 was a delivery problem, and 1 was an issue with advertising or sales. Only 5 of these 15 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 10 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response. Before the profile wipe, Pay Anywhere had 139 complaints in the prior 3 years, with only 19 complaints resolved to the merchant’s satisfaction.

What Merchants Say

In addition to the 15 complaints filed with the BBB against Pay Anywhere, there have been 10 informal reviews. Of those reviews, all were 1-star reviews. A recent negative review refers to unexpected charges, difficult equipment setup, and poor customer support:

If I could leave no stars I would. I started out thinking this was a legit good company with great rates. My equipment stopped working and after MANY attempts to fix it with tech support I FINALLY figured it out on my own. Now my card reader is charging my customers multiple times for single transactions. I tried to discuss this matter with customer service and she was no help at all. She could not refund me for the processing fee I paid on a transaction I did not put through. Could not explain to me why my reader was charging customers 3 and 4 times, as separate transactions. She also could not put me through to another representative that could help. I have been trying to reach my rep directly for over a week with no help at all.

Merchants can avoid situations like this by choosing a provider with a history of great customer service.

“C” Level Performance

In light of the company’s complaint total and resolution ratio, we have adjusted the BBB’s rating to a “C.”

How Expensive is PayAnywhere?

Rates, Fees, and Contract Terms

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Cost Summary

Swiped Rate 2.69%
Keyed-in Rate 3.49% + $0.19
Monthly Minimum Fee $79
Monthly Service Fee $12
Inactivity Fee $3.99 Per Month
2-in-1 Card Reader $29.95 Per Additional Reader
3-in-1 Card Reader $49.95 Per Additional Reader

PayAnywhere Pricing

As of this review, PayAnywhere’s smartphone app has no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no cancellation fees, and it comes with a free card reader that plugs into the audio jack of compatible smartphones. Merchants can buy additional 2-in-1 readers for $29.95 and 3-in-1 Bluetooth Credit Card Readers for $49.95. PayAnywhere’s “Pay As You Go” plan offers processing fees that are similar to those of Square and GoPayment with a 2.69% fee for sliding a credit or debit card through the attached card reader and 3.49% plus $0.19 for keyed transactions. These rates apply to all card brands, including Discover and American Express. The company also charges a monthly inactivity fee of $3.99 for merchants who do not process a transaction for over 12 months.

Standard PayAnywhere Plan

Merchants who opt for the company’s “Standard” plan and use PayAnywhere Storefront will pay 1.69% per Qualified swiped transaction, 2.69% per Non-Qualified swiped transaction, and 3.69% plus $0.19 per keyed-in transaction. Storefront users will also pay a basic service fee of $12.95 per month and a monthly minimum fee of $79 if monthly volume is at or less than $5,000. PayAnywhere Storefront also provides a free tablet to each merchant. As of this review, the service is compatible with most current Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iTouch), Android (2.4 or later), and many Blackberry models.

Frozen Accounts and Fund-Holds

Since our last review, PayAnywhere has received a consistent stream of complaints regarding its cash reserve and termination policies. Like many of its competitors, the company appears to commonly freeze accounts or withhold large payments in anticipation of potential chargebacks. The problem is that PayAnywhere appears to provide little notice or justification for these holds, effectively keeping merchants from their own money without their knowledge. This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Merchant Complaints

PayAnywhere’s terms of use grant it a great deal of liberty when establishing reserve accounts (including the right to collect interest gathered on withheld funds), and merchant complaints about this policy indicate that the company is not doing enough to prevent its merchants from exceeding their limits. Merchants looking to avoid potential fund hold issues from PayAnywhere may be better served by a top-rated mobile credit card processing app.

PayAnywhere card reader
PayAnywhere’s basic 2-in-1 card reader is free for the first reader, while the 3-in-1 costs $50

Does PayAnywhere Use Deceptive Marketing?

Advertising & Sales Strategy

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Key Points

Employs Independent Resellers Yes
Advertises Deceptive Rates No
Discloses All Important Terms No

No Deceptive Advertising

PayAnywhere does not appear to use any deceptive marketing or sales tactics in its official sales materials. It looks as though the company primarily markets its service through advertising, public relations, strategic partnerships, and referrals from North American Bancard. This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Fund-Hold Issues

Some merchants have reported that, like Square, PayAnywhere fails to mention prior to account setup that it may hold funds to mitigate risk. Specifically, merchants complain that the company holds large amounts of funds with no prior warning of its hold policies and that the company takes a long time to release these funds. We have lowered the score of this section to reflect merchants’ sentiment that PayAnywhere’s marketing is slightly misleading when it comes to its fraud prevention policies.

Does PayAnywhere Deserve Your Business?

Review Summary & Our Thoughts

An Average Option for Mobile Payment Processing

PayAnywhere rates as an average mobile payment processor according to our rating system. There are currently numerous reports of merchants experiencing holds, poor customer service, and fees outside of the company’s stated pricing. Some of these fee complaints may just be a misunderstanding of charges or confusion in the way PayAnywhere bills its fees. PayAnywhere is currently only available in the United States, so merchants based in the UK and elsewhere are tasked with finding other mobile processing options. It should also be noted that although our initial review of the company was positive, it contained outdated pricing and device compatibility information. North American Bancard’s approach was to threaten us with “legal redress” if we did not update it immediately. We have updated this review (as we do every 12 to 18 months) only in the interest of accuracy, and with new insight on NAB’s strategy for dealing with publishers.

5-Star Rated PayAnywhere Competitors

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About The Author

Phillip Parker is a Payments Industry Analyst and creator of this blog, CardPaymentOptions.com. Phillip is passionate about researching merchant service providers and payment industry trends. He is often quoted as an expert source in national publications such as INC Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Entrepreneur, and many others.

“I started this blog because I was disgusted by the business practices of the merchant services industry. I wanted to empower business owners by providing insight on how to avoid shady merchant account providers and costly credit card processing mistakes.” 

Phillip’s Processor Comparisons

Picking a credit card processor can be a headache, but we’ve made it easy. Phillip recommends comparing the best merchant services providers we’ve researched.

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