Paynet Systems Merchant Services Reviews & Complaints
Company Overview
Paynet Systems is a small to mid-size merchant account provider based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Founded in 1999, the company was bought by Pipeline Data in 2006 but continues to operate as its own brand. Unfortunately for Paynet Systems, Pipeline was one of the poorest-rated processors in the credit card processing industry before its dissolution. With that said, it appears that Paynet may have shielded itself from Pipeline’s reputation and has since been able to operate independently of Pipeline. For this reason, we will treat Paynet as its own company for the purposes of this review. It should be noted that Paynet Systems is not the same company as Paynet Systems, LLC.
Paynet Systems Payment Processing
The company offers payment processing and credit card processing support for all sizes of businesses. Their systems support keyed-in transactions and credit/debit card processing. They also offer free virtual point of sale for online processing and a free webstore to merchants.
Paynet Systems' Point of Sale Systems
The company provides point-of-sale (POS) systems that enable businesses to manage in-person transactions efficiently. These systems can track sales, manage inventory, and generate reports, providing valuable insights into business performance.
eCommerce Solutions from Paynet Systems
Paynet Systems offers solutions for businesses that operate online. They provide a secure platform for eCommerce transactions, ensuring safe and reliable online sales.
Mobile Payment Processing by Paynet Systems
Mobile payment processing is another service offered by Paynet Systems. This service allows businesses to accept card payments on mobile devices, providing flexibility and convenience for businesses operating on-the-go or at remote locations.
Paynet Systems' Merchant Cash Advance
Paynet Systems also offers a merchant cash advance service. This service provides businesses with access to funds by purchasing a portion of their future sales. This can offer a valuable cash flow solution for businesses needing immediate capital.
Location & Ownership
Paynet Systems, located at 5955 Shiloh Rd #100, Alpharetta, Georgia 30005, is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, California, and of Synovus Bank, Columbus, Georgia. Jack Chevalier is listed as the president of Paynet Systems.
| Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
| Strong POS support | High-risk business types unsupported |
| No monthly fees | Funds transfers can take days |
| Live phone support | Occasional account stability issues |
| No chargeback fees | Advanced features require monthly fee |
| Affordable card readers | Not suitable for high-risk businesses |
| Predictable flat-rate pricing | Extra scrutiny for CBD merchants |
Paynet Systems Customer Reviews
Here's What Their Clients Say
| Total Online Complaints | 15+ |
|---|---|
| Live Customer Support | Yes |
| Most Common Complaint | Hidden Fees |
| Recent Lawsuits | No |
An Overview of Paynet Systems Reviews
In our analysis, we identified over 15 negative Paynet Systems reviews across various consumer protection sites. It’s important to note that due to the similarity in names with Paynet Systems, LLC., there’s a possibility of review confusion between the two entities. This review count is on par with what might be expected for a company of Paynet Systems’ size. The majority of complaints focus on unexpected fees, billing issues, inadequate customer support, and challenges in canceling services. Paynet Systems has addressed some of these issues, with responses generally maintaining a professional tone. We encourage users to share their Paynet Systems reviews in the comments for a more diverse perspective.
Legal Standing of Paynet Systems
There are no current class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints against Paynet Systems. For clients seeking non-litigious methods of dispute resolution, contacting relevant supervisory bodies is recommended.
Evaluating Paynet Systems Customer Support
Paynet Systems offers a primary phone support line and an online contact form for client assistance. While these options are available, they fall short of establishing Paynet Systems as a leading payment processor for customer service.
Paynet Systems Contact Information
- (800) 809-1989 – General Support
- Support form
With its current customer support options, Paynet Systems shows a basic level of service provision. Enhancing these aspects could improve their standing in the field and offer better experiences for their clients.
Paynet Systems Online Ratings
Here's How They Rate Online
| BBB Reports | 0 |
|---|
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.
No BBB Complaints
As of this review, the Better Business Bureau is showing Paynet Systems as not approved under its accreditation program. The BBB is reporting a rating of an “A+” based upon 0 complaints filed within the last 36 months, which is a significant decline in complaints since our last review.
An “A” Rating
Given the company’s clean complaint record, we agree with the BBB’s rating at this time. Business owners should be aware, however, that there are definite reasons to be skeptical of the BBB’s information.
Paynet Systems Fees, Rates & Costs
A Closer Look at The Contract
| Cancellation Penalties | Yes |
|---|---|
| Monthly & Annual Fees | Yes |
| Processing Rates | 3.50% + $0.30 |
| Equipment Lease Terms | Undisclosed Monthly Fee |
Variable Pricing
Paynet Systems employs a pricing strategy that highlights qualified rate tiers prominently on its website, while relegating the non-qualified, card-not-present rate to less visible sections. This structure indicates that “Swiped” rates, applicable to qualified swiped Visa/MC/Discover network transactions, are differentiated from most rewards, corporate, government, and international card types, which are billed at non-qualified rates. Similarly, “Manually Keyed Rate” applies to qualified manually keyed transactions with verified addresses and CVV2 information, with all other transactions falling into the non-qualified category of 3.50% and $0.30.
This nuanced pricing suggests variability in rates and fees based on numerous factors, potentially leading to charges as high as 3.50% plus $0.30 for both swiped and keyed-in transactions. Client feedback has highlighted instances of unexpected or higher-than-quoted monthly fees. The presence of a PCI compliance fee remains unconfirmed, and a clause within the merchant agreement outlines a monthly lease fee for credit card terminals. Further details on Paynet’s terms can be reviewed here.
Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing
Paynet Systems extends its offerings to include virtual terminal and payment gateway services, though specific pricing details remain undisclosed. Expected additional costs for these e-commerce services include gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and other transaction-related charges.
Paynet Systems Contract Terms
Paynet Systems provides service agreements ranging from three to six months, accompanied by a $75 early cancellation fee, significantly lower than industry standards. The company applies a variable monthly minimum fee based on the service utilized, with an annual processing cap of $5,000, beyond which a non-qualified rate of 3.50% plus $0.30 is imposed. Additionally, Paynet promotes a smartphone processing service offering a $10 monthly service fee waiver for the initial six months.
Businesses are advised to thoroughly review Paynet Systems’ contract terms against those offered by more competitively priced merchant account providers to ensure clarity on pricing structures and avoid unforeseen fees. For options potentially offering better terms, we recommend exploring our curated list of the best merchant account providers.
Paynet Systems Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs
Should You Work For Them?
| Uses Independent Resellers | No |
|---|---|
| Telemarketing | No |
| Misleading Marketing | Yes |
| Discloses All Important Terms | No |
Misleading Rate Quotes
Paynet Systems has received an average rating in this section because it formerly promoted misleading rates and fee quotes on its website. It did this by prominently quoting the “Qualified” transaction rate and making no mention of the more expensive “Mid-Qualified” and “Non-Qualified” rates that 50-80% of a client’s transactions will experience, except in minuscule font far below the Qualified quote. Additionally, Paynet does not disclose other ancillary fees such as batch fees, statement fees, AVS fees, etc.
This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.
Sales Complaints
Aside from the misleading quotes, we found no other use of deceptive marketing or sales tactics, other than a few Paynet Systems reviews from businesses reporting that company representatives failed to disclose full pricing prior to account setup. The company appears to market primarily through partnerships, affiliates, and an inside sales staff. If you suspect that you are being charged undisclosed Paynet Systems fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden charges.
Our Paynet Systems Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts
Paynet Systems appears to be an average merchant services provider within the credit card processing industry. As a former subsidiary of Pipeline Data, it is difficult to say if Pipeline’s poorly rated business practices have had an influence on Paynet. The company could improve its rating in this review by removing its misleading rate and fee quotes from its website, reducing/eliminating future complaints, removing or reducing its early cancellation fee and six-month service agreement, and resolving a higher percentage of BBB complaints to the clients’ satisfaction. For now, business owners should consider selecting a top-rated credit card processor to obtain the best deal.
If you found this article helpful, please share it!
Freddie
I closed/sold my business in 2022. Paynet Services continued to charge my account. It was processed through another name so the young lady that was handling the closure did not catch it. I know we cancelled the service but they say we didn’t. I have not used the service and I have not been in PCI compliance but they feel justified that charging me monthly was the right thing to do. I requested a cancellation form again but they have yet to send it. I asked to speak with someone else concerning this issue but I was told I could not and they hung up the phone. Stay away from these crooks!
Steve Westin
I would LOVE to know if Paynet is still processing credit card sales for Zombaio.com Zombaio is a crooked credit card processor that literally “keeps” your proceeds from credit card sales you make online . I didn’t even know this was legal, as it seems they are doing business with no monitoring by any bank or financial institution. They are hiding in Sweden and are not scared by any threats or lawsuits from people in the “States.” There are hundreds of website owners that Zombaio is “holding” their funds and refusing to release. Do not do business with Zombaio. At this point I do not know what to do. I can’t find their acquiring bank. I think Paynet is behind this. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Dave
Keep looking. They raised the rate without permission and stuck me for almost $275 when I refunded a fraudulent transaction.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Michael
STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS. Deceptive practices unless they’ve changed in the last four months
Diane
Highly disappointed with the customer service I have been receiving. Experiencing a lot of double talk and condesending remarks from the sales rep and manager who have handled my account. All is fine with Paynet until you have a problem. Good luck getting a word in edgewise when you try to talk to them.
Dan
This company is unethical in there practices. Stay away or regret ever being involved with them. They take money out even after you cancel them. Then once i told my bank to deny them, they sent me a letter of non payment added late charges then threatened me with collections which they did do. This company is the most unethical company i have ever had to deal with. Stay away with every fiber of your being.
Robin
Folks the only thing you can do now is go to your bank and put a stop to any payments going to Pay Net. I joined up with THAT company several years ago and that was the only way to end them continuing to take funds from me. I would say dont waste your time and energy getting them out of your pocket by phone calls to them and filling out their forms. They wont go away. It just prolongs their ability to take your money. Someone really needs to close them down. Surprised and saddened that this hasnt happened yet.
Travis Bouchey
If shady business practice is your thing get 2 accounts!! Beware of miscellaneous withdrawals and hidden fees.. One star is an over rating
Pam Whorton
I, too, am having issues with this company. I filled out an application for them and once approved I received an email stating that I had to pay $10 for the card reader for shipping. Um, that’s not free, which is what their advertisement states. So I went with PayPal instead. They did not charge me a fee for ANYTHING to receive their card reader. I just checked my bank account online and noticed a $17.95 charge from Paynet. For WHAT?! I was told I signed a contract, which I was not aware of, and there are monthly fees, which I was not aware of that either! So NOW I’m having to fill out all these forms to stop this company from withdrawing funds from my account. When I called the company to complain, I was told I would get charged a $75 fee for breaking the contract. I just received an email from them to fill out a form, and my contract would still be intact unless I filled it out and mailed it back. Not doing it. I sent a reply saying I’m refusing to fill that out since I never signed a contract to begin with. So I have a feeling I’m gonna be dealing with this company for months ahead. Beware of them! False advertisement and hidden fees and charges!!!
Leon Slack
I have become very very frustrated with their service. I initially enjoyed their service, which seemed to be professional. However, when I attempted to cancel their service, their cancellation process seems to be set up to take as much money from their customers as they can.
Here is what happened to me: I stopped using their service back in July of 2013. I might have missed small print in their contract about charging $44.95 for nonuse of the account. I was charged more for non-use than when I was using it! Anyway, when I found this out in October, they had charged several months already. I called to cancel the account. The rep looked up my account and then said, “Okay, it is cancelled, bye” , and hung up before I could ask any questions. But I didn’t worry about it any more. Months later, I find out that I am still being charged in December of last year, to an account I have quit using, and am getting bank overdraft charges. I call and found out that the rep had sent me an email with a cancellation form to mail in!! I get a lot of emails, a lot of it junk and advertising, I think they know that their email can be missed, if no one tells client it is coming. So I missed the email, and was charged for another couple of months.
I was very frustrated, so I made complaint to Better Business Bureau, because I rightfully felt that I was defrauded by secretly sending me an email without telling me about it. It might be some kind of business legal thing they can get away with.
Anyway, Paynetsystems responded to my complaint, repeating that I received an email with a form to fill out, and said that they will close the account as of January 10th, and I allowed the complaint to close out. I didn’t feel like fighting the fraud I felt happened about the emailed cancellation form, even though I felt seriously defrauded.
I recently found out that they are STILL CHARGING ME $44.95 FOR AN ACCOUNT I HAVE STOPPED USING BACK IN JULY!!! Even after they said that the account was closed. They must be hard up for customers and need money bad, because they are still resorting to whatever tactic they can get away with to keep charging past customers.
I would NOT recommend anyone signing up with them. To treat customers like that suggest that they are not about customer satisfaction, but for whatever they can get from them, even after they try to leave their service.
Leon
Mary Brown
Disappointed! they are not upfront about the fees they “take” from your checking acct. They make it very difficult to cancel their services. They will e-mail you a cancellation form and then you have to mail it back to some address they give you. then who knows how long it will take from there to complete the cancellation process!
Why can’t you just e-mail it back to them? They intentionally make it hard for you to cancel. Their customer service is not the greatest either. I don’t know if they are a member of the BBB, but I am getting ready to find out!
I haven’t even used their services for 2 months and they are still charging me fees! A company like this one won’t be around for long! All the good reviews you see for pay net systems, on the app store, I have heard are wrote from people that work for the company. they put all the “real” reviews are way down at the bottom, and it’s not easy to find them, but their there! I use “Squared” now and they are upfront about all their charges! They only charge a per swipe fee and as far as I know, that’s it! I don’t mind paying a little more, as long as it’s competitive and they are honest about what they’re fees and charges are!
So sorry I gave this company a try!
Debbie Upchurch
What a bunch of hacks. Seriously, these guys are in a league of their own.
All their advertising shows 25¢ & 1.59% along with a “FREE” card reader. I asked about these rates and was told everything was on the ‘site’. After downloading and trying the app I received e-mails welcoming me to Paynet Systems. Okay, how bad can it be, (never mind their customer reviews or BBB ratings).
A week goes by and still no “FREE” card reader. I questioned the sales rep about it and she said “The company that makes it, sells it for $69.95 and it is free, but you have to pay $24.50. … It is a state of the art encrypted reader.” I informed her that most all readers these days are encrypted and that they offered a “FREE” reader everywhere you looked, paying $24.50 it isn’t free at all. Still no card reader as I refuse to pay for it.
Although, I made it clear that in all my history of using Merchant Processing that when the “card was not present” and the merchant manually entered the numbers, we typically have to pay MORE not LESS. Falling on deaf ears by now.
Week two I had a customer that wanted to run a card so I decided to try the app anyhow. (Andriod on AT&T) Found that the app is fairly unstable and opens often in “demo mode” and also crashes. The only way to get it to work is rebooting the phone and hoping next time it opens that it is NOT in “demo mode”.
In any event, ran the customers card manually and got approval. Now we’re 4 days later and it looks like it’ll clear my account tonight at midnight. Strange thing though is the fee is MUCH MORE than their advertised rate of 25¢ & 1.59%. The rate (if the per swipe fee is still at 25¢) is 2.0275% PLUS 25¢. Makes it much cheaper to just go elsewhere.
PayPal even has a fee free Credit card with 1% cash back that makes your ‘net-net’ 1.7% (as advertised). Although I fear using a *real* card processing service is a better option, perhaps through a supply agreement as with Costco. The providers have been well vetted and offer extremely competitive rates, much less than your usual internet site rates.
I will start the cancellation process today!
Stacey Reece
Paynet Systems is absolutely a waste of time, money, and breath. Customer service is non-existent. Fees are hidden, requests for new swiper devices due to malfunctioning ones are ignored. I am totally disgusted with the services, quality of product, and customer service. I rate this company a 0 of 10.
Cristy
This company is terrible! Do not use paynet systems to process cards. They cannot be trusted with your money. They got our company confused with another company with a similar name that had a lein on their account and sent our money to the IRS. We did eventually get the money back but only after a great hassle. They then would not let us cancel our account because we did not return the “free” swiper they sent us that didn’t even work. The only way this company gets any good reviews is because the send you a “free” swiper when you write one.
Bonnie
I am very disappointed in this company… and sorry that I didn’t find Square about 30 days sooner! Beware that once you join, they don’t exactly tell you that you can’t cancel for 6 months — and when you try to cancel, they are vague about HOW you can cancel! I’ve done everything they’ve asked and they are now charging me $25 month instead of the $9.95 a month and telling me they have not received a PROPER cancellation from me and until they do they will continue to charge me basically whatever they chose to. I’m going to have to cancel my credit card so they don’t have my current info on file. They are not accommodating to their customers, they are dishonest and basically cheating people and I would not recommend them to anyone!
Robin Neumeier
I thought this was a good answer to accepting credit cards at my new office. My business did not take off as I had hoped and I never used the processor. I was told on the phone that the swiper that fits on my phone/Ipad would be given free with my 3 month commitment. I was also told on the phone that I would be charged a total of $25.00 per month (plus a small percentage of each transaction that I made). In actuality my bank account was charged $34.95 per month, then they added an additional $7.95 for American express (I didn’t want or need this). I was also charged another $1.00 per month for a “privacy guard”. After 3 months I wanted to cancel the service. They said it was a 6 month commitment and if I returned the swiper and paid a $75.00 cancellation fee that I knew nothing about, I would be out of the contract. They refused to even drop the American Express from the charges. But I decided to wait out this contract anyway, and now I am 2 weeks away from being eligible to terminate the contract with no cancellation fee. I still haven’t used it. I received an email today stating that I must return the free swiper or pay them $69 for it. The writer of the email even called it my “free” swiper! I called and asked them to fax me a copy of the contract with my signature on it. (I don’t remember signing one) She faxed a copy of a contract that I have not seen before and my signature is not on it. Be very wary of this company.
Kochira Kawaii
Disappointed with service and fees associated with this account. Was very difficult to cancel the service. Was unaware of $75.00 cancellation fee. Never had to sign any contract. In fact under age child set up the account with smart phone. No verification of anything was required but when I called to cancel the account I had to sign a document and mail it back to the company and was then told there was a $75.00 early cancellation fee. That a “signed contract ” stated. I was billed for three months for no usage also.