Paysafe Group Merchant Services 2023: Reviews & Complaints

Announcement:
Rates as Low as 1.7%, No Monthly Fees, No Contract, 24/7 Support. See Who It Is Now.


Paysafe Logo
Paysafe
Star Full Star Full Star Empty Star Empty Star Empty
Paysafe

Agree with our rating?
Tell us about your experience with Paysafe in the comment section below.

PhonePhone(888) 709-8753 View Pricing

Company Overview

Also known as Paysafe Group, Paysafe is a UK-based merchant account provider that has acquired multiple large payment processing subsidiaries during the past five years. The company was formed in 2015 as a rebranding of Optimal Payments, and it was subsequently acquired in August 2017 by 2 private equity firms called The Blackstone Group and CVC Capital Partners. Its major acquisitions under both the Optimal Payments and Paysafe brands include Skrill, Meritus Payment Solutions, MeritCard Solutions, Merchants’ Choice Payment Solutions, and, most recently, iPayment. In 2020, Paysafe announced a partnership with US-based sports-betting platform FOX Bet as well as one with the Microsoft Store. In 2021 Paysafe expanded into cryptocurrency with a partnership with transcoin.me, and in 2022 they acquired SafetyPay. Further partnerships in 2023 included Greyhound and HotelKey.

Paysafe Payment Processing

Paysafe enables businesses to accept credit and debit card payments quickly and easily. Whether you’re looking to accept payments in-store, online, or on-the-go, Paysafe has a solution that can meet your needs.

Payment Gateway Services

Paysafe’s payment gateway services enable businesses to accept credit and debit card payments securely and easily via their website. The payment gateway is fully customizable and integrates with major e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and more.

Virtual Terminal Services

Paysafe’s virtual terminal services allow businesses to process credit and debit card payments over the phone or via email, without the need for a physical card reader. This is ideal for businesses that don’t have a storefront or need to process payments remotely.

POS Systems

Paysafe offers a variety of POS systems that are designed to meet the needs of businesses in various industries. Whether you’re looking for a traditional countertop terminal or a mobile POS, Paysafe has a solution that can help you process payments quickly and securely.

Mobile Payment Solutions

Paysafe’s mobile payment solutions allow businesses to accept payments on-the-go using a smartphone or tablet. This is ideal for businesses that operate in remote locations or attend trade shows, farmers markets, or other events.

Online Payment Processing

Paysafe offers a range of online payment processing solutions for businesses that operate online. This includes e-commerce payment processing, digital wallet services, and more.

Subscription Billing

Paysafe offers subscription billing services that allow businesses to set up recurring payments for their customers. This is ideal for businesses that offer subscription-based services or need to bill customers on a regular basis.

Fraud Prevention Services

Paysafe offers a suite of fraud prevention services that can help businesses reduce the risk of fraud and chargebacks. These services include address verification, card security code (CVV2) verification, and fraud screening.

Location & Ownership

Paysafe is a registered ISO/MSP of Deutsche Bank AG, New York, NY; PNC Bank, N.A., Pittsburgh, PA; Wells Fargo, N.A., Concord, CA; Woodforest National Bank, Houston, TX; BMO Harris Bank, N.A, Chicago, IL; Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Cincinnati, OH, USA; and Merrick Bank, South Jordan, UT. The company is headquartered at 27th Floor, 25 Canada Square, London E14 5LQ, UK. Bruce Lowthers is the CEO of Paysafe. Joel Leonoff, who has also served as the CEO of Skrill, founded the company in 1997.

Video Summary

YouTube video

Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: Offers variable pricing terms among its many products, services, and…
  • Complaints & Service: Has received more than 100 public complaints regarding…
  • BBB Rating: The US branch of Paysafe has a rating of “A+” with the BBB but has had 155 complaints and 26 reviews in regards to…
  • Sales & Marketing: Maintains different sales practices at each of its subsidiary organizations and has…
Paysafe payment processing
Paysafe offers a variety of payment processing services
these processors announce that they now sync with quickbooks

Paysafe Reviews and Complaints

Here's What Their Clients Say

Complaint Summary

Total Online Complaints
100+
Live Customer Support
Yes
Most Common Complaint
Paysafecard Issues
Recent Lawsuits

Moderate Complaint Total

We have found fewer than 10 negative Paysafe reviews, but we are currently able to locate hundreds of complaints filed against Paysafe subsidiaries and Paysafe-owned brands. Complaints related to Paysafe’s payment processing products describe misleading sales tactics, undisclosed fees, fund-holds, high cancellation penalties, undesirable equipment leases, and poor customer service. There does not appear to be any change in the frequency or the content of these complaints as a result of Paysafe’s acquisition of smaller brands, which suggests that Paysafe has not imposed new corporate policies on its acquisitions.

Paysafecard Complaints

The overwhelming majority of Paysafe reviews are related to the company’s consumer-oriented Paysafecard product. Paysafecard is an online platform for making prepaid e-commerce purchases, and it is commonly used by consumers in high-risk sectors such as online gaming, online gambling, and the adult industry. Paysafecard complaints generally describe account termination, invasive demands for personal information, and poor customer support from Paysafe following violations of the company’s terms of use. While these complaints indicate inadequate complaint resolution efforts by Paysafe, they are unlikely to impact merchants.

Paysafe Lawsuits and Fines

In 2021, a class-action suit was announced against Paysafe for investors in the company’s securities. 2022 saw a similar suit: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP filed a class-action lawsuit against Paysafe Limited, a payment processing company, alleging violations of federal securities laws. The lawsuit claimed that Paysafe made false and misleading statements about its financial performance and the impact of its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The plaintiffs alleged that Paysafe’s statements artificially inflated the company’s stock price, causing investors to suffer damages when the truth was revealed. The case seeks damages and injunctive relief on behalf of the class of shareholders. The case is currently ongoing.

Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

Paysafe Customer Support Options

Paysafe does not list any dedicated customer support contact information on its official website, but this is because each of its subsidiary services offers its own support options. Most Paysafe subsidiaries offer phone support with the notable exception of Skrill, which has racked up hundreds of public complaints. In general, Paysafe appears to perform at an average level in this category—well below the top-rated processors for great customer support.

Paysafe BBB Rating and Report

Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment

BBB Summary

Product & Service Complaints
103
Billing & Collection Complaints
103
Advertising & Sales Complaints
6
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints
0
Delivery Complaints
7

No Dedicated Profile for Headquartered Office

The Better Business Bureau’s profile for Paysafe is for only the US branch of Paysafe, called Paysafe:Group. This is due to the fact that the BBB does not cover UK businesses and therefore only reviews Paysafe entities based in the United States. We will factor this profile into our review because it is relevant to a certain sector of Paysafe’s business, but merchants should note that it is not representative of the overall Paysafe organization.

Paysafe BBB Profile

At the time of our last update, the BBB held a profile for a California branch of Paysafe only, which had only 28 complaints. The larger Paysafe:Group profile currently has an “A+” score with the BBB and has been accredited since 2011. The company’s profile is currently showing a much larger number of complaints than in the past, with 219 complaints in the last 36 months. 103 of the complaints were due to a problem with a product or service, 103 were billing or collections issues, 6 were due to advertising or sales problems, and 7 were issues with delivery. Only 96 of these 219 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 123 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.

What Merchants Say

Paysafe has also received 37 informal negative reviews to its BBB profile. 36 of the reviews are negative and only 1 is positive. The most recent negative review describes poor customer service:

Just for some reason the credit card machine (Clover) would not take credit cards (Trans refused) but always works with debt card. Called them and started the process to get the problem fixed. Gave me a case number after being bounced around with 4 different people some of who I could not understand. Was told by the last person I talked to she had to research this and PROMISED to call me back, she never did. Started the next morning again and gave them the case number and was told case numbers expire in 24 hours and would have to start all over with a new case number. So they gave me a new case number and started all over again. Was bounced around again and finally ended up talking to “level 2” and was told they could not fix the problem had to go to “level 3” but they had to get permission to do that. She promised to call me back in less than 1 hour with a FIX. 1 hour came and went. After over an hour and a half she called to tell me that it was going to take longer and promised to call me with a fix in less than 4 hours. Well she never called. Day 3 came and I started all over again. Started by requesting ID number of the employee for my records. First person refused to give me there employee ID number, requested to speak to a supervisor. After a 30 minute hold a lady came on the line and this time was given there ID number. I gave her the case number and she said she could not find that number in the system. did I have the first case number? I gave her that and she said she found that number and the case says problem resolved. I explained again and she said let he look into if and put me on hold. Finally got back to me and said she had good news, the case was forwarded to level 3 and the engineers at that level said it was a problem that needed to be looked at and would “forward” it to the research team. The research team does not work on weekends or holidays but “should” look at the problem sometime next week and then they will decide what to do. That means our business can not take credit cards of over 6 days straight and that is assuming they fix the problem the first day they go back to work. I asked to speak to someone else up the chain and was told I was as high up as I could go. Level 3 or the research teams do not talk on phone but sometimes use email. I asked for an email address and was told she could not give that out. During all this I finally got to talk to the person I signed the contract with several months ago and he said he was shocked and would look into it the next day. That was last week and I have not heard back from him. So on and on it goes!

Merchants in this situation would be better served by a company with excellent customer service.

A “C” Rating Overall

With the influx of negative reviews and complaints, and considering the low number of resolved complaints, we have decided to lower Paysafe’s rating in this section to a “C”. It should also be noted that since this is only the US branch of Paysafe being reviewed on the BBB, and since Paysafe is a UK-based company with a large number of subsidiaries, it is difficult to determine whether the negative trend of the US branch is representative of the company at-large.

in the news apple versus banks

Paysafe Fees and Rates

A Closer Look at the Contract

Don't Fall Into An Expensive Trap. See Who The Worst Processors Are.

Cost Summary

Cancellation Penalties
Yes
Monthly & Annual Fees
Yes
Processing Rates
1.00% - 4.99%
Equipment Leasing
Yes

Variable Contract Terms

Paysafe owns a wide range of sub-brands that each offer their own products and pricing structures. Its pricing is therefore likely to vary depending on which Paysafe subsidiary you are working with and who your sales representative is. This Paysafe merchant agreement from 2016 describes a one-year contract, but we have seen other evidence that Paysafe’s standard merchant account contract is a three-year agreement with an early termination fee of at least $495, a monthly minimum fee of $14.99, and a long-term, non-cancellable equipment lease. This pricing would be consistent with iPayment’s reported pricing.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Paysafe also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. However, pricing is not disclosed on either of those services. Additional rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these e-commerce services.

Industry-Standard Pricing

Paysafe does not list any specific pricing or contract terms on its website, but most evidence suggests that Paysafe clients will pay standard merchant account prices. At this time, there is no reason to believe that the company’s pricing will compete with the cheapest merchant accounts in the industry. Business owners are advised to work with sales representatives they trust and to read all relevant documentation. We encourage businesses to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant services.

Paysafe Jobs and Employment

Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment

Audit Your Current Statement To Find Its Hidden Fees

Processing statements are intentionally complicated so that they can overcharge you. Get clarity before you switch.

Key Points

Uses Independent Resellers
Yes
Telemarketing
Unclear
Misleading Marketing
No
Discloses All Important Terms
No

A Different Approach From Each Subsidiary

As the parent organization of many different payment processing companies, Paysafe appears to adjust its sales approach from market to market. The company’s high-level advertising is very generalized, and there does not appear to be a unique “Paysafe” sales team so much as a distribution of ISOs, sub-ISOs, and resellers. Paysafe’s traditional merchant account sales operation functions like most of its competitors, with independent sales agents initiating telephone and in-person contact with merchant prospects. By contrast, the company’s e-commerce and online platform products appear to rely more on internet marketing and strategic partnerships to target niche and high-risk industries.

Paysafe Sales Complaints

Despite the company’s aggressive growth strategy, we have found only a few sales-related Paysafe reviews from merchants. The available complaints cite misleading rate quotes, undisclosed cancellation fees, and promised savings that did not materialize. Paysafe’s acquisition of iPayment (a “D” rated provider on CPO) could generate more sales complaints in the future, as iPayment has a reputation for providing negative sales experiences. For now, though, the company is outperforming expectations on this front. If you suspect that Paysafe is overcharging you, we recommend a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden fees. This does not compare favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Paysafe Review Summary

Our Final Thoughts and Opinions

Paysafe rates as a fairly standard credit card processing provider according to our rating criteria. Paysafe Group itself is more of a parent corporation managed by equity firms than an actual payment processor, so the quality of its products and services will vary according to the policies of its subsidiary branches across the globe. In general, the various Paysafe sub-brands have established their own industry reputations ranging from average to below-average. Clients are therefore more likely to have a better experience through a top-rated merchant account provider.


If you found this article helpful, please share it!

Paysafe Competitors

Compare Quotes From These Processors



Customer & Employee Reviews

What Others Are Saying About Paysafe

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Comments must contain details about your experience. Please do not use ALL CAPS. Self-promotion, marketing content, or contact information of any kind will not be published. By submitting a comment, you are agreeing to our Comment Policy

54 Responses

  • Alli

    This Company is a fraud. Do not, I repeat, do not engage their services.

  • Suzanne

    Kramer's Kutting Edge

    We did not complete the sign-up pricess and have received no equipment to process payments. While signing the contract, we questioned the $15/month statement fee. We stopped the process because we realized we wanted to stay with Square.
    We noticed a $62.95 charge to our business account. It was unclear who the charge was coming from & took a while to track them down. They are refusing to refund these charges that started almost ONE YEAR ago! Meanwhile, they have no completed contract. We have no equiptment and have not processed one single payment through them.

  • Misti

    Allied Sales

    This company has done the same thing to me that others below have stated.. I am not going to wait on these scammers… I have refunded my customers through my merchant portal and they better refund them back their money… I am closing my account… This is not gonna work. Sounds like they take peoples money and draw interest on it and then never give it back..

  • Tony

    QC CHARGE

    My company was approved for a merchant credit card processing account less than two months ago, after a review of my company’s BANK STATEMENTS that were sent by me on 26 Jan 2023, with the following stipulations: $5,000 average sale, $25,000 maximum sale, $50,000 monthly average.

    We began using the account on 14 Feb 2023. Our 4th transaction was in the amount of $5,087.12. The customer’s credit card issuing company, Wells Fargo, “declined” the three attempts by the customer to make this payment.

    The customer called Wells Fargo, and after a short phone called, the fourth attempt for the $5,087.12 amount was approved, and processed by PaySafe. This transaction was physically conducted on 8 March 2023, but dated 10 March 2023 by PaySafe.

    PaySafe flagged this exchange as fraud, and seized the $5,087.12 funds, as well as the funds of two subsequent transactions, for a total of $18,278.11, “for up to 180 days”.

    PaySafe subsequently closed our merchant account on 15 March 2023.

    Wells Fargo VISA, 3/10/2023, $5,087.12 –
    Chase VISA, 3/10/2023, $3,940.00, –
    Discover, 3/14/2023, $9430.63.

    While PaySafe had sent emails on Friday, 10 March 2023, as well as Monday, 13 March 2023, those emails came from “Houston Risk Review”, and were subsequently sent to my spam folder. Those emails contained a questionnaire concerning the $5,087.12 transaction, and once again, wanted “3 months of bank statements” that we had already provided when opening the account less than two months previous.

    A PaySafe employee from the Houston office, “M”, called me on Tuesday, 14 March 2023, and literally started the conversation with, “Your account is scheduled for closure”. I didn’t immediately associate “Houston” or “PaySafe” with any company that my company was doing business with, so my immediate impression was this was some kind of phishing scam.

    After over ten years of business, transacting several million dollars in credit cards transactions through other platforms, including PayPal, Shopify and Square, we wanted to replace Square with a more “premium” credit card processing platform. We applied for this PaySafe account through a company called “Leaders”, which was highly rated.

    Unfortunately, part of the PaySafe experience is a bit of shell game of a myriad of different name companies, all seemingly working together, but without any logical connection with each other.

    For example, when I applied through Leaders, I expected to get a a credit card processing platform that would be called some name with “Leaders” in it. Nope. That company was PaySafe.

    So, you’d think that we would have a processing platform called “Leaders”, or “PaySafe”? Nope. That site is called “SwipeSimple”. Guess where you see where the transactions go? Another site, called “iAccess”.

    There’s even some other site called “PCI” that does something that I never really learned what that’s for. When they start taking money DIRECTLY OUT OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, through a collection agency, for various fees, that company will show up as “MOT” (or similar), and you won’t have a clue who is taking the money.

    If you do business with this company, have a separate account from your main business that you can close after you are done doing business with them.

    On Wednesday, 15 March 2023, the Houston office of PaySafe noted that the reason for the closure of our credit card processing account was “actual processing observed is inconsistent with expected”.

    We promptly notified each of the three affected customers that they would need to initiate a “dispute” (chargeback) with their respective credit card company, and find an alternative way to pay us for our services and products.

    We will recommend that they each do as we will do, and make reports to their respective Better Business Bureau (BBB), State Attorney General Office, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and other government agencies as may be appropriate.

    In addition, should PaySafe NOT release the funds back to our customers in a timely manner, we will take, and we will recommend that our customers take whatever additional legal steps as may be required to properly adjudicate these issues.

    I suspect that there will be a whole series of future “fees” associated with closing out of this account that will need to be addressed, but we do not presently have any knowledge of any such fees as of this date.

    PaySafe needs to QUICKLY and PROMPTLY release the $18,278.11 in customer funds, and either send those funds rightfully to the merchant (our company), or return the money to the customers through the “dispute” resolution process.

    In addition, PaySafe needs to waive any and all fees that they may dream up in the future, and promptly close out this account.

  • Amber Rousseau

    Blissfully Natural LLC

    I am a small business making hardly anything and they have been taking out close to 30% of my profits. I was sent to paysafe with no authorization through another merchant. They will rob you blind!

  • JL

    I am experiencing the same exact issue as Jenny and many others alike. I had sent in all the information requested by Paysafe, and they are still holding my funds. They want my bank statement with my bank account numbers- WTF! I don’t think so! They have lost their minds. No one should EVER give them this type of information. I will be fighting this for sure!

  • Richard/Cynthia Keenan

    K & B Water Works

    My name is Richard Keenan of K & B Water Works. You (PaySafe) have been taking out of my Business checking account for 4 month and I never authorized anyone to take out of my account. These funds need to be refunded right away or I will be turning this over. I have reached out to this company for help, and I keep getting the run around. I was told that I would be sent a form to fill out and never received one. This is the last time I will be contacting PaySafe to have this resolved. You can talk with my wife Cynthia Keenan about this matter. Funds that need to be refunded are Nov. 1, 2022/ 33.24, Dec. 1, 2022/ 8.24, Jan. 1, 2023/8.24 and Feb. 1, 2023/ 93.19 My contact number is [redacted] or email listed below.

  • George Kaiho

    Katip at Harvest Lofts, LLC

    I got charged 10% credit card processing fee 2 months in a row. I called they couldn’t answer why? just keep saying might be many bad credit cards!! Whattttt??? I told them I want to cancel my account so they offer how about 5% This is a scam company. Never ever think to use them!!!

  • Jenny

    Zhenni Spa

    Did you get your money back? I have only used them for few days, and I have not even received any funds to my bank account I thought it probably take longer cause it was Thursday to Sunday. Today is Monday I received an email said exact same thing as the email you received. They closed my account effective immediately, funds will remain held for 180 days. I’m like wtf??? I’m losing sleep over this, cause I have never had an issue with any merchant service like this in the past.

  • Lamont

    I would NEVER EVER recommend this company to anyone. I have a customer that made a purchase 9 days ago….money is to me in my bank acct within 2 days…after 3rd day I called customer service and they thought it was “strange” then get an email from a PAYSAFE letting me know that they are holding the customer’s money until i send in the document they are requesting…My Bank statements, customers invoice, what my company do, and the website (which bank and company is on file) so now we are going into the 5th after sending documents…and the representative is not in today (SO BUSINESS JUST STOP) then the person who tries to help look for my email and can’t find it, and say no she didn’t get my email and I insist that I sent it and it went thro on my side…..she said, get this, oh let me check spam and sure enough that where it was….so she says “its a good thing you call cause she would have never seen the email” so now 9 days later I call to see if Michael Wolf is the current CEO and the girl that picked up the phone didn’t know, so she put me to customer service and I ask who is the CEO or someone in the executive office cause I would like to write a letter to them about my experience and why I am closing my account and once again he said he has to put me in touch with PAYSAFE GROUP who is the one handling the risk management.
    STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY…….not sure how long they are in business but they give me the impression of a fly-by-night company.

  • Tina glass

    Do not use this company! Horrible service, price keeps increasing and they don’t respond to your request.
    Problems after problems

  • Diane Baxter

    DeeDee's Designs

    I signed up in Aug. with Paysafe to run my credit cards though. I didn’t have a problem until Dec. 18th when I ran my Gas station company for 16,962.00. The transaction went through on my end and on my customers end. I then received an email stating that I needed to provide my bank statements and all the details of the transaction with contact information for my customer.

    Paysafe then called the customer and confirmed that this in fact was exactly what they wanted. Then called me and said that they can’t continue with the transaction. I asked why? They said it was outside the amount I was approved for.

    I explained that when I signed up the agent on the phone told me that I would be fine running these transactions. I sent all of my bank statements over to him at that time as well proving I make these types of transactions about every 4 months. They said I still need to do a refund to the customer.

    I then ask if they could wave the Fee for the refund as well as the transaction fee because I was mislead by the salesmen when I was signed up. They said that I would need to talk to a manager for that was on 1/14/22. no call

    I called back on the jan 26th to see where we stood and I was told I need to make the return and I would need to talk to a manager. I asked again for the manager to please call me. no call

    I called again on the 27th and I was told to make the refund and I would need to talk to a manager. I made the refund on the 1/27/22.

    I still haven’t received a call from a manager nor has my customer received the refund. As well as Paysafe is still holding the $16,962.00.
    its now 2/15/22

  • Patrick Gelin

    Pmg solutions LLC

    This is a scam company they approved merchant soon as I ran about $4300 getting paid through my clients they closed my account and telling me they are gonna hold my funds for 180 days and no charge backs. I called risk management and talked to Ginny (prejudice as hell) didn’t want to hear me out and hang up the phone called back spoke to supervisor David of the department and hang up on me. They are disgusting and founds out they are a scam company they have a class action law suit against them do not do business with them and I contacted the fbi and atty general about them. I want my money you thieves !!!

  • Artur Sattarov

    Showtime Transportation

    The worst company ever, stay away from them, charge you fees and won’t refund them, froze account for a while and wouldn’t unfreeze it for a while leaving us without credit card processing for two weeks .
    none of the guys working there was able to resolve stuff for a while, Jay was especially useless , thanks a lot Jay !!!
    Got new merchant account already, never again with them!!

  • robert clark

    Clark Auction Company

    Had service since 2016! Have been charged $147.40 for last 3 years with $0.00 sales. Paysafe said we called and canceled business but was told they did not receive a signed letter. I hope Ken Paxton attorney general for state of Texas looks into Paysafe business practices! I am sure I’m not the only small business being robbed monthly! Also after I was sent contact to email signed cancellation, the email has been Denied!

  • Philippe Martins-Baltar

    As an end user…I never met such incompetents people…through their Branches, Skrill and Neteller, managed from uk with headquarter in isle of man…tried to open accounts, made me 10 days (may3rd to may 14th) filled usd and euro balance on skrill with difficulties (rejected my MasterCard three times with no reason)…I tried to use my balances to pay merchants (numbers time via Skrill twenty five ones from may 14th to june 4th) never worked…saying on the merchant applet that balance is unavailable….contacter Skrill through their stupid VA…”it’s the merchant fault”…I tried to call, I had someone who just repeat or read the report on his screen, no solution…I made it short of course, and cherry on the cake, one minute later, I received an email from Skrill that they have decide to close my account for non compliance…30 seconds later I received same mail from Neteller…the cousin of the first one ;)…teeling the same.
    Well, I do not know which rules I broke…I just know that I will be refunded of my euro balance…I don’t know when…and I don’t know what about the refund of my dollars balance either.
    They are just what I call go-between, poor in knowledge and in consumer relation management but…greedy for profits and dishonest … in short … useless companies dubbed by a banking system which is inexorably moving away from its core business.

  • Sandra Seino

    I am dealing with this company and their fraudulent activities, which including pilfering my business account without authorization.

    I did file with the FTC ask for Nick at 877-382-4357 as they need all complaints. My bank has initiated fraud charges as well and I’m filing with the State Attorney General, SO, and the US Dept of Justice Civil Rights Division.

    There is a case from 2002 that mirrors mine and many of the reports made here are stated by the same thing, as if these culprits are moving from one location to another, changing names and continuing their practices.

    I am going to the media next because if they’re willing to rip off a disabled small woman owned business owner that is a widow, they’re willing to do it to anyone!

    This group goes by many names; Merchant Services, MobilePay, PaySafe, Flagship and even BBVA which as of yesterday 5/14/2021, they informed me that they are NOT affiliated with them, and when I pressed if they had in the past, I was told, “We no longer have anything to do with them.” Outside of that, no one will talk to you.

    I signed up for a simple swipe, they charge you for a merchant account for a website and an online gateways that you never use! Also other fees are taken for another company that is either a willing association or unaware but if nothing has ever been used in any way, they know it and so do I as a Coding Engineer and Web Developer. I have no use for those as I get all business from the phone and I service properties!

    I have suffered greatly from this, emotionally, financially and my business as well because of the countless hours I’ve spent trying to get them to stop, trying to find anyone be to assist me to read due to visual impairment, and then almost daily trips to travel to the bank to file documents, close my account, get new cards, checks, and contacting all businesses that are set up with auto payments.

    They were taking triple payments even though I was clear about the upcoming multiple eye operations and temporary closure of my business.

    This company and all individuals affiliated with them will tell you to contact one of their other numbers and then they tell you someone different. Bottom line, no one will help stop the pilfering of your funds. It took 6 months to finally get a cancellation form which has no mention of previous funds taken or prior dates. You are only allowed to fax, yet their method is email. I sent by USPS and they claim they never got it. They finally sent another in April, and I’m still calling demanding they cease and desist but they don’t!

    I’m out hundreds of dollars, and on top of that, more fees because while I’m having eye surgeries and believe they stopped and funds were there for my living expenses, they were continuing to pilfer the account!

    Derek Schleer the salesman told me this would be less than Square. Lie! So many hidden fees I’m learning now and I stated I couldn’t read due to my inability to see and asked him to read it all back, and he took full advantage, just as the other employees that I have full record of. He conveniently omitted his contact information.

    File your case with the FTC! They do take down these individuals but only if enough people file. My case mirrors FTC File No: 012-3193. Just look up:

    FTC FILES COMPLAINT CONCERNING CREDIT CARD MERCHANT ACCOUNT SALES AND BILLING PRACTICES

    “Unauthorized Fees Allegedly Withdrawn from Small Businesses’ Bank Accounts The Commission’s Allegations Relief Sought”

    We need to fight together, not alone!

  • Sarah Zhang

    In April 2020, our total revenue dropped to $419.67 but Paysafe/Bankcard charged us $3,072.68!!! And when I mentioned those charges, no one reply to my email! A total scam.

  • David Schieffer

    Paysafe Payment Processing is connected to National Bankcard and will be referred to as from this point on. National Bankcard/Paysafe’s processing entity risk department closed our account without warning. Two days worth of processed payment transactions (Batch receipts for 9.01.2020 = $578 & 9.02.2020 = $170) totaling $748 were never received into our bank account. I called National Bankcard and their processing entity (Paysafe) numerous times and was told our credit card processing account was closed by their risk department. They said that since the account was closed, the $748 was just returned to our customers. That means that therapeutic services we provided were not paid for because National Bankcard/Paysafe gave the money that was paid to us through credit cards ($748) was given back to these customers. There is no way for us to recover that money. We view this as theft on the part of National Bankcard/Paysafe.

  • David Schieffer

    Theft of income from our business – any help with we can do

  • Marc Choyt

    DO NOT under any circumstances work with this company.

    I’ve been with them for nearly 2 years. The sales rep quoted a fixed rate and set up my terminal. He did not abide by a fixed rate. They have been charging me 4%!

    The terminal was set up to batch at a “non-qualified rate” that has cost me thousands of dollars. They set it up this way.

    Plus, the sales guy told me I could get out of the contract month by month and then signed me up for 3 years.

    THEY TOTALLY LIED TO ME.

  • L. Lackland

    Would never recommend or use this company again!! They wasn’t depositing my funds and when I asked the representative (Ginny) from The Woodlands location about it, she became very disrespectful. I asked for a supervisor and was not only denied, but she had my funds held for over 180 days because of it. Not only that, somehow a lot of my batches mysteriously “vanished “ from their system, but their still in my terminal. I had to report them to the FTC and file an IC3 against them. I hope that they all get prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!! Getting over on their customers especially at a time like this?? Straight heartless!!

  • Joan Stanford

    Very dissatisfied with Paysafe customer service or lack of. We have had funds held for months with no helpful responses after many attempts to resolve or minimally, talk to someone.

  • Nathan behmetuik

    I just paysafe zero star review I’d like to start by introducing myself on Nathan with above and beyond renovations Inc and I’ve had nothing but a horrible experience with this company I quite possibly think that they might be scamming small businesses they have a contract that doesn’t even have my signature on it but I have a copy of my contract with them and it does have my signature in our contracts do not look the same now for the last two months I’ve been trying to pay the $495 fee that I wasn’t aware of when I signed up with paysafe to cancel their services and they’re refusing to take the payment in a timely fashion and in turn I’m inquiring extra monthly fees while I’m waiting for them to cancel my contract with them I would absolutely not recommend this company to anyone on this planet or therefore in the milky way galaxy thank you very much and have a nice day pay safe will be lucky if they don’t hear from my attorney

  • Taisiya P

    This review is for Paysafe Merchant Service provider. The company is an absolute SCAM.
    1. They charge you much more that you agreed, you will be buried in hidden and unexpected fees.
    2. They constant lie, starting with the sales rep, ending with every call center representative. I caught them so many times on lies.
    3. They unlawfully withheld some of my transactions, not paying them out to me, telling lies about the reason why (I have proof).
    4. They signed me up for a bunch of services that they call free, and guess what, I started to get billed monthly by all of them shortly after.
    5. You will spend hours and hours on hold with their support, who would NEVER SOLVE ANYTHING over the phone. They always say they need to contact some other department and they will get back to you within the next 24-4 hours. And they never do, as the issues are never solved either.

    The easiest way to get out of all this mess is to close your bank account.

  • Dave Patch

    The are holding over $130k in funds due to 4% chargebacks. Do the math, its incredible they can destroy a business over something like this. WORST F****** COMPANY I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH IN 20 YEARS.

  • Helmut Dobler

    stay away from this processing company I cancelled and keep charging fees my only option will be to close my bank account

  • CYNTHIA WHITELOW

    This is not a good choice when it comes to merchant services. I would not recommend them to anyone. I faxed and emailed closure form in the beginning of October yet they say they did not close the account until Oct 31. So this is their reasoning for charging my account due to me not wanting to continue services with them. I told the man when he called to set it up “I have read reviews on the service you plan to put me with and I do not want to continue this account”. All of a sudden a charge on my account. This was in September. Do not use Paysafe. They are not safe.

  • Taisiya

    To my opinion, trust score for this company should be ZERO. The company’s unethical practices brought me financial losses.
    The relationship started with a few unauthorized charges that nobody from Paysafe could ever explain or refund.
    They continued by me finding out that NOT ALL settled transaction are paid out. So Paysafe receives my customer’s money but not paying it out to me. Tried to resolve this issues in the course of a few weeks, spent over 6 hours on the phone with support who straight up lied. Every representative would come up with a different excuse and try to brush me off saying that they will resolve the issue within 48 hours and will contact me back. As you may have guess, nobody ever resolved the issues or contacted me.
    Support would admit the issue over the phone but refuse to email me a written affirmation admitting the issue has happened. The whole situation looks extremely shady and practices employed resemble scammers. My month-long collaboration with this company resulted in a financial loss.

  • Taisiya

    Trust score should be ZERO. The company’s unethical practices brought me financial losses.
    The relationship started with a few unauthorized charges that nobody from Paysafe could ever explain or refund.
    They continued by me finding out that NOT ALL settled transaction are paid out. So Paysafe receives my customer’s money but not paying it out to me. Tried to resolve this issues in the course of a few weeks, spent over 6 hours on the phone with support who straight up lied. Every representative would come up with a different excuse and try to brush me off saying that they will resolve the issue within 48 hours and will contact me back. As you may have guess, nobody ever resolved the issues or contacted me.
    Support would admit the issue over the phone but refuse to email me a written affirmation admitting the issue has happened. The whole situation looks extremely shady and practices employed resemble scammers. My month-long collaboration with this company resulted in a financial loss.

  • Joseph Sayed

    Allowed me to deposit funds when i did not have enough to cover the amount..in the past they would deny my deposit..this caused me to incur a overdraaft charge.

  • Alla Jackelli

    The worst experience! Never trust this company! They will charge tons of money after telling you about FREE service. Even after cancelling their service they still charging money! Horrible!


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • Dawn Drucker

    Stay Far Away From Them, Worst Customer Service!!!!!!! I have been calling for 4 months to get this company to stop charging me there fees. I signed up in May 2019 and immediately changed my mind called my rep to cancel and to this day I am still being charged. I don’t and have never even had they terminal to process cards. The first couple of months of calling I was told only your rep can close your account and they will call you back within 24 to 48 hours. which never happens. Then when you call and ask for a supervisor they just run through a script and put you on hold for ever. Finally earlier this month I talk to someone named Eric and he said he could close my account I just had to fill out a form and send it back and within 7 – 10 business days my account would be closed and I would have my refund.Just got off the phone with them again 12 business days since sending in my paperwork and this time I am being told they have numerous accounts being closed and mine was in the stack but they now have noted my account closure as urgent and I am stuck with another reference number yet again and now being told it could take another month to close my account. If I ran my business this way I would be bankrupt, but wait they will not go bankrupt because apparently from what I have seen now they are ripping each and everyone of us off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • Emmanuel Smallwood

    Horrible company!!!! 1st class crooks!!!

    They took money out my account for a chargeback on more than one occasion and after calling over 50 times well over a month I keep being told a supervisor has to approve the refund and that they can never get a supervisor on the phone. Each call takes over 2 hours and the collections department closes at 5 so they will either deliberately hang up on you or keep you on hold and wast your time just to say they are going to send an email so the supervisor can call you back and they never call back. Never use this company because they are a scam and they charge a lot more than they claim to charge on processing fees.


    This post will help: Best Payment Processors for Great Customer Service

    -Phillip

  • Lori Wolfe

    First of all, they lure you in telling you no early termination penalty, no monthly fees, yadayadayada. It’s all false. After looking into the small amount of information they give you, in order to sign up you have to give your account information then they send you a document online to sign. Well, make sure you read all terms and conditions for every little thing. There is an early termination fee and there are all kinds of extra monthly fees you agree to if you sign up. I called them and said I did not want to go through with the service. When they asked why I mention early termination and extra fees. They then sent me an “Adendum” that stated no early termination fees- Hum, I wonder how many people they got away with not sending that adendum to. I still cancelled of course. Never even received any processing equipment or set up my online account. But the monthly charges to my account began the following month. They did allow me to cancel the service the same day after I requested to speak to management. Its been 2 months and I have had 3 fraudulent charges to my account. The first 2 charges it took a few phone calls and emails to get them reimbursed. I’m typing this as I have just now discovered the third fraudulent charge and I’m currently waiting on refund.
    Stay away, stay far away from these thieves.


    This post will help: 5 Places Where Processors Hide Fees In Your Contract

    -Phillip

  • David

    After 2 months of not using their services, I attempted to cancel by sending in a cancellation document. They claim it wasn’t sent properly and proceeded to charge me over $700 over the course of a year instead of contacting me. I will be doing whatever it takes to get my my money back.


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • Barbara Timmons

    Paysafe has been taking money out of my business account for 2 months. I don’t have an account, processor or recieve any services from them. For the past 3 days. They keep telling me they can’t get a hold of anyone in the department to close the account. The representative said there is no supervisor to talk to. This all happened because I was inquiring about there services


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • Montez Smith

    Some how this company has gotten my information & starting charging my account for services never received. Never signed up for this company as I use Square! Called this company June 4,2019 to cancel services I never used because they charged my bank account. They said it was canceled then a couple weeks later June 24, 2019 this company charged my account AGAIN! This time charging $139. I have canceled this again! I’ve never heard of this company & would just like for them to cancel whatever it is & stop charging my account.


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

  • Stone Oak Pediatric Dentistry

    Just finished my third call to Paysafe. They are holding over $4,500.00 of our money and half of it is from May 2019. They promise the issue is resolved, however, we still don’t receive our money. Would never recommend this company to anyone!


    This post will help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money

    -Phillip

  • Judy

    Never signed up with this company and they have been taking money out of business account for a year. Contacted them and they cannot produce contract because I never signed one. They have taken over 1000.00 out of my account. They need to be shut down and going to do everything I can do make them pay me back my money they stole from me.


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • Titan

    Rotten customer service. They’re a credit card processing company alright, and that’s about all they seem capable of doing.
    Whenever we have a chargeback, we are presented with roughly 2 to three entire business days to respond, and for them to address our response before we are out of time and have to eat the fraudulent chargeback. They have no care for us as customers and will happily let anyone place a chargeback without giving us suitable time to respond with the information of the sale.

    Their phone customer service is terrible as well. We recently got a new machine as our old one was printing poorly. When asking for the new machine, the woman on the phone asked me the time we want our batch closed. I told her, but when the machine arrived, it was set to a totally different time, not even close to what I told her.

    As we are unable to change the batch closeout time on the machine itself, we need to call their customer service number to get someone to do it for us. So far, I have had to call and wait on hold twice today, as the first time I was asked for our merchant ID (which I had) and Tax ID (which I did not have and needed to get from the business owner) – I was NOT asked for further information.

    The second time, I was asked for Merchant ID, Tax ID, and the last four of our bank account (which is a piece of information they have never asked for and which I did not have, and had to again ask the owner for). So, now I get to wait in line again to see if they decide to add any NEW stipulations on what information is needed. All to change the batch time which they set improperly in the first place.

    I just want the darn machine working properly, there’s no good reason for this to be such a hassle and it’s cut into my morning work. It’s a shame every card processing company is awful, it’s not like we have other good choices. What a shame. Terrible customer service every time we contact them throughout the years, they are just consistently unhelpful.


    This post will help: Best Payment Processors for Great Customer Service

    -Phillip

  • MONICA CASANA

    The are the worst!. Have been trying to resolve Merchant Account and scanner never working for over a month now.
    Quick to withdraw their fees from your bank account regardless that your merchant account never worked. A plethora of Ticket #’s and false promises that you will be contacted or refunded. Wait time is 1½ hr with no resolution. STAY CLEAR OF THIS COMPANY!


    This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Great Customer Service

    -Phillip

  • Bethina Redd

    I just found out that my account was over drown and with out me knowing. I called them and I was on hold for along time after talking to a sails rep she switch me to the people that suppose to stop the account, but know one answer the phone.


    This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Great Customer Service

    -Phillip

  • Linda Kajma

    We went to this credit card processing company based on what we thought was a cutting edge company with a staff to support it. I have never in my life dealt with such incompetent people. The contact number on the invoice just keeps ringing, so we tried another number from their website and found out we were talking to someone in the Carbbean! They could not find our account. Really? They found it to keep taking funds out. Something needs to be done to stop them. Any ideas?


    This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Great Customer Service

    -Phillip

    • Rydawg

      Thanks for all the positive feedback I’ll definitely give them a shot.

  • Lawrence A traw

    This company is a total rip off a scam. I never used them to process any payment and they charged a bunch of fees that I was not aware of. After we finally found out who was debiting my account, I ask the service rep about these fees and I wanted my money back. He told me that i signed a contract which I do not remember and basically told me tuff luck. The total fees for not using this service were $3200, automatically deducted from my checking account over the past year. Hidden in my transactions. I am a very small business and this kind of fraud is very devastating to my bottom line. These guys are a bunch of crooks. Be very aware.


    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • wayne

    Skrill moneybookers is owned by paysafe , I deposited funds last year November 2018 into my skrill account 9 days later the funds had not reflected so I contacted skrill ([email protected]) I received a case number and the soon thereafter the funds reflected. In March 2019 I made another deposit this time the amount was much more than the previous 16 days later no funds reflected I once again contacted skrill and explained I followed exact same procedure as last time and no funds reflect, I received an inquiry number and then nothing after that. No funds have reflected and zero communication from them. I have even provided them with the Bank transaction statement.


    This post will help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money

    -Phillip

  • Alfred Natrasevschi Robocut Inc.

    Company has been holding all processed credits and refunds. This has been ongoing from November 2018 to February 2019. Then they closed our account. November 26, 2018 through February 4 2019 Pay save has not deposited credits or refunds for our credit cards charged. They have closed our account and our holding our funds. I have been trying since February to get the funds released. I have talked to Mohammed 800-549-4631, Patrice Stampp 800-327-0093 and Brenda 800-549-4631. Patrice gave me a reference number 42178586. Mohammed said funds would be deposited almost a month ago. Brenda said today she is waiting for Gina from collections to release our money. I have asked many times for a manager to call us or to speak to a manager. They will not let me talk to a manager. A manager has never called. I believe this credit card processing company business practices are illegal. Do not use them.


    This post will help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money

    -Phillip

  • rick

    they keep taking money out even though im not using their service,i put a stop on them and they changed their name twice and put it througjh,i finally had to close my account and open under new number.called paysafe after 25 minutes i hung up

    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • GENE

    Hi there

    I would like to make a formal complain about this agent named: ALEXANDER SERFES who actually signed me up for the contract with PAYSAFE.

    We had all the conversation and discussion before I signed up for the contract, he sent me an online form and told me everything was as per what we discussed and there was a time limit for the online contract and so I have to sign it quick. I trusted him and signed it and I was supposed to get the device FREE with ONE YEAR ADDENDUM.

    However, I was charged USD180.26 since NOVEMBER 2018. I called the customer service and they informed me that I must speak to the agent. So, I called Alexander multiple times, and he assured me that all paper work was submitted for the refund, and I should be receiving them soon. However, it didn’t happen. I called him many times, I hardly could reach him and he hardly return calls or answering my emails. And by early JANUARY, he told me I would receive the refund before 15th of January after his confirmation with the manager, and again, this never happened.

    And on Jan 24, he sent me a document for me to sign, I was kind of shock as he mentioned all paper work for the refund was submitted before, however, i signed and hoping I will get the refund soon.

    And again, numerous calls were made to Alex, no answer at all. I sent emails to him as well, and again, no reply.

    Today, I spoke to the Customer service, and Nicoleen mentioned to me that there wasn’t any request submitted for the refund.

    I am not sure if there was a misunderstanding, but however, I am truly disappointed of the service from ALEXANDER SERFES which was so irresponsible as in not returning calls, giving empty promises, ignoring emails.

    I hope someone will answer to this issue. I actually read all the good reviews about PAYSAFE before, and decided to go with PAYSAFE instead of other MERCHANT services, but I am so disappointed because of this agent. It is such a small issue at first, but it took 5 MONTHS, and yet I am not receiving any update or answer.

    I hope someone will answer to this.

    Regards
    Gene Phillips


    This post will help: Best Payment Processors for Great Customer Service

    -Phillip

  • Carlos Garza

    PAYSAFE? More like waste your time on hold for more than 30 min. at a time. Beware local rep released all my bank information without my authorization and I am having hell trying to get a refund for which I did NOT give my consent I am writing this review and have been on hold for the last 48 min…What A JOKE!!!!!


    This post will help: Best Payment Processors for Great Customer Service

    – Phillip

Copyright

Copyright © CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. (Digital Fingerprint: 0d38c6720f0d78a701b74d58653af608). Getting paid to re-write this page? Click here to earn a reward.

Any unauthorized copying and reproduction of the content of this page, including all meta data and computer code, is strictly prohibited. While the information in the above article is believed to be accurate as of its publish date, the author and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material, which is provided “as is,” and without warranties. Any and all use of trade names and/or marks are for identification purposes only and shall not be construed as a claim of affiliation, or otherwise, with CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. ("CPO") in any form. The sole purpose of the material presented herein is to alert, educate, and inform readers. It is not intended as legal or financial advice. We may earn revenue if you obtain services from a provider that we recommend. See this page to learn how we support our operations.

Phillip Parker
date range
forum
54 Comments
FTC & Advertising Disclosure
We take great pride in providing one of the only objective an unbiased merchant account review websites on the internet. To support this enormous responsibility we earn some of our revenue through affiliate fees and advertising. These revenues in no way influence our ratings or reviews. Learn more about our monetization policies here.
closecloseShow disclosure

About The Author

Phillip Parker is the creator and author behind this website. He has over 15 years of experience in the credit card processing industry as a journalist, consultant, and former merchant account sales professional. He started this project as a blog to expose merchant services providers that engage in predatory business practices, such as deceptive marketing, misleading pricing, and high-pressure sales tactics. His goal is to help business owners find merchant account providers who serve their industry well while offering fair rates with no junk fees and no long-term commitments.

Phillip has researched over 1,000 payment processors and been quoted in numerous high-profile publications, including the Los Angeles Time, INC Magazine, The Atlantic, and the Miami Herald among others.

Need advice on card acceptance? Schedule a consultation with Phillip.

Phillip’s Top Processor Picks:
Retail, restaurant, e-commerce, mobile, professional services, and invoicing, Phillip recommends Helcim and CDG Commerce.

High-risk businesses, Phillip recommends PaymentCloud and Host Merchant Services.

How Our Ratings Work

Please note that our rating system was overhauled on April 26th, 2023. Reviews dated before this date may not score in accordance with the following.

Star Rating Criteria:

At the start of our research, all processors are awarded five stars. We deduct stars if the processor engages in any of the following:

– One star deduction if the processor has any junk fees.

– One star deduction if the processor does not post its pricing clearly on its website.

– One Star deduction if the processor is suffering from moderate client complaints.

– Multiple Star deductions if a processor is suffering from severe complaints, imposes unjust cancellation fees, markets non-cancellable equipment leases, engages in predatory rate pricing, or may be engaged in illegal activities.

Get all of the details regarding out rating criteria here.

Educational Resources

Before You Switch Processors, Find Out How Other Businesses Got Fee Refunds From Their Current Processor.

Phillip's Popular Reviews
stripe logo
Stripe Credit Card Processing
March 19, 2023
502 Comments
square credit card processing logo
Square Card Reader & POS
March 19, 2023
2222 Comments
Intuit Merchant Services
March 17, 2023
276 Comments
Shopify Logo
Shopify E-Commerce
February 11, 2022
18 Comments

Here Are The Processors Who Don't Hide Fees

Some processors have no monthly, no annual fees, no contract, and cheap rates.

Phillip's Top Picks by Industry

Should You Work In Merchant Services?

It's a cut throat industry. Get the truth here.

Quickbooks Payments Too Expensive?

These processors offer Quickbooks integration and have low rates.

Overpaying? Find Out.

processing cost calculator

Here's Where To Report Bad Processors

Start by leaving a comment at the end of this review

Advertisement


Our Readers Frequently Choose