PowerPay Review

About PowerPay

Based in Portland, Maine, PowerPay (powerpay.biz) is a merchant account provider that primarily markets credit card processing services to e-commerce and telephone-order business types, but the company states that it can also supply merchant accounts and services for most other processing needs. PowerPay is the parent company of e-onlinedata and appears to be either a direct processor with HSBC Bank or a reseller of EVO/Global Payments. The company utilizes Authorize.net for its payment gateway and virtual terminal, so a PowerPay merchant may be dealing with multiple companies depending on the card acceptance methods needed. The company is also often referred to as “Power Pay,” with two separate words. Jim Raftice is listed as the president of PowerPay.

For a company of its size and time in business, PowerPay has a low-to-moderate volume of complaints filed online. The common theme among the complaints that do exist are reports of sudden account terminations initiated by PowerPay, sudden holds placed on funds, unexpected fees, difficulty with resolving problems, and trouble reaching the company’s customer service. The issues with fund withholding appear to be split between legitimate complaints about poor communication and account setup by PowerPay and complaints by merchants whose accounts were cancelled due to very high chargeback rates. Overall, PowerPay’s phone support appears to provide an industry-average level of customer assistance.

As of this update, the Better Business Bureau is showing that PowerPay has been BBB accredited since 2004 and is awarding the company an “A+” rating. PowerPay has received 65 complaints within the last 36 months. Of the total, 32 are regarding billing disputes, 30 are related to product and service problems, two have to do with advertising or sales issues, and one is a delivery problem. PowerPay has resolved 14 of the complaints successfully, while the remaining 51 were either resolved to the dissatisfaction of the complainant or did not receive a final assessment from the complainant. PowerPay also has 19 negative reviews filed against its BBB profile compared to just one positive review, although it should be noted that these reviews are not subject to BBB verification. In light of the company’s complaint total and resolution ratio, we have adjusted the BBB’s rating to a “B-.”

Like most traditional merchant account providers, pricing with PowerPay may vary based on several factors such as a merchant’s business type, processing volume and the agent setting up the account. Generally, this means PowerPay’s rates and fees are highly negotiable. Learn how to get the lowest merchant account rates and fees in “Fee Sweep.”

An agent informed us that PowerPay offers month-to-month contracts with no cancellation fee, which is ideal for most businesses. This appears to be only partially true, however, as a copy of the company’s merchant agreement (available below) reveals a three-year credit card processing agreement with a $250 early termination fee. Merchants can avoid paying this fee by submitting a written notice of their intent to cancel at least 30 days in advance of switching providers. Failure to provide notice will result in being charged the early termination fee, and several merchants appear to have experienced this penalty as a result of not clearly understanding the policy.

The sample contract provided also lists an annual fee of $29, a monthly service fee of $10, a monthly minimum fee of $25, and an Authorize.net setup fee of $99. It is unclear at the time of this review whether PowerPay imposes a PCI Compliance fee, so merchants are encouraged to inquire about it before proceeding with account setup. See the PowerPay Merchant Agreement.

This reviewer found no uses of deceptive advertising or rate quoting by PowerPay. The company relies heavily on recruiting outside independent sales agents, a practice which normally lowers a company’s score due to an elevated complaint rate. PowerPay is no exception, as there are multiple PowerPay negative reviews that allege nondisclosure of contract terms and hidden fees, particularly with regard to early termination fees and cash reserves. Although the total number of complaints regarding the company’s sales practices is low for PowerPay’s size, the fact that complainants consistently report surprise fees is enough to lower the company’s grade to a “B” in this category.

Overall, PowerPay rates as above average in most sections of this review. It appears that the company’s most common area of merchant dissatisfaction is in regards to communication over processing limits and fund holding policies. As a precaution, high volume and high-ticket merchants may want to inquire about limits and funding policies prior to establishing an account with PowerPay.