Smart Choice Payments Review

Moderate-to-High Complaint Total

We are currently able to locate more than 50 negative Smart Choice Payments reviews, some of which accuse the company of being a scam. This total does not include the more than 50 complaints we have found regarding Wholesale Merchant Processing or the additional complaints filed against First Choice Payments and North American Processing Solutions.

Smart Choice Payments Complaint Contents

Common themes among complainants include nondisclosure of contract terms, poor customer service, expensive equipment leases, and an unprofessional work environment. Many complaints (and responses from company representatives) mention Smart Choice and Wholesale Merchant Processing as though they are the same company, so we will not differentiate between the two entities in this section.

Smart Choice Payments Lawsuits

We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Smart Choice Payments. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

Ripoff Report “Corporate Advocacy”

As noted elsewhere in this review, Smart Choice Payments has paid Ripoff Report in order to participate in that website’s “Corporate Advocacy Program.” This program makes it difficult to find the title and content of targeted complaints on Ripoff Report. Merchants are advised to scroll completely down the page to read the full details of each complaint.

Smart Choice Payments Customer Support Options

Smart Choice has been assigned the same rating in this section as Wholesale Merchant Processing because there is no indication that the companies are different from each other. The company lists phone and email contact information on its website, but its complaint record precludes it from being considered a top merchant account provider for customer service.

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 25 Complaints

Smart Choice Payments currently has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and is not BBB-accredited. The company currently has 23 complaints on its BBB profile, with 15 related to product or service issues, nine having to do with billing or collection, and three due to advertising or sales issues. 8 complaints were successfully resolved, while the remaining 15 complaints either were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant.

What Merchants Say

Smart Choice has also received 8 informal reviews to its BBB profile, two of which were positive in tone and seven of which were negative. The most recent review describes persistent telemarketing tactics:

They do auto dialer cold calls with no way to stop except for blocking the number. They used **SSN**

This merchant might benefit from taking the steps to shut down sales calls.

A “D” Performance Overall

Despite the fact that Smart Choice’s BBB profile is technically separate from Wholesale Merchant Processing’s BBB profile, we do not differentiate between the two companies like the BBB. We will therefore apply Wholesale Merchant Processing’s 28 complaints to Smart Choice Payments’s profile for now, and adjust its rating to a “D” to reflect how our own rating system would score it.

Three-Year Contract

The standard Smart Choice Payments contract (available below) is a three-year agreement with an early termination fee of $495, a monthly PCI compliance fee of $4.95, a monthly minimum fee of $25, a monthly statement fee of $10, and an accompanying non-cancellable, four-year equipment lease through Northern Leasing Systems. In addition, we have found one report of an additional early termination fee of $900 that is charged upon cancellation. This sounds a lot like a similar $893.98 fee charged by Wholesale Merchant Processing, but we are unable to determine why the company charges it under either name.

Beware Long-Term Leases

As with Wholesale Merchant Processing, the company’s merchant account contract terms are more expensive than industry averages and would warrant a rating at least as low as “C” on their own. However, two other factors lower the company’s score in this section to an “F.” First, the company’s agents appear to commonly package their processing agreements with long-term equipment leases through Northern Leasing Systems. Northern Leasing Systems is notorious for selling non-cancellable four-year leases that charge thousands of dollars for equipment that can be purchased for under $500. Second, the regular complaints about nondisclosure of contract terms indicate that many merchants are signing up with the understanding that they will not face many of these fees. This makes the contract’s length and fee structure even more damaging for unsuspecting merchants.

Higher-Than-Average Costs

Smart Choice Payments appears to offer substandard contract terms overall, and we do not consider its pricing to be even remotely competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts. See the Smart Choice Payments Merchant Application and the Smart Choice Payments Program Guide.

Sales Complaints

Like Wholesale Merchant Processing, Smart Choice Payments appears to sell its products and services through a combination of telemarketing and independently contracted sales agents. We have found a number of Smart Choice Payments complaints that cite nondisclosure of contract terms, misrepresentation of rates, and difficulty contacting sales agents after the contract was signed. A number of complaints from former and current employees also describe a “hiring mill” type of environment.

A Familiar Pattern

These complaints generally mirror those filed against Wholesale Merchant Processing, and many Smart Choice complaints also mention WMP as though they are the same company. In our opinion, this means that the dozens of complaints available online about Wholesale Merchant Processing are at least partially applicable to Smart Choice Payments.

Ripoff Report Complaints

Smart Choice Payments has previously paid Ripoff Report in order to participate in that website’s “Corporate Advocacy Program,” which enables Smart Choice to paste its own promotional copy above certain merchant complaints. It is our belief that this practice reflects poorly on any company, as it only makes it harder for merchants to see what other business owners have to say about the company. In addition, Smart Choice appears to be one of a number of DBAs and subsidiary entities that Wholesale Merchant Processing has established across the country. This strategy is commonly used by some providers to spread complaints across multiple brands or to escape the negative reputation of an existing brand.

Some Red Flags

Taking into account the complaints filed against both Wholesale Merchant Processing and Smart Choice, we have assigned Smart Choice a “D” in this section. If you suspect that Smart Choice Payments is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden costs.

Not a Competitive Option for Most Merchants

Smart Choice Payments rates as a substandard merchant services provider according to our rating criteria. The company does not appear to be substantively different from Wholesale Merchant Processing, which scores very poorly by our standards. Merchants who have been contacted by Smart Choice Payments or Wholesale Merchant Processing are advised to request and review all documentation before signing up. They may also want to consider opting for a top-rated merchant account instead.