Soar Payments Review: Fees, Comparisons, Complaints & Lawsuits
(888) 225-9405 High-Risk Specialists
Founded in 2015, Soar Payments is a merchant account provider that specializes in high-risk and offshore credit card processing for U.S based businesses.
Soar Payments Payment Processing
Soar Payments processes all major debit and credit cards for high-risk merchants. Despite its focus on hard-to-place business types, the company is also capable of serving standard-risk business types. Soar Payments is partnered with Chargeback.com to offer its merchants tools for handling disputed payments. Soar Payments’ services include EMV card readers and swipers, POS solutions, mobile solutions, virtual terminals, e-commerce solutions including shopping carts, and ACH and e-check processing.
Soar Payments Location & Ownership
Soar Payments is sponsored by 12 different banks, some of which are offshore. Adam Carlson is the CEO of Soar Payments, which is headquartered at 21 Waterway Ave Ste 300, The Woodlands, TX 77380.
Soar Payments Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: Soar Payments appears to offer variable contract terms based on each merchant’s risk profile.
- Complaints & Service: Soar Payments complaints number fewer than 10 on public complaints forums.
- BBB Rating: Soar Payments has an “A+” rating and has received 0 complaints and 0 reviews in the past 3 years. The company has been accredited by the BBB since 2018.
- Sales & Marketing: Soar Payments does not appear to hire independent sales representatives and has not received any complaints about its sales practices.
Soar Payments offers payment processing to high-risk businesses
Soar Payments Customer Reviews
Here's What Their Clients Say
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Online Complaints | <10 |
| Live Customer Support | Yes |
| Most Common Complaint | N/A |
Low Complaint Total
We are currently able to locate only one negative Soar Payments review, and this complaint does not accuse the company of being a scam or a ripoff. In this sole Soar Payments complaint, the merchant describes unauthorized charges and excessive chargeback fees, but this particular case appears to be more related to the merchant’s misunderstanding about their risk exposure as a high-risk business type. If you have your own Soar Payments review to make, please do so below.
Soar Payments Lawsuits
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Soar 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.
Soar Payments Customer Service Options
Soar Payments offers phone and email contact information on its website, but it’s unclear whether these channels are dedicated to customer support. It may be that the company tasks its sponsoring banks with handling customer support for some issues.
We have located multiple Soar Payments customer service numbers:
(888) 225-9405 – Toll-Free General Customer Service
(281) 725-6594 – Fax
Soar also offers a sales email at [email protected].
Soar Payments’ support options are not enough to qualify it as a top-rated merchant account provider for customer service.
Soar Payments Online Ratings
Here's How They Rate Online
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Product & Service Complaints | 0 |
| Delivery Complaints | 0 |
No BBB Complaints
The BBB currently awards Soar Payments accreditation and an “A+” rating. The BBB has received 0 complaints filed against the company, but the BBB profile has only been active since July 2018.
What Merchants Say
Soar Payments has had 0 informal reviews posted to its BBB profile. However, a previous review reflects merchant satisfaction with customer service:
Great place to go for high risk merchant services! I love the consistent communication and how each day during the approval process I was updated on the status of my application. There were no surprises or request for more information once the underwriting process started. Soar Payments did an amazing job getting me approved through *** for my merchant account! Would highly recommend for all businesses needing a merchant account for e-commerce services.
This review reflects the unique level of service required to serve high-risk merchant account providers.
An “A” Performance Overall
Given Soar Payments’ clean complaint record, we agree with the BBB’s rating at this time, but merchants should be aware that there is reason to be skeptical of the BBB’s reviews.
Soar Payments Fees, Rates & Costs
A Closer Look at The Contract
| Item | Result | >
|---|---|
| ACH Debit Rate (Mid-to-High Rick) | 2.50% Per Transaction |
| Gateway Fee (Mid-to-High Risk) | $15 Per Month + $0.25 Per Transaction |
| Gateway Fee (Low Risk) | $10 Per Month + $0.10 Per Transaction |
| Chargeback Fee (Mid-to-High Risk) | $45 |
| Chargeback Fee (Low Risk) | $15 |
| Interchange-Plus (Low Risk) | Interchange + 0.05% |
| Monthly Minimum Fee | $25+ |
| Early Termination Fee (Mid-to-High Risk) | $495 |
| PCI Non-Compliance Fee | $19.95+ |
| Equipment Lease Terms | $0 (during contract) |
Variable Contract Terms
Soar Payments bifurcates it terms and conditions between two tiers; low-risk and mid to high-risk merchants.
Mid to high-risk merchants are offered a two-year contract that automatically renews for 1 year. This includes an early termination fee of $495, which is voided after the completion of the initial contract period. This contract includes two-tiered pricing for mid-qualified and non-qualified merchants. Mid-qualified merchants are offered a rate as low as 2.49% for all transactions. High-risk merchants are charged a gateway fee of $15 per month and $0.25 per transaction. ACH debit transactions include a $15 monthly fee and 2.50% per transaction. All merchants, whether mid-qualified or non-qualified are subject to a $45 chargeback fee, well above the industry standard of $25. Other Soar Payments fees and terms may vary depending on the severity of the merchant’s risk.
Merchants who fit the company’s low-risk qualifications are offered month-to-month contracts with interchange-plus pricing. The rate for this pricing model is 0.05% without any interchange markup for swiped and keyed-in transactions. A merchant on-file fee or $10 per month, monthly minimum processing threshold of $25, low-risk gateway costs of $10 per month/$0.10 per transaction, and PCI non-compliance fee of $19.95 per month are also applicable. Low-risk merchants pay a chargeback fee of $15 as opposed to the $45 charged to mid to high-risk merchants.
Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing
In addition to its storefront payment processing services, Soar Payments also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. The company charges a gateway fee of $15 per month and $0.25 per transaction to mid to high-risk merchants while low-risk merchants are charged $10 per month and $0.10 per transaction in addition to the company’s standard rates.
Read Terms Thoroughly
Soar Payments advertises free terminals for its standard-risk merchants, which may indicate that it actually offers free terminals for the duration of the merchant account contract and that it will charge merchants a fee if the equipment is not returned in accordance with the company’s preferred schedule. Merchants are advised to read and understand all provisions of this terminal agreement before signing up for service. We encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant services.
No Contract Complaints
There are currently no public merchant complaints about Soar Payments’ contract terms, so we are unable to determine if the company’s terms are competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts, but we will not lower its score in this section. If you have any specific knowledge of the standard Soar Payments contract (including any PCI compliance fees or monthly minimum fees), please share that information in the comment section below this review.
Soar Payments Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs
Should You Work For Them?
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Employs Independent Resellers | Yes |
| Advertises Deceptive Rates | Yes |
| Discloses All Important Terms | No |
Soar Payments Sales Approach
Soar Payments appears to primarily market its services through referral partnerships with other ISOs and independent agents. Like many high-risk merchant account providers, the company positions itself as a referral option where ISOs can send their hard-to-place merchants for offshore processing. Soar Payments also pursues its own merchants directly through advertising. We are currently unable to locate any Soar Payments reviews that accuse the company’s sales representatives of unethical conduct. This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.
An Abundance of Claims
At the time of our previous update, most pages of the Soar Payments website mentioned that the company has been voted the “#1 High Risk Credit Card Processor,” that “98.7% of accounts are approved,” and that the company offers “High Risk Rates as Low as 2.49%.” Merchant should take claims like these with a grain of salt, as they rely either on unvetted third-party reviewers, the company’s own internal metrics, or a “teaser” rate that isn’t close to a merchant’s effective rate. Since that update, Soar Payments appears to have removed much of this language from its site.
“A” Rated For Now
Soar Payments retains its “A” rating due to its clean complaint record, but merchants should remain skeptical when reading its promotional materials. If you suspect that Soar Payments is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to find and eliminate hidden charges.
Our Soar Payments Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts
One Option for High-Risk Businesses
Soar Payments rates as a reliable high-risk merchant services provider according to all available information. However, the details of its pricing and contract terms remain vague at this time and the credit card processor is not among our choices for the best high-risk merchant accounts. Our rating may be subject to change as Soar continues to operate and build a reputation for itself among merchants.
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James SMith
ADAM THE OWNER IS THREATING TO CLOSE OUR ACCOUNT DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY THEY ARE FRUAD DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH SOAR PAYMENTS
Jimmy A.
I switched my small ecomm business from Infusionsoft Payments (WePay) to Soar Payments a few months ago. And I’ve been happy with the outcome so far.
Technologically speaking, everything at Infusionsoft/WePay was working just fine. But the fees were really high, not to mention opaque.
Soar Payments has done a good job of getting our fees down and the cost is much more transparent, compared to WePay. Also, finding someone who reduced friendly fraud and who made it easy to fight illegitimate chargebacks was important for my business. Soar Payments has done quite well in this regard.