Charge Card Systems Inc. Review

Merchant Maverick's Rating: (4 out of 5)

Last Updated: April 29th, 2010.

Overview:
Charge Card Systems (CCS) understands what it means to do business in the digital age. They aren't afraid of social media like most other ISO/MSPs. Instead they've embraced it as part of doing business online. That's why they have a Twitter account, Facebook page, Yelp profile and a blog, where you as the customer get a chance to voice your opinion directly on one of their online channels.

Besides being excellent on the social media front, CCS is covering the usual areas pretty well too. They have a great BBB score, no complaints (as of yet) and they have a low cancellation fee of $50 compared to the industry standard of $350. But, as always, be sure to read through your whole contract to verify what your rates and terms will be.

I would really like to see some verifiable testimonials on their site, which seems to be the only major thing that they're missing. Full case studies would be even better, but not absolutely necessary.

Charge Card Systems gets a 4 out of 5 for now.

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Date Established:
2003.

Location:
Boca Raton, Florida.

Domain Name(s):

• www.chargecardsystems.com.
• www.franchisemerchantservices.com.
• www.chargecardsystemsholdings.com.

Parent/Partner Company:
I wasn't able to find any parent or partner companies, so CCS probably operates solo.

Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.

Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Wells Fargo Bank.

Payment Processor(s):
First Data, National Processing Company or Chase Paymentech.

Payment Gateway(s):
Can integrate you with any payment gateway, but usually opt for their own CCS ePay gateway or Authorize.Net.

Do you need help setting up your payment gateway? See the payment gateway integration services page.

Trust Symbols:
The CCS BBB profile is sporting an "A+" rating with 0 complaints as of this review. They're also part of the BBB Trustlink program, so feel free to leave a review over there.

Negative Reviews:
Couldn't find a single complaint on these guys, but I promise you that I'll definitely keep tabs on 'em.

Common Complaints:
None.

Verifiable Testimonials/References:
I couldn't find any testimonials on the site, which is funny to me because the CCS blog mentions how important they are for a merchant account provider to have.

Positive, legitimate customer testimonials - look for a provider that is able to provide proof of long-standing satisfied customers. - CCS Blog

So, a quick message to CCS, if you don't have testimonials, then I think it's time you put some up. If you do have them, they need to be a bit more visible.

Security/Privacy:
No on-site security features (i.e. Verisign, TrustE, McAfee etc...).

Customer Service:
Judging by the lack of negative reviews, I'm assuming that CCS has great customer service. I was personally contacted by one of the founders in response to an email I sent them, so that's always a plus.

I'll dig a little deeper to find some folks who've actually done business with CCS to see how their experience was. In the meantime, if you've worked with them, please let us know how they are.

Contract Duration:
The CCS contract length is 3-years.

Cancellation Fee:
A cancellation fee of $50 will be applied if you cancel before the contract term.

Interchange-Plus Pricing:
CCS does offer interchange-plus pricing.

Seasonal Downtime:
They offer seasonal downtime as well.

Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Internet (e-Commerce), Wireless, Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO), Cash Advance, Check Processing (e-Check), Gift Cards, Recurring Payments.

Product/Service Specialty:
No particular specialty for CCS. They do however offer services to a few niche industries like: Medical Practices & Hospitals, Veterinarians, Associations and Chambers of Commerce, Home Heating Oil/Fuel Dealers and Non-Profits. A rather strange mix of industries, but what the heck, they obviously have some experience with those types of businesses if they're pushing them on their site.

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