PaySimple Review
PaySimple combines merchant services with tools businesses can use to manage a base of customers with complex, detailed needs.
PaySimple
Total Rating | 3.7 |
---|---|
Fees & Rates3.1 | |
Products & Services4.5 | |
Contract4.4 | |
Sales & Advertising Transparency3.0 | |
Customer Service3.6 | |
User Reviews4.3 |
PaySimple At A Glance
- Payment processing platform focused on service industries
- Offers full-service merchant accounts through Vantiv or NAB
- Excellent invoicing and subscription payment tools
Pros
- Ideal for service industries
- No early termination fee
- Good subscription and invoicing tools
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Not suitable for high-volume, card-present merchants
- Not good for international merchants
- Costly tiered pricing
Table of Contents
What Is PaySimple?
PaySimple is a merchant service company aimed at the service industry. As such, it combines payment processing with tools businesses can use to manage a base of customers with complex, detailed needs, such as legal offices, medical services, educational services, and so on. In the process of signing up for PaySimple’s payment gateway and cloud-based software suite, you will also be assigned a dedicated merchant account with a separate processor on the back end.
PaySimple lets you accept payments, invoice customers, track customer information, and set up recurring payment systems — all with a significant degree of customization but without any specialized knowledge required on your part. You don’t even need to bother with a separate shopping cart integration. Your whole billing system is run through sophisticated and sleek payment pages designed to collect payment data and other important information about your customers.
While it’s not a bad platform for the service industry, it’s not the cheapest option around and offers very limited support for in-person transactions.
Products & Services
Products & Services4.5 |
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Software & Services 4.0 |
Hardware & Equipment 5.0 |
PaySimple’s primary products are a merchant account, an admin panel for viewing reports, setting up recurring billing, etc., and a basic point-of-sale system. It’s a basic offering that may be lacking for many merchants. On the other hand, many of the platform’s features (such as recurring billing and CRM tools) are ideal for service industries. You’ll have to decide if PaySimple’s particular product mix is right for you.
Let’s examine the features of PaySimple’s platform in more detail.
Fees & Rates
Fees & Rates3.1 |
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Pricing 2.8 |
Affordability 3.4 |
PaySimple’s main pricing page only lists two numbers to represent pricing. It says that credit card processing rates are “as low as” 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction + monthly fees. I’m always wary of rates that are marketing “as low as” price points. Typically, this indicates that you will be set up on a tiered pricing model by default, and that proves to be the case here. Due to its unpredictability and opaque pricing standards, tiered pricing is not our favorite. That said, PaySimple is unusually transparent about its tiered pricing, which earns it back a few points. Still, you’ll be able to see how quickly the fees can compound.
What this means in practical terms is that business and corporate cards will be processed at a higher transaction fee, as will cards with rewards programs.
You have to dig for it, but you can find additional pricing information deeper within the website. There is a Starter Plan and a Standard Plan. If you qualify for it, the Starter plan has considerably better pricing overall. Volume discounts are available for merchants who process over $50,000 per month.
Rates for both of these plans are below:
Starter Package | Standard Package | |
---|---|---|
Monthly Maintenance Fee | $29.95 | $79.95 |
Starting Rate Per Transaction | 2.54% + $0.35 | 2.54% + $0.35
Amex qualified: 2.89% Amex non-qualified: 3.99% |
Non-Qualified Surcharge (Business & Corporate Cards) | Adds 0.76% | Adds 1.46% |
Rewards Surcharge | Adds 0.11% | Adds 0.11% |
Chargeback Fee | $25 | $30 |
Batch Fee | $0.29 | $0.39 |
On File Fee | $0.29 | $6.50 |
PCI Program Fee | $4.95 per month or year (depending on backend processor) | $5.95 per month |
PCI Non-Compliance Fee | $79.95 | $79.95 |
ACH Processing Fee | $1.05 | $0.69 |
ACH Assessment Fee (Under $5,000) | 0.20% | 0.25% |
ACH High Ticket Surcharge (Over $5,000) | 0.25% | 0.25% |
ACH Batch Fee | $0.75 | $0.75 |
ACH Reverse/Refund | $1 | $0.60 |
ACH Return (Cancel Or Void) | $5 | $5 |
ACH Chargeback Fee | $25 | $25 |
ACH Monthly Minimum | $5 | $5 |
Note there is a $5 monthly fee for ACH processing
PaySimple’s processors can also accommodate interchange-plus rates for some merchants. Since there are apparently no hard and fast volume thresholds or other rules that make you eligible, I’d say ask for a cost-plus quote from PaySimple, at least for comparison’s sake. Just know that, depending on your volume and specific circumstances, PaySimple may steer you back toward the standard tiered setup.
Sales & Advertising Transparency
Sales & Advertising Transparency3.0 |
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Sales Practices 3.0 |
Web Presence 3.0 |
PaySimple has a plethora of excellent and well-organized resources on its website. I especially appreciate when a company provides you with tools to figure out if it’s the right fit for your business, openly admitting this may not always be the case. However, PaySimple still suffers from a couple of advertising transparency issues that are common within the industry.
The first is promoting rates “as low as” on the main pricing page, followed by only the cost of the cheapest transaction tier. As soon as your customer uses a corporate card or a rewards card of any kind, your rate bumps up. I eventually stumbled upon the exact non-qualified surcharges for the higher rate tiers a few layers into the support section, but I don’t like that it was hard to find.
If PaySimple wants to keep using “as low as” language, we need to see the higher rates directly and clearly linked from the main pricing page. Otherwise, the lowest rate comes across as a teaser.
Contract Length & Early Termination Fee
Contract4.4 |
---|
Commitment 5.0 |
ETF & Other Fees 3.8 |
Your PaySimple platform subscription has no early termination fee, meaning you are free to cancel without penalty. You’ll just need to pay for the current month and give notice in writing ten days before you want to cancel. “Term and Termination” is covered in section 10 of the Terms of Service document, conveniently posted in the Legal section of the PaySimple site.
You’ll also sign a merchant agreement with a processor when you sign up for PaySimple, which will be on a month-to-month plan with no early termination fee. If you end up canceling, it doesn’t hurt to watch your bank account for any lingering fees from either PaySimple or your processor. Most processors require you to cancel in writing, so don’t neglect this step.
Customer Service & Technical Support
Customer Service3.6 |
---|
Personal Support 4.4 |
Self-Service 2.8 |
Along with the services PaySimple offers, customer support is a strength for this company. I love that PaySimple provides training and support for you and your employees. Based on the users I’ve heard from, the training seems to be in-depth and a great asset overall.
PaySimple Support | Availability |
---|---|
Phone Support | |
Email Support | |
Support Tickets | |
Live Chat | |
Dedicated Support Representative | |
Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
Videos & Tutorials | |
Company Blog | |
Social Media |
Some resources are only available once logged into the platform, but there are still plenty of options to explore without an account.
User Reviews
User Reviews4.3 |
---|
Customer Feedback 4.0 |
Review Site Aggregate 4.4 |
Negative PaySimple Reviews & Complaints”
On its A+ rated BBB profile, you’ll find 17 complaints filed against PaySimple over the last three years, seven of which occurred in the previous 12 months. This is a relatively small number for a company of this size. The BBB also plays host to four negative reviews. PaySimple appears fair and communicative when complaints reach third-party sites such as the BBB. Occasionally, PaySimple issues refunds, even when it’s not obligated to do so.
Overall, PaySimple has received very few complaints. In fact, I’ve seen more positive comments than negative ones, which is almost unheard of in the payment processing space. Among the few complaints I’ve found, these themes crop up the most:
- Merchant Account Confusion: A handful of merchants have complained that they did not understand that a merchant account would be opened via a separate company. They did not understand the role of the processor or that PaySimple was not the processor. This usually became evident following a withheld transaction or chargeback.
- Minor UI Difficulties: Merchants frequently had suggestions for how PaySimple could streamline its user interface. It seems that a few of the functions are not the most intuitive or efficient for daily use.
- Confusion Over Pricing & Fees: Some customers complained that they were surprised by the fee structure after signing up.
- Unanticipated/Hidden Fees: These complaints had to do with the “as low as” rates we mentioned before. PaySimple markets the lowest possible rates on qualified transactions. Merchants will find that many of their transactions do not qualify for that low rate, and monthly fees can add up, making PaySimple more expensive than expected.
- Held Funds: Some complaints mentioned held funds. We often see this complaint with payment processors (and, technically, PaySimple isn’t the company handling processing), but it’s still worth noting.
I will say that PaySimple has created several posts and articles that help clarify the merchant account underwriting process and the role of PaySimple versus your processor. These resources are better and more extensive than what most MSPs provide their merchants and are worth reading. Unfortunately, reading them after you’ve already experienced a hold or terminated account stings.
Positive PaySimple Reviews & Testimonials
Gathering authentic and persuasive testimonials for your company can be difficult, but PaySimple has managed to pull this off in a variety of effective ways. For some short and sweet quotes from business owners organized by industry, start with the Testimonial page. Despite their brevity, many include hard figures and other convincing details. Real business owners and business names are identified in each case.
I also looked through the plentiful 4- and 5-star reviews from users on other third-party sites. Overall, what do merchants love most about PaySimple?
- Ease Of Use: This is the most common positive review I’ve seen for PaySimple. Merchants say the back end is easy to learn and use, and it’s easy to set up a merchant account and start processing payments quickly.
- Great Customer Support: I’ve seen lots of positive feedback about PaySimple’s customer support team. My own experience communicating with PaySimple aligns with this.
- Increased Automation Of Payments & Billing: Merchants in service industries say that recurring billing is one of their favorite features. It saves them the time of processing individual payments manually, and automated reminder emails save them the trouble of reminding customers about their payments.
- More Affordable Option: A few merchants say that PaySimple’s rates and fees are the lowest available for their business.
Final Verdict on PaySimple.com
PaySimple is an unusual company in that it offers both tiered pricing and a reasonable amount of transparency, along with month-to-month contracts. The company’s focus on delivering useful platform-like tools to the service industry puts it in competition with third-party processors like Square and Stripe. While PaySimple does offer something those companies do not–a full merchant account–it’s just not as competitive on pricing as it could be.
Overall, while you could do a lot worse than PaySimple, it’s not all that hard to find better deals. We’d recommend PaySimple only to merchants who particularly find its supporting software suite to closely fit their needs.
Looking for credit card processing alternatives? Check out our picks for the best credit card processing companies.
Credit Card Processor Review Methodology
We evaluate and test each payment processor that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key characteristics in order to generate our granular ratings for merchant accounts and credit card processors.
For payment processing reviews, we use a 24-point rubric to evaluate the provider. First, we look at pricing structure – interchange plus, subscription-based, tiered, or hybrid – giving the most points to providers that provide fair, transparent pricing and docking those that rely on tiered models. Then we examine rates, the presence and transparency of early termination fees, and any additional fees.
We also look at contract length and fairness and test out sales staff and customer service channels ourselves to ensure that the company uses reputable, above-the-board sales techniques. Finally, we take the company’s online reputation into account, reading customer reviews and comments.
Read more about how we rate payment processors.
We've done in-depth research on each and confidently recommend them.
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