Sage Payment Solutions Review

Merchant Maverick's Rating: (3.5 out of 5)

Last Updated: February 9th, 2012.

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Overview:
Sage Payment Solutions is based out of McLean, Virginia and has been in business since 1989. They are one of the larger credit card processors out there and offer a wide range of services including mobile payments.

They have a decent amount of complaints on their BBB profile, but relative to their size, it's not an alarming amount.

The main reason why they received a lower score from me is because their merchant accounts seem to carry a high early termination fee (see Cancellation Fee). When there are other providers that don't charge a cancellation fee at all, it becomes difficult justifying going with a provider like Sage. If you still want to work with them, then I suggest you ask if they will waive the cancellation fee for you.

You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube.

Read the rest of this review for more information about Sage.

Sage Payment Solutions gets a 3.5 out of 5 rating.

Date Established:
1989.

Location:
McLean, Virginia.

Domain Name(s):
www.sagepayments.com

Parent/Partner Company:
Sage Payment Solutions is part of The Sage Group conglomerate.

Type:
ISO/MSP.

Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Harris Bank and HSBC Bank.

Payment Processor(s):
Sage is the processor, but they also contract with TSYS and Chase Paymentech.

Payment Gateway(s):
They use their self-branded Sage Gateway, so make sure it's compatible with the shopping cart you plan on using.

Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.

Trust Symbols:
You can find the Sage Payment Solutions BBB profile here. They have an "A-" rating and 35 complaints as of this update.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:
There are a decent amount of negative reviews and complaints spread across the web. The best way to seek them out would be to do a search for Sage Payment Solutions complaints, Sage Payment Solutions reviews, Sage Payment Solutions scam, etc...

Common Complaints:
From the complaints that I read, it was hard for me to nail down any specific patterns, but here are a few things worth mentioning...

• High cancellation fee: Sage Payment Solutions charges an early termination fee. From what I've read, that fee can vary widely, so what that tells me is that they probably have some sort of liquidated damages type cancellation fee, where they charge you a set amount multiplied by the number of months left in your contract. Definitely not a good setup.
• PCI compliance fee: It seems Sage charges an annual PCI compliance fee of $100.00. Although PCI compliance is necessary for anyone that plans on accepting credit cards for their business, Sage is not required to charge their merchants any type of fee for that compliance. So, contrary to what you may have heard, processor's are not required to pass that charge on to you.
• Poor customer service: There were a few complaints about Sage's customer service, or lack thereof.

Verifiable Testimonials/References:
You can find a few success stories and testimonials on the Sage website. Good stuff Sage! Be sure to ask them for references as well. Specifically for companies that are in your same industry.

Security/Privacy:
No on-site security features (i.e. McAfee, Security Metrics etc...). The security issue really depends on what kind of information the merchant account provider is collecting from you. If they require you to fill out a full digital application with sensitive info like SSN numbers, then they should definitely have some third-party security in place. Sometimes, and in the case of Sage Payment Solutions, the initial contact form only requires some basic info, then the real application is taken care of by fax or later on through a secure online app.

Customer Service:
I tried to contact their sales and support on two separate occasions via email, and once during a live chat session. I didn't get a response to either email, and I ended up closing the chat session after waiting about 10 minutes. I've also read some complaints about Sage's customer service/support so I don't believe it's the best.

Contract Duration:
3-years (auto-renewing).

Cancellation Fee:
I wasn't able to get an exact amount for the Sage early termination fee, but noticed varying amounts based on the complaints that I read. I'm assuming that they have some sort of Liquidated Damages type contract, which can be especially expensive to the merchant.

Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by Sage Payment Solutions. Make sure you ask for it though. Most processors don't offer it up unless it's asked for.

Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered by Sage.

Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Online/e-Commerce Payments, ACH, Mobile, Gift & Loyalty, Cash Advance, Recurring Billing, Virtual Terminal.

Product/Service Specialty:
None.

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