PaymentCloud Review

• Credit Card Terminals: You have the option to receive one “free” terminal per merchant account, and you won’t be directly charged for using it. Think of this terminal as on-loan for as long as you maintain your account. If you close your account, you must ship the terminal back to PaymentCloud immediately to avoid the company charging you the full cost of the machine. PaymentCloud offers a host of terminals from major manufacturers, including Verifone, Ingenico, Dejavoo, Poynt, PAX, Clover, and others. These machines are all EMV-compliant, and most also support NFC-based payment methods, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. These contactless payment methods have been growing in popularity recently due in part to pandemic-related safety concerns. Wireless models are available as well. (Note: PaymentCloud no longer offers equipment leases, and we encourage you to buy your equipment outright whenever possible.)
• Point Of Sale (POS) Systems: These systems are provided through PaymentCloud’s back-end processors and now include Clover devices such as the Clover Station Duo. Many other options are also available; you can usually choose between tablet-based systems and dedicated registers.
• Mobile Payments: Similar to the other equipment offered through PaymentCloud, you’ll have several options for mobile hardware. These include Bluetooth and audio-jack readers compatible with iOS and Android that incorporate EMV and contactless payments. This equipment and any associated payment app will depend on your back-end processor. The website has little specific information on this topic, so consult a sales representative for more details. If you’d prefer a free mobile reader instead of a full credit card terminal with your account, this is also an option.

• Payment Gateway: For online processing, PaymentCloud prefers the popular Authorize.Net payment gateway. USAePay is typically PaymentCloud’s second-in-line option, but you can also use most other well-known providers or your current gateway. The Authorize.Net gateway includes a developer toolbox with open API if you need to customize your site’s integration. While gateway setup is free with PaymentCloud, look for a monthly subscription fee that the gateway provider itself charges.
• Virtual Terminal: This feature is useful for mail-order and telephone-order (MOTO) merchants. You can manually enter transactions or even email invoices to clients through this system. Virtual terminals can also process card-present transactions with the addition of an optional card reader. A virtual terminal comes with the gateway you’ve already selected with PaymentCloud.
• Shopping Cart Integration: For eCommerce merchants, PaymentCloud integrates with a wide variety of online shopping carts. Popular carts that PaymentCloud supports include Shopify, BigCommerce, and Shift4Shop.
• eCheck & ACH Processing: ACH processing allows you to process direct debit payment methods from your website. PaymentCloud sets up processing for ACH and echeck much less frequently than for cards, but it’s worth noting that extremely high-risk merchants may start with echeck acceptance if credit card processing is not possible.

• High-Risk Industries: PaymentCloud serves a large number of high-risk industries, including adult websites, nutraceuticals and supplements, electronic cigarette vendors, debt consolidators, CBD vendors, and many others. While the company doesn’t post a list of prohibited activities, it’s important to note that the processing landscape for high-risk industries is constantly shifting. Your best bet is to ask PaymentCloud about the current prospects for your industry.
• Customized Application Guidance: PaymentCloud calls this process “scrubbing.” To maximize your chances for account approval and to secure the best deal possible, PaymentCloud will scrub your supporting documents, your website and social media presence, and all other components of your application, looking for any red flags that could hinder your prospects. The team will then guide you toward specific changes you can make and additional or alternative supporting documents you can supply to improve your situation in the eyes of your underwriters.
• Cryptocurrency Processing: PaymentCloud now offers cryptocurrency processing for businesses that want to use it. While this is becoming an increasingly popular way to avoid the expensive interchange fees associated with credit card payments, note that there is still a transaction processing fee that applies when accepting Bitcoin or any other form of cryptocurrency.
• Contactless Payment Requests: Advertised under the unintentionally funny tagline “Where every customer’s phone is a POS,” PaymentCloud offers the Paysley contactless payment service, which allows you to send customers a QR code for secure payments. Customers can pay online by inputting their card information or by using their Apple Pay or Samsung Pay accounts without having to download an app or register with the service.

• PCI Compliance: Once you’ve set up your account, you have 90 days to become PCI compliant, and PaymentCloud will guide you in the necessary steps — all without charging a PCI compliance fee.
• Data Migration: This is often a huge headache and usually requires developer assistance. PaymentCloud specializes in data migration for your recurring billing customers over to Authorize.Net from platforms such as Stripe. Generally speaking, PaymentCloud excels in the recurring billing space and not just for high-risk clients.
• Personalized Deployment: PaymentCloud ensures your system is working correctly by setting up test transactions and providing detailed guidance in operating your payment gateway. The same goes for setting up processing hardware.
• Chargeback & Fraud Prevention: Chargebacks are a major concern in high-risk industries, and PaymentCloud will help you protect yourself as much as possible. Along with giving advice on choosing a chargeback management service and setting up fraud mitigation services (such as 3D Secure), PaymentCloud takes you step-by-step through customer support techniques and systems that will help keep your customers satisfied. Happy customers are less likely to initiate chargebacks in the first place!
• Ongoing Negotiation & Advocacy: Your dedicated account manager acts as your advocate in dealing with your bank and processor for the lifetime of your account. Perhaps your funds have been held, or your account is under threat of closure. Or things are looking up, and you’re ready for a lower reserve or higher processing limits. Either way, PaymentCloud works on your behalf to negotiate what you need.
• Merchant Cash Advances: PaymentCloud offers merchant cash advances (MCAs) to qualified businesses through a partnership with Wisco Capital. Businesses having trouble qualifying for a traditional business loan may be more likely to qualify for an MCA. Maximum borrowing amounts, repayment terms, and fees are not disclosed on PaymentCloud’s site, so you’ll have to contact the company for further details.

Other Fees

• Address Verification Service (AVS): $0.05 per online transaction
• Retrieval: $8 per instance
• Chargebacks: $25 per instance
• Voice Authorization: $1 per instance
• Batch Processing: $0.30 per batch
• PCI Non-Compliance (If Applicable): $10 per month
• Data Breach Coverage (Optional): $0-$10 per month

Fees Not Charged

• Application fee
• Account setup fee
• Gateway setup fee
• Annual fee
• Monthly minimum
• PCI compliance fee
• Statement fee

Whatever the reason you are high-risk, expect your processing rate to be higher and much more variable than the rates above, depending on several factors. Additionally, the higher your risk, the higher the probability you’ll need to accept a tiered plan. You may still be eligible for interchange-plus pricing with PaymentCloud, so we strongly suggest investigating this option.

You’re also likely to have a monthly minimum processing charge of around $25 with PaymentCloud, a strict processing limit, and a rolling reserve account established with the acquiring bank to help mitigate your risk. Beyond this, you still won’t be charged a PCI compliance fee, annual fee, application fee, or other junk fees. High-risk merchant accounts require a more extensive underwriting and onboarding process than other businesses, so it’s particularly commendable that PaymentCloud doesn’t charge an application fee for these clients.

With the extreme rate variation that you’ll encounter in high-risk processing, a good final piece of advice is to get a handle on your effective rate. This rate includes your monthly fee, monthly minimum, and any other costs besides your main processing rate.

PaymentCloud is not accredited by the BBB but has a B+ rating. The company has received eleven complaints, with seven of them being filed within the last twelve months. Unfortunately, almost all of these complaints erroneously accuse the company of withholding funds from transactions. PaymentCloud has responded in good faith to all of these complaints but was unable to resolve them due to the complaining merchants’ stubborn refusal to accept that the company doesn’t have control over this situation.

Let’s be clear: PaymentCloud doesn’t have your money. In fact, it doesn’t get paid either while your transaction is being held. Your back-end processor has your money, and you’ll have to contact that company directly to resolve the issue. Please read our article on account holds, freezes, and terminations to learn how this process works.

On Trustpilot, PaymentCloud has an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 486 reviews. While there are a fair number of low reviews, fully 82% of the merchants who responded gave the company a 5-star rating.

Overall, PaymentCloud has less negative feedback than the average merchant services provider, and we found no sign of common problems to watch out for. Scattered complaints with the company’s pricing appear to result from merchants not understanding that high-risk payment processing is inherently much more expensive than it is for low-risk businesses, regardless of which provider you sign up with.

We’ve received a steady stream of (mostly) positive feedback about PaymentCloud from our readers since this review was first published. One commenter praised the company even though it couldn’t place his business, which is almost unheard of in the credit card processing world. While it’s apparent that the company actively solicits testimonials from its merchants, the endorsements we’ve received have all been thoughtful and well-written.

PaymentCloud reviews from merchants typically mention the company’s expertise, transparency, and persistence in assisting high-risk merchants. Customer support is described as prompt, thorough, and easy to work with.

Yes, PaymentCloud is a legitimate merchant services provider. The company is well-regarded in the industry, with many payment processors referring declined merchants to PaymentCloud when they can’t grant approval.

PaymentCloud does not offer its own payment gateway. Instead, the company sets merchants up with a payment gateway through Authorize.Net, USAePay, or NMI. All three are powerful payment gateways with features that are comparable to Stripe.

PaymentCloud is a merchant services provider. The company specializes in merchant accounts for high-risk businesses. However, PaymentCloud also handles payment processing for medium- and low-risk businesses. This includes online and in-person credit card transactions, ACH transfers, QR code payments, and cryptocurrency payments.

PaymentCloud integrates with QuickBooks Online, allowing merchants to automatically sync their sales data for cash, credit card, and ACH transactions. In addition, PaymentCloud allows next-day deposits of funds with QuickBooks.

PaymentCloud integrates with Shopify so that ecommerce merchants can use Shopify’s shopping cart software and PaymentCloud’s processing services. That includes high-risk businesses so long as they meet Shopify’s terms of service.

PaymentCloud is not a free credit card processing service. However, the company does not charge any application or setup fees. After the initial account setup, rates depend on the terms established in your merchant agreement.