What is PaymentCloud?
PaymentCloud is a payment service provider for high-risk businesses. It also offers point-of-sale solutions, payment gateway services and payment processing for alternative payment methods such as crypto.
PaymentCloud |
Deciding factors
| Payment processing fees | Quote-based, but rates for high-risk businesses typically start at 3.5% per transaction. |
| Monthly fee | Quote-based, but ranges from $5 to $20. |
| Hardware cost | Offers a variety of POS hardware products from Clover, Dejavoo, Ingenico, Pax, SwipeSimple and Verifone. Here are several options:
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| Contract length | Varies between months and years, according to a company spokesperson. |
| Customer service | 24/7 phone support, plus email support. |
PaymentCloud pricing
PaymentCloud doesn’t publicly disclose prices for software or payment processing, so you’ll have to call and talk to a salesperson to get a quote.
PaymentCloud also works with independent sales organizations, or ISOs, which act as third-party sales teams. Those organizations tend to work on commission, so be cautious of price quotes and shop around. If possible, sign up with PaymentCloud directly rather than through an ISO to try to avoid potential additional fees.
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Capabilities
Point of sale
PaymentCloud offers multiple POS options for businesses, including in-person, online and mobile payments.
In-person transactions are doable with PaymentCloud to swipe, insert and tap credit cards, as well as accept QR codes. The company sells third-party countertop terminals from Clover and credit card readers from Verifone, Ingenico, Poynt, Clover and others. PaymentCloud can reprogram existing credit card readers to work with its system. It also offers Paysley, which allows merchants to use QR codes for payment.
Virtual terminals, which allow merchants process over-the-phone orders, are also available. For recurring charges, businesses can set up automatic payments with recurring billing and send invoices to customers.
Online transactions work with PaymentCloud, and there are integrations with e-commerce platforms including WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, WordPress, Shift4Shop and more.
Payment gateway
PaymentCloud offers PCI-compliant payment gateways from Authorize.Net.
Alternative payment methods
PaymentCloud allows businesses to accept payments by ACH, e-check and cryptocurrencies.
Pros
Hardware variety
PaymentCloud will sell you a variety of third-party hardware, so there’s no doubt that most businesses will be able to find what they need. It’s also a bonus that PaymentCloud can reprogram existing card readers.
Shopping cart integrations
PaymentCloud says it can integrate with tons of shopping carts for online stores, making it a nice solution for those who are already plugged into a preferred provider.
Options for high-risk businesses
PaymentCloud can be a good option for high-risk businesses that might have difficulty finding a merchant services provider.
Cons
Lack of transparency
PaymentCloud discloses very little pricing or spec information to the public. Although it isn’t the only quote-based company, this lack of transparency can be a red flag for some.
Long approval times
PaymentCloud requires customers to be approved for an account, which can take a while for some businesses.
PaymentCloud alternatives
Payline Data
Pricing:
- Interchange plus 0.35% and 10 cents for in-person transactions.
- Interchange plus 0.5% and 20 cents for online transactions.
Why we like it: Another high-risk merchant services provider, Payline Data offers in-person and online transaction solutions, shopping cart integrations and custom reporting. You won’t need to sign a contract for this service, so you can use it month to month without worrying about a termination fee.
A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet
