Cardinity was founded in 2007 with its home office in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is a software company that provides merchant account and payment gateway services to small and enterprise-level businesses. It has an average reputation for its services in its 15 years of operation. There is much to learn about the provider if you are considering signing up with them. After this Cardinity review, you will have all the necessary information to compare Cardinity to its rivals.
Cardinity exclusively works for businesses in the eCommerce market in European countries. It has no support for traditional retail companies, or businesses located outside of Europe. Based on reviews and information on the internet, it can be determined that Cardinity is just a subsidiary service by UAB Click2Sell. The latter is a payment processor under the Central Bank of the Republic of Lithuania. Recently, Cardinity has shown signs of expanding its operations. In February 2021, they stepped up their influence by becoming a principal member of the credit card organization MasterCard. Keep reading for a detailed review of their offerings and features.
Features of Cardinity
Cardinity offers credit card processing for all major credit card organizations, but no support for in-store point-of-sale terminals. The primary offering of Cardinity is its payment gateway, which allows eCommerce businesses to receive payments through their websites. Cardinity payment gateway features several integral features: customizable checkout and invoice options, dealing in several currencies, and mobile payment options.
Cardinity is also compatible with many third-party shopping carts, and essential qualities such as recurring billing, eCheck, ACH payments, and payment splitting are readily available to merchants. Companies get value-added features such as coupons, discounts, and gift cards on top of the essentials.
Aside from their payment-related options, Cardinity offers a robust set of features that improve the efficiency of business operations. Business owners can access real-time reporting, get control over dispute resolution, have flexible payout times, and control the personnel who have access to sensitive cardholder data. Reviews of MSPs show that PCI compliance and fraud prevention are now standard in the industry – the same is true for Cardinity. Cardholder data is secured using tokenization and encryption, minimizing the risk of data breaches.
Pricing and Terms
You would hardly find any pricing information about the processor in most Cadinity reviews on the internet. This is because there is less disclosure about their prices and contract terms on their website. Cardinity reveals that they offer a payment gateway with an integrated merchant account to their clients, but do not explain whether these offerings are separate or part of a single plan.
On their website, they advertise a per-transaction rate of 1.3% plus €0.25. There is no setup or monthly fees claimed on their website. While the pricing is disclosed, there is no information on whether or not it includes everything or additional charges may incur in different situations. Most likely, merchants will face additional charges, and it is essential to read the agreement carefully before signing up.
They also process cross-border transactions, and there is an additional fee for cards issued outside the EU. The company also offers special discounts to merchants processing more than €50,000 annually. While the company claims that they serve high-risk merchants, there is no mention of whether or not higher transaction and processing fees will apply to such businesses. It is improbable that high-risk merchants will be given the same rates as standard-risk merchants. High-risk accounts are also subject to cash reserves to deal with a higher chargeback rate.
Setbacks of Using Cardinity
Information on the pricing and offerings of Cardinity has been discussed above, so now it is time to review the downsides. Unfortunately, Cardinity is not doing very well in complaints. There are several negative reviews about the provider on the internet, and the trend is showing an increase, too. There are some other concerning factors about the processor.
Lawsuits
Cardinity is a subsidiary of UAB Click2Sell. In 2019, the parent company was fined by the Supervision Service of the Bank of Lithuania for breaching the requirements of Lithuania Law on Payment institutions. The company was fined for illegally holding client funds outside of credit institutions and providing fake information about the balances of the funds.
Fund Holds and Account Terminations
Customer reviews have several complaints about unexpected fund holds and deactivated accounts. High-risk merchants most commonly face this problem, and it may be partly the merchant’s responsibility to ensure that their business type is not prohibited. But it is a sign that the policies of Cardinity are too harsh compared to others in the industry.
Customer reviews call them a scam and call them thieves that are protected by Lithuanian law. Merchants claim that immense amounts have been held without further notice of release, despite the merchants having provided all the necessary and required documentation for the release of the funds.
Sub-Par Customer Care
Several merchant reviews claim unlawful holds on funds. Most of these complaints further broaden into the customer care aspect as well. Merchants claim Cardinity will keep changing customer care representatives and bouncing around the problem instead of solving it. A complaint also claims that the statements of their customer care representatives will vary based on the representative that is dealing with the situation.
Final Thoughts
While the reputation of Cardinity is not entirely negative on the internet, the majority of the customer complaints and reviews are. They offer essential features that businesses need to survive in eCommerce. Based on the little information on their website, they have affordable pricing and support for high-risk merchants as well.
However, it’s the things that they do not disclose that are the key focus points of this Cardinity review. Their lack of disclosure about pricing details and the gravity of accusations against the processor is very concerning. No merchant wants to be stuck with a provider that will leech off of their funds and cause harm to their business. Furthermore, there is no support for merchants outside the EU, so companies located elsewhere have no chance.
