Elavon is one of the biggest payment processors, serving more than 1,000,000 clients across different industries. Other than payment processing, it offers card readers, a tablet-based point-of-sale machine, and virtual terminals to its clients. But the merchant service provider has a bit of a negative reputation. Because of Elavon’s secrecy with its pricing and operations, it isn’t easy to compare it with other payment processors. Customer reviews claim several problems like fees that are not accounted for, account holds and random account closures.
Elavon was previously called NOVA, and some people even know it as Elavon Nova. It was established in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1991. Elavon processes in several countries, some of which are the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Elavon claims to cater to businesses of all sizes and types, from world-reputed organizations to small businesses locally. Customer Service in several languages to cater to clients all around the world. Elavon is the processor for notable brands like Cabela’s and Hard Rock Café.
Features of Elavon
Elavon gives its clients a merchant account, payment gateway, and flexible options using application add-ons. You’ll have the opportunity to accept all major credit cards, through several modes of payment. Elavon offers clients multiple options to customize their transaction portals based on their business needs. Clients can opt for discount programs and loyalty cards as well.
Elavon offers two Payment gateway options; Fusebox and Converge. With Fuse box, businesses can connect to a third-party payment platform with integrated payments and batch management of reporting options to stay informed about costs. Businesses can integrate with several eCommerce platforms using converge, allowing them to add a buy button and automatically update Visa or MasterCard information to prevent registered cards from being rejected. These payment gateway services may charge an additional merchant service fee and the Elavon fee.
Pricing Structure of Elavon
Elavon uses a quote-based pricing structure. Several factors come into play when deciding what the quote for a merchant would be. The most common ones are the industry of the business, transaction volume and the risk of the business. To get a quote, you must contact the representative through the website and provide information about your company.Â
The contract terms will vary based on the types of transactions merchants want to take. One type is categorized in a countertop point of sale system, and the other is when merchants choose to accept mobile payments. Both contracts charge a rate of 2.65% plus $0.19 for transactions that are swiped through the reader, and for keyed-in transactions, Elavon charges 3.5% plus $0.19 per transaction.
There is a hefty termination fee as well. It amounts to the total cost for twelve months with the service provider and is a significant setback for the reputation of Elavon. Besides storefront processing services, Elavon also offers Converge and Fusebox as a virtual terminal and a payment gateway for restaurants and hotels. But merchants have to pay additional fees for these services, and the prices are not disclosed by the provider anywhere.
Drawbacks
Despite being one of the biggest names in merchant service providers, Elavon comes with a list of reasons why merchants should think again before getting into a long-term relationship with the payment processor. Some of the significant problems with the processor are noted here.
Several Customer Complaints
Even though Elavon is a payment processor with hundreds of thousands of clients, the sheer number of unsatisfied customers is alarming. Elavon easily has more than 500 customer complaints and bad reviews on several websites. While it is normal for a processor of this size to have more bad reviews and complaints, the nature and magnitude of these complaints cannot be ignored. Primary complaints with the processor are about poor customer support, account holds, billing disputes, equipment lease problems and unexpected fees.
Lack of Transparency
Elavon does not disclose its fees, making it difficult for clients to assess how much financial impact they would have until the clients talk to a sales representative. Furthermore, as Elavon utilizes independent sales organizations to resell their services, the fees usually vary on a client-to-client basis. According to their contracts, some users claim that they were charged with unexpected fees that were way more than they should be paying.
Funds and Account Closures
Multiple user complaints claim that Elavon withheld their funds and refused to release them. There are several reasons that users gave for Elavon reserving their funds. Some users claim that big chunks of their profits were unavailable to them, with no explanation by Elavon as to why the profits were inaccessible.Â
Several users claim that their Elavon accounts were closed without warning. Clients say they were given no opportunity to discuss why their account was being closed before their business was left without a merchant service provider to conduct transactions through.Â
Elavon Trade Credit
Every person who signs up with Elavon should read their contract terms very carefully to know all the fees incurred on transactions and refunds. Elavon has no exchange limits, and sometimes this can lead to huge and unexpected fees. Business owners need to take special care of the fact that Elavon charges money to the client each time a refund is offered.Â
Conclusion
Elavon gives numerous customization options to their clients, and they are one of the largest payment processors that anyone can find today. Different types of businesses can find different sets of tools to personalize their transaction process to suit the needs of their business. Despite all this, the drawbacks of doing business with them are too severe to ignore.
The amount of customer complaints and dissatisfied customers they have is an indication that they do not take customer feedback seriously. Most complaints indicate unexpected fees, fund holds and shutting of accounts. All of which can become immense trouble for small and medium scale businesses. Funds and transactions are the lifeblood of a business, and if you feel like you cannot take a risk with any of them, you should compare Elavon with other names in the market before deciding.
