FreedomPay, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a US-based merchant account provider founded in 2000. Here is a complete FreedomPay review based on various important parameters.
It provides merchant services to retail industries, educational institutes, food businesses, gaming, and the hospitality industry. The company has multiple partners, including Chase, Bank of America, First Data, TSYS, Mercury, WorldPay, Global Payments, Heartland, Elavon, and Vantiv, and uses their services at the backend for payment processing. Providing P2PE-enabled technology is the company’s primary focus. In 2001, FreedomPay started mobile payment for Bank of America, McDonald’s, and Visa.
In 2013, it became Microsoft’s commerce platform partner and in 2016, FreedomPay introduced its UK subsidiary with its European office located in Canary Wharf, London. Following their international expansion, they opened their western region office in Las Vegas in 2017. FreedomPay aims to take payment processing to another level by broadening the existing payment processing system through modern technology without faltering its original ideology. FreedomPay is helping many top brands grow their business and make it future-proof while also being competitive. This review of FreedomPay will expand on its features, products, and services it has to offer.
FreedomPay Review Based On Products and Services
The provider is compatible with most business types, offering merchants credit and debit card processing. It is reliable for large-scale processing considering most of its transactions are processed in Las Vegas. The company caters to various industries and works to make payment processing a seamless experience.
Touchless Commerce Program
Higher education platforms require efficient solutions for their complex system as multiple departments work simultaneously to run one campus, all needing a secure service provider. FreedomPay became the first to process Apple Pay transactions in the higher education sector in 2014. Most Ivy League schools rely on the provider for payment processing solutions. The company’s touchless commerce program offers contactless payment via mobile apps, Google Pay, Apple Pay, contactless cards, and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). It ensures safer means for the checkout process and helps make online tuition and bookstore payments hassle-free for public or private education institutes.
Next Level Commerce
With time, FreedomPay became one of the leading service providers for the hospitality industry. Major airports and lodging brands rely on the company for their food service operations. It provides solutions for all checkout points and caters to lodging, travel, recreation, and food and beverages, providing an all-in-one service to these businesses while reducing the compliance burden.
Digital Wallets and Kiosks
FreedomPay is also a reliable option for the gaming industry. It offers digital wallets and seamless funding for casinos and provides digital payment options for iGaming, sports betting, and gambling businesses. The company has made lottery casinos safer with its PCI-compliant P2PE-verified kiosks and debit and credit payment options. With FreedomPay, gaming providers can track their consumers, promote redemption programs, and better understand the needs of their VIP guests.
Food Service Solutions
The company claims to provide a 20% reduction in payment costs for food businesses. Food services are often challenged with site takeovers and must deal with multiple service providers and acquirers to gain a site live. FreedomPay offers a three-month reduction in site go-live time, allowing businesses to provide customers with fast delivery, order booking, and healthy eating initiatives. The provider facilitates student dining and food services in stadiums, concert halls, and national parks. It helps businesses evolve while providing delivery insights and loyalty programs.
Multi-Merchant Networks
The retail industry is vast and ever-changing, with a complex and competitive ecosystem. Retailers must provide future-proof services if they want their businesses to stand out. FreedomPay offers multi-merchant networks for retail businesses to connect and collaborate with other brands to gain mutual benefits. Consumers are provided with toolkits with online buying, pick-up and return options and offer added features of target messaging and global payment options.
Omni-Channel Payment Security
FreedomPay provides a single integrated solution with multiple payment methods for consumers. Its omnichannel token allows customers to share their data online and in stores and use multiple POS systems. It also allows merchants to track their customer’s preferences and requirements to enhance their payment processing experience.
Better Checkout Experience
Merchants can view and track their consumer’s purchasing behavior at checkout and know what they can do to improve their services. Merchants do not need to add telemetry to their unattended solutions and can bring them in as a complete part of their payment ecosystem. This can reduce compliance and acceptance costs and lessen the amount of overhead. The company offers merchants added features of transportation, ticketing, parking, and other unattended solutions like kiosks to help consumer-related decisions by connecting them to the attending options.
FreedomPay Review Based On Cost and Contract Terms
Depending on the business type and processing history, FreedomPay offers varying contract lengths and terms. The information regarding its contract is not available to the public. The equipment lease seems to be long-term, considering the wide range of businesses the company is dealing with. The standard swiped, and keyed-in rate ranges from 1.00% to 4.99%. The FreedomPay reviews indicate that its PCI compliance and early termination fee are not fixed and vary from business to business depending on transaction volume.
FreedomPay Sales Transparency
The company uses its in-house trained staff for marketing its products and services. FreedomPay does not have any independent sales agents and does not use any deceptive marketing tactics to scam merchants. However, they do not provide adequate information regarding this either.
FreedomPay Customer Support
The company has provided an email address as a customer support option and a live chat option on the website. Customers are also given various customer care forms on FreedomPay’s official website for merchants to submit their queries and seek the company’s help center for any information.
FreedomPay Negative Reviews and Complaints
The company has received less than ten formal complaints, and merchants have not accused FreedomPay of being a scam in any of the reviews. However, there aren’t many positive reviews, which shows that merchants may have chosen not to put complaints against the provider online. Naturally, consumers are unlikely to take precious time to review service providers and give written feedback. The informal reviews indicate poor customer service and equipment issues.
The testimonies found for FreedomPay are on the official website and are in favor of the company, but it is assumed that they only post positive feedback on their website, and remove any negative feedback.
Lawsuits against FreedomPay
A lawsuit was filed against FreedomPay in 2019, and Canters Deli, Las Vegas, accused the company of breaching the contract. They claimed that the provider did not securely switch services. Lawsuits are a significant red flag on a merchant service provider’s reputation and put the merchant’s trust to risk. Merchants are advised to think twice before signing up with a processor with legal history, as they are more likely to be involved in unethical practices.
BBB Rating
FreedomPay’s profile is not accredited by Better Business Bureau. So, there are no complaints against the company on its BBB profile, but it has an A+ rating on the platform. Merchants cannot rely upon it as Better Business Bureau does not always verify the source, and there are reasons not to trust the rating.
FreedomPay Drawbacks
Although the provider offers a wide range of products to merchants and top brands use its services, it lacks in some major areas. Below is a review of the drawbacks of choosing FreedomPay as your merchant account provider.
Poorly Designed Equipment
Merchants have complained that the company’s kiosks are defective. There are incidents where a customer has added money to their card, and a few minutes after, they were told that the card has a negative balance. The company’s kiosks eject cash minutes after the card is placed in the machine and allow others to take the cash after a customer leaves without the cardholder’s knowledge about the withdrawal.
Average Customer Care
FreedomPay’s customer service is reviewed negatively by some merchants. The company has not given any helpline or phone number for customer support. There isn’t any information if the company provides any in-person assistance either. Merchants who have complained about equipment have stated that they were not given any satisfactory response.
Undisclosed Information
FreedomPay has not given adequate information about its contract terms and conditions. There is not enough insight about their products and services on the official website. The rates and pricing are not transparent either. The provider has claimed varying PCI compliance and equipment lease fees, which are not disclosed to the merchants beforehand. In short, FreedomPay has given no information for merchants to be able to decide if they can rely on the service provider or not.
Final Verdict
Despite a diverse range of products and features, a provider cannot be given a good rating if it does not disclose all the information consumers require. FreedomPay is a leading merchant account provider with various brands under its umbrella, but the unresponsive customer service, equipment issues, and lack of necessary information are visible indications not to trust a provider. Merchants are advised to thoroughly check their options before deciding on a service provider for their payment processing. Choosing the best-suited merchant account provider goes a long way for a business.
You can contact the company on its website.
