Located in Denver, Colorado, Global Data Payments, commonly referred to as GDpay, is a merchant account provider founded in 2006. The provider is a registered ISO/MSP of Chase Paymentech, Fifth Third Bank, CardConnect, and Synovus Bank and has partnered with multiple backend processors, including First American Payment System, First Data, and TSYS. The following is a GDpay review explaining its benefits and shortcomings for merchants to better understand how the provider can affect their business.
GDpay is a small company with expertise in providing level 2 and level 3 credit card processing as well as Quickbooks account integration to B2B and small to medium size businesses. The provider serves multiple industries, such as restaurants, telemedicine, education, gas stations, marketing agencies, SAAS, travel, moving companies, and the gaming industry. It provides payment solutions to most e-commerce, retail, hospitality, tech support, MOTO, non-profit, and mobile businesses.
The company prioritizes its merchants and helps them take their business one step ahead. Its focuses on enabling its clients to control their company’s payment structure completely and have full knowledge of the intricacies of payment services. The provider claims to offer exceptional customer support that ranks it among the top-rated providers with the best customer service.
GDpay Review Based on Products and Services
The company prides itself on its customer-oriented solutions and offers tokenization technology and point-to-point encryption to secure a business and its customer’s data. The company accepts all major credit card brands and supports multiple payment methods. NFC payments, smart terminals, extensive POS systems, convenient mobile payment solutions, and payment gateways with user-friendly features. GDpay reviews indicate that merchants are offered online invoicing, a billing portal, and a recurring billing option to simplify the complexities of payment transactions.
Online Payments
Today, regardless of the business size, every company requires useful ways to process online transactions. Most customers prefer the ease of paying for their purchases from the comfort of their homes. GDpay provides multiple payment gateways and e-commerce solutions to facilitate online payments and has partnered with Authorize.Net, Orbital, PayTrace, and eProcessing Network. These gateways offer shopping cart integration for merchants to accommodate a convenient checkout experience for their customers and track their data as well as spending habits to streamline the process.
With Quickbooks, merchants can store their online sales data in one place and review it when needed while having complete control over customers’ access. They can track their expenses, manage bills, download transaction details, and send invoices from anywhere.
Check Processing
The company’s check-processing solutions are suitable alternatives for customers who prefer paying with checks. Paper checks are outdated as they can be stolen, damaged, costly and time-consuming. GDpay provides e-check conversion to secure the payment by keeping an electronic image of the customer’s paper check. Merchants do not have to spend additional time going to the bank and can get it deposited automatically. With Check 21, checks received by mail can be converted into electronic documents with a check scanner.
GDpay reviews show that it offers ACH processing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, a useful feature for transferring funds from the customer’s checking account using electronic means. ACH processing reduces human error, saves time for both parties involved, and offers fast processing at a lower cost.
Moreover, the company provides recurring billing options to regular customers for subscription-based payments. It enables merchants to get paid automatically, avoid delayed or canceled payments, and increase their cash flow.
Merchant Cash Advances
Merchants can apply and get instant approval for cash advances within 72 hours without submitting personal collateral. There is no limit on how these funds can be used, and consumers do not need good credit to apply. GDpay provides funding within 72 hours after approval. Merchant cash advances are a quick way to get cash without risking your assets and going through a long process. However, there could be high-interest fees that merchants should be aware of before applying for a GDpay cash advance.
Gift and Loyalty Cards
GDpay reviews portray that the merchants who want to benefit from gift card sales can choose from multiple options the company provides or sync their existing gift card program with GDpay. Gift card is now an entry-level program with over 100 gift cards that can be customized to fit your brand information. Merchants can choose from the available templates on the provider’s website.
For businesses requiring enhanced features, the provider offers a gift card advantage program with 250 to 500 gift cards and the option to include your company’s logo on the cards. Merchants with multiple branches sometimes require different gift cards for each location. The provider offers a custom gift card program to customize and distribute each set of cards designed specifically for each branch.
GDpay Review Based on Contract Terms and Pricing
The provider offers four contracts with varying lengths depending on the backend processor and does not charge an early termination fee. Merchants are offered a three and five-year contract through First Data. The five-year agreement comes with a non-cancelable equipment lease with a $49.95 setup fee and a $24.95 per month gateway fee. Merchants do not have to sign the lease agreement if they purchase the terminal or already have the equipment. The three-year contract charges a $9.95 statement fee and a $49.95 PCI compliance fee.
GDpay offers a five-year contract through TSYS with a $50 early termination fee for merchants running their businesses in Arkansas and a three-year contract through First American Payment Systems. Merchants are charged a $49.95 annual membership fee and a $6.95 account fee each month.
The provider binds its merchants with a 60-month equipment lease and needs to provide more information on the website about its pricing. Reviews indicate that the company’s standard swiped and the keyed-in rate is 1.00% to 4.99% per transaction, providing an interchange plus pricing model.
GDpay Review Based on Sales and Customer Support
GDpay reviews suggest that the provider offers decent customer service and has reserved a domestic phone support number available during business hours and an after-hours offshore tech support number. Furthermore, there is an FAQ page and glossary section on the official website, and merchants are provided with a customer support form to write their queries and concerns to the provider.
The company relies on traditional marketing strategies and affiliated programs to promote its services. It does not hire independent sales agents and avoids deceptive quotes. However, GDpay only discloses little information on the official website.
GDpay Reviews and BBB Report
The company has a low complaint rate, and there is no mentionable class-action lawsuit against it. Merchants have not posted any FTC complaint against the provider, and no evidence accuses GDpay of being a scam. The company has client testimonies to support its reputation with positive ratings on multiple review platforms. Although, some merchants have complained about a $700 early termination fee.
GDpay has maintained a BBB profile since 2016 and is rated A+ with zero complaints on the platform. However, the review site has not accredited the provider, and this rating is not necessarily based on facts.
Drawbacks
Even though the provider has a good reputation and has maintained a low complaints total, here is a GDpay review reenlisting its drawbacks for merchants to be aware of what they are getting into.
Undisclosed Information
Merchants are not offered full disclosure by GDpay and are deprived of important information. The provider does not display its contract terms on the website, and its pricing is a mystery for new merchants. Undisclosed pricing is an obvious red flag, and merchants are advised to ask their agents to clarify these details.
Too Pricy
GDpay charges a high setup and monthly fee. It claims not to charge a termination fee, but complaints accuse the provider of charging as high as $700 for early cancellation. It can come as a shock for businesses with a humble beginning to have to pay an expensive fee in case they need to cancel the contract. It can even force them to stay in agreement with an unsuitable provider.
Long-Term Contracts
As the provider offers varying contracts, most businesses are stuck with a long-term agreement which can restrict their company from growing. Long-term contracts leave little room for flexibility if a merchant is unhappy with the provider. Moreover, consumers cannot adapt to the latest technological changes during the agreement since they are bound to follow the contract clauses and are provided with the same facilities they started with. Consequently, merchants are forced to remain entangled in a never-changing system for a long time.
Final Verdict
GDpay reviews depict the company as a reasonable service provider only if the merchants dig out the necessary information, get their queries answered by the provider, and are offered a short-term contract with full disclosure of important terms and pricing. GDpay is unsuitable for merchants with a tight budget who cannot work their way around non-disclosure and sudden surprises.
Furthermore, high-risk businesses should not choose this payment processor as its expertise is limited to small to mid-sized businesses and cannot meet the requirements of a company processing high-volume. Merchants are advised to request a complete overview of the company’s services, negotiate the pricing, and ensure they are not paying hidden fees. For the provider to fit their needs, merchants have to go to extreme lengths, and there is still no guarantee that it will work out.
