As of 2017, Ironwood Payments operates as a standalone business with its headquarters located in Mississippi.
Originally we identified a link between Ironwood and a firm named ElitePay Global. It seemed as if Ironwood was just ElitePay operating under a new name.
However, Ironwood has verified to explain the connection, and the company’s main site also provides further information about it. According to what has been revealed, Ironwood bought ElitePay Global without knowing the terrible name and reputation that the firm had in the sector.
Now that it has been established that Ironwood is a distinct organization, let’s go through the services which Ironwood now offers. Then we’ll look at some customer evaluations of Ironwood. Let’s find out more in Ironwood Payments Review 2024.
Ironwood Payments: A Brief Summary
| Headquarters | Mississippi |
| Owners | John Lewis and Dewitt “Dee” Lovelace |
| Contract | 3-year contract |
| Monthly Fee | $25 per month |
| Customer Support | Yes |
Ironwood Payments Headquarters, Origins, and Owners
John Lewis and Dewitt “Dee” Lovelace, who were both headquartered in Oxford, Mississippi, bought the property of ElitePay Global in the summers of 2015. They established a new business under Ironwood Payments and positioned its offices in Oxford.
The LinkedIn website for Ironwood states that Lewis and Lovelace “went out to develop the greatest, most trusted payment card handling firm in America.”
Ironwood Payments is a supplier of merchant services that came into existence due to ElitePay Global’s customer business being purchased by Ironwood Payments.
Ironwood Payments Services and Offerings
You may take electronic payments at the point of sale, on a mobile device, and even online with Ironwood’s comprehensive payment processing services. The internet gateways may also be used as a “virtual terminal” to accept funds over the telephone safely.
- Internet Processing
Ironwood offers the Authorize.Net payment gateway for electronic shopping. Create “purchase” widgets for your website, collect one-time and regular payments, and sync them with QuickBooks.
Card Verification Code (CVV) and 3D Secure technologies like Verified by Visa may help prevent fraud.
- Virtual Terminal Processing
Paying with a credit card may be done securely over the telephone. It’s possible to accept credit cards using this “virtual terminal” approach without the need for any additional equipment.
When consumers show their credentials, you may attach a Magtek USB scanner to your laptop and access their information.
- Mobile Processing
The SwipeSimple headphone socket reader from Ironwood may be used to accept payments on the fly. It is available for Android, Apple, and Blackberry smartphones and tablets, allowing you to take payments through mobile phones.
The receipts may be emailed or texted, and clients may register for transactions and even leave tips straight on their phones.
Builders, painters, gardeners, delivery companies, and companies offering products and services at trade fairs or exhibitions should use mobile processors to collect payments outside typical retail locations.
- Debit and Credit Card Processing
Thanks to Ironwood’s payment card services, your customers may pay with a wide range of credit cards. In addition to credit and debit cards, you may now take card payments from several significant systems, extending your clients’ choices for payment.
To take payments, you choose either to use the freestanding credit card reader or a full-featured point-of-sale (POS) platform, including extra features like managing inventory.
Ironwood Payments Cost and Charges
As a result of the recent corporate reorganization, Ironwood is adjusting its prices and fees; thus, you can anticipate that the information we have provided here will continue to shift for some time.
The price description on the website remains to be improved, but it seems that they are now dedicated to providing clear interchange-plus pricing to prospective businesses.
When you do not expressly ask for a proposal with differential pricing, there is a good chance that you will not get one at all. It is a total U-turn on EPG’s part in terms of strategy, which is very much appreciated.
Although there are no concrete statistics presently available online, an employee provided me with an estimate that ranged between $0.05 and $0.08 for their typical premium on top of the transfer fee.
Ironwood doesn’t have predetermined price bands depending on the amount of processing volume or the kind of company, so customers should come willing to engage in certain productive negotiating.
Is Ironwood Payments Bottom Line?
- Improving Over Time
The firm is still receiving few complaints from its initial association with Elite Pay Global. To improve its reputation, it will have to maintain its high level of customer satisfaction while maintaining its existing business model.
On the other hand, Ironwood gives the impression that it is making a genuine and substantial attempt to improve its services to become a top-rated supplier of all-purpose merchant accounts.
- Under 10 Complaints
Ironwood Payments is presently rated “A+” by the Better Business Bureau but does not have accreditation from that organization. Within the last three years and thirty-six months, the firm’s profile has been subject to one complaint.
The only complaint was with any issue encountered with a service or product. The one issue was handled to the merchant’s satisfaction, and there was a resolution.
The Bottom Line
Considering both the old and new versions of Ironwood Payments in this Ironwood Payments Review 2022, we will give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
If all of the adjustments they’ve made reach complete fruition, we might see that score getting even better the next time through.
Ironwood’s decision to discontinue leasing equipment, convert to pushing interchange-plus pricing, and openly promise that customers are free to leave at any time without having to pay early termination penalties is something that impresses us.
Simply considering these aspects places them squarely in the category of above-average merchant account providers.
Nevertheless, we must weigh these significant advancements against the previous objections. Whether or not Ironwood took over a “broken” firm from ElitePay Global, they managed to rack up many failures during their first year.
