Shift Credit Card Processing Review 2023

Shift Credit Card Processing is a USA-based company. The company website does not reveal any details about the CEO and whereabouts. However, according to Google, Shift Processing is located in Fishers, Indiana, in Northeast Commerce Park. The company aims to provide exceptional contract-free payment processing solutions. Its system is diverse as the provider extends it to many services benefiting all business sizes. It expands from small to large retail companies, chain stores, franchises, dealerships, and restaurants.

Shift Processing specializes in providing services to high-risk businesses and has worked out for agencies that ran into trouble getting assistance from other ISOs. Shift Credit Card Processing delivers custom solutions for high-risk business models like cannabis retailers, marijuana dispensaries and Kratom merchants.

Shift states that its mission is to minimize payment processing prices and maximize the merchant’s monthly profit through its cash discount program. This Shift Credit Card Processing Review discusses everything about this payment processor to help you make an informed decision for your business.

Services Provided

Shift Credit Card Processing is popular in the market for its claim to provide free credit card processing to all businesses, especially those with high risks. The company is determined to change the concept of credit card processing and assures top-notch customer experience to merchants.

After reading this review, you can finally conclude whether the Shift Processing is worth considering or not.

Zero-Fee Processing 

Zero-fee credit card processing idea is not new to the merchants. However, only a few processor companies allow it; one of them is Shift Credit Card Processing. One way to eliminate transaction fees is to surcharge card transactions. This is illegal in several states. And another way is cash discounting, which several processors, including Shift, implement.

It covers the credit processing charges by adding a small services fee to every purchase and eliminates all the costs associated with transactions. Retailers do not charge customers any merchant service fee.

Cash Discount Program

Shift Credit Card Processing offers another way to cut off credit card transaction fees: the cash discount program. It helps merchants eliminate card processing fee and transfer it to the customers. Retailers bill the specified transaction fee of every swipe to the customers but provide a discount to those who pay with cash. 

Industries and Business types served 

Shift Credit Card Processing plays its role in the online industry by providing services primarily to online and e-commerce merchants. They also have options for service-based businesses that take payments on the go. Other than that, a good portion of advertising is done to high-risk and fresh companies that suffer the most from processing fees.

Software & Hardware 

Registered merchants can choose all the hardware and software of Shift Processing. The hardware of Shift does not integrate with the software of other processors. Plenty of hardware options are available to the merchants, including POS systems, terminals, mobile transactions, a secured gateway, and an e-commerce platform. 

The POS terminal of Shift Processing integrates easily with the printer to print receipts and also handles inventory management and customer management.  

Supported Payment Types

Shift Credit Card Processing potentially works with different payment process types. Its payment methods include all kinds of debit and credit cards and also accepts all sorts of electronic checks. Like all other major companies, it also processes ACH payments. Digital wallets like Samsung Pay, Google Wallet and Apple Pay are also compatible with Shift Processing.

The system is upgradeable to EMV terminals to help collect payment methods with chips. It also allows choosing between Contact or Contactless EMV terminals and makes the system more secure. All types of online payments and shopping cart integration are part of its services.

Free Equipment

Shift Processing advertises a free POS system to businesses that qualify for them. Other than that, all extra hardware, like EMV readers and mobile card readers, must be subscribed to or paid for in full.

Pricing

Shift Processing advertises to provide a fee-free system. But it does not clear out all the doubts concerning the charges. It is also unclear whether the cash discount program is optional for merchants or mandatory. 

However, the website states no initial setup fee. The batch fee is big trouble for merchants, but Shift Processing eliminates any batch fee. Along with it, no swipe fee is charged with any transactions.

While high-risk accounts have to pay an interchange fee with other processors, Shift Processing also reduces it to zero. 

Although there is no mention of processing fees, merchants still receive a statement each week. Despite due charges, these monthly statements have a record of money saved by merchants in the month.  

Shift Credit Card Processing Setup

Shift Processing facilitates the merchant to set up the account within a few minutes. It checks the requirements and approves the account in no time. However, approval for high-risk businesses may take a little longer, but they ultimately get approved in most cases. Here are some specifics of the Shift Processing setup procedure;

Free of charge equipment 

Once Shift reviews and accepts merchant accounts, the essential “free” equipment gets delivered the right way to the retailer. The company claims to design the hardware programmed with the right software. They all are integrated and work effectively once connected. 

Approval Rating

Shift Processing can be a functioning solution for accounts that experience a hard time getting approved by other credit card processors. Merchants have a 99% chance of account approval at Shift. The company may take some time to review the profile of high-risk businesses, but it approves it in most cases. 

Approval Time 

Along with being a company with a high approval rate, it also does not disappoint in dealing with the subject of approval time. On average, once you complete the account setup process with the Shift Credit Card Processing, your account gets approved within a day. However, the approval time for high-risk merchants has been extended to 48 to 72 hours. But there’s nothing to worry about because, in most cases, they get approved within 72 hours. 

Quick Setup

After the quick account approval, setup is also not a problem. After connecting the hardware terminal, it takes about 5 minutes to start accepting payments. The setup procedure is straightforward, involving simple steps. 24/7 online support is available in case of any trouble or queries. 

Customer Support 

Shift Processing promises 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They allow various mediums for merchants to contact for queries and information. Shift Credit Card Processing reviews the chargeback and troubleshooting problems through the following mediums.

Email

There is a dedicated email address of the company primarily for customer support. After the account setup, general queries are asked by merchants through email addresses.

Phone

A phone number is provided on the website along with dependable email support to contact the support representative directly. Live phone support indicates that a provider cares about its clients.

Chat Feature

Shift Credit Card Processing provides a live chat feature on its website to help customers through account creation and other issues. However, the representative may take some time to analyze and respond to your query through the chat feature. 

Website

The website of Shift Processing provides a piece of extensive information about the mission of the company. It also briefs about the types of account setup and the procedure details. Updates and changes in the system are also disclosed through the website. 

A “contact us” form is given on the website to help the merchants. Retailers can fill out the form introducing the query and submit it for the team to review. 

Social Media 

Besides all the customer support channels, the company also has a presence on social media. It appears with an official account on Facebook and LinkedIn. These mediums are used to publicize the services of the provider.

Exclusive Representative Support

Once Shift Processing accepts your business profile, an exclusive support representative is assigned to your company to sort out any problem with their services.  

Reviews of the Provider

There aren’t many reviews available online to judge the company’s credibility. This also falls into the shortcomings of the provider. They lack enough online credibility to encourage customer trust. 

BBB Rating

No rating has been assigned to the company through the Better Business Bureau website because Shift Credit Card Processing has no profile with them. It raises another question about the trustworthiness of this provider. BBB is the standard to primarily judge providers in an unbiased way.

Google Reviews 

Shift Processing holds about 20 Google reviews with above 3.5 stars rating. No Doubt there are other positive aspects of the dealer like zero-fee transactions, no equipment charges and a cash discount program. However, merchants complain about areas where it lacks, like customer support, withholding funds and frozen accounts. 

Other Online Reviews 

Besides BBB and Google, many sites display Shift Credit Card reviews. Summing up all these, the company has an average score. While Shift Processing introduces valuable services into the market, it also struggles to reach up to the merchant’s expectations. 

Drawbacks Of the Provider 

Based on the several online reviews submitted by merchants and a critical analysis of Shift Credit Card Processing, here is a sum-up of the drawbacks of the company.

Poor Customer Service 

Although Shift takes pride in its customer service, the customers have reported unprofessional encounters with reps in reviews. Retailers have faced extensive delays in viable solutions to their problems. Complaints show that sometimes even after repeated reports, they do not get a solution at all.

Representatives attend to the question and collect information with the promise of calling you back within a day but hardly contact again. A common issue voiced by many merchants is that they got hung up by the customer representatives while the matter was being discussed.

Canceled Merchant Accounts

In various cases, the merchant’s account got frozen without providing a valid reason. Also, the providers permanently canceled the retailer’s approved accounts in some circumstances without highlighting a solid basis.

Frozen Funds

Although Shift Credit Card Processing mentions saving your money, users have faced frozen funds for extended periods. 

Lack of Documentation

The processor provides no documentation or proof of all the commitments they make. No doubt, they assure you through marketing tactics, but you don’t get any proper documentation to get back to when you see any discrepancy.

The website also contains disorganized information, making it hard to find facts. 

Misleading Marketing Strategies

Like many other fee-saving processors, they also mislead their customers. The processing does not charge a flat 0% fee per transaction, contrary to their advertising. Their rates may be lower than other processors, but they are not entirely free. 

Some amount is charged to the merchant or deducted for different services, and the customer must pay some transaction fees. They also list nothing about the chargeback fees that are still applicable, leading clients into a false sense of ease.

Evaluation

The company is well-recognized in the business world, marketing the concept of zero-fee transactions. Undoubtedly, it saves merchants money and charges less than other processing companies. And there are many reviews from other merchants where they saved 200-1000$ using this provider. Of course, the saved money entirely depends on the business type and size. Plus, it gives high-risk businesses a way to work, and many companies rejected by others process through Shift.

Still, we cannot ignore the fact that the retailers have to face many problems using this service. The registered merchants and new retailers find the customer service disappointing. There are many questions raised on the truth of their marketing strategy. Unfortunately, it does not provide the information entirely based on the facts. Customers have found Shift to be misleading among issues like fund holds and account terminations.

Based on all the information in this Shift Processing review, it is hard to recommend it to businesses. Especially for large retailers and established franchises, other options in the market are more suitable in terms of offerings and quality of services.