SignaPay was launched in 2006 and is a leading merchant account provider that happens to be a major ISO of Cynergy Data. However, it also shares partnerships with First Data (Fiserv), Chase Merchant Services, and TSYS. The partnerships are made with respect to the processing networks of SignaPay. Additionally, are partnerships with Mynt and Clover as the dedicated POS or Point of Sale systems. In 2014, SignaPay went ahead with acquiring PayHub.
Payment Processing by SignaPay
SignaPay is responsible for processing all major debit as well as credit cards for most types of businesses. The wide range of services of SignaPay includes NFC contactless payments, EMV card swipers or readers, recurring billing, the PayHub+ payment gateway, access to virtual terminals, POS solutions, and mobile solutions.
SignaPay Services
SignaPay offers access to different methods of payment services that you would expect out of a modern, advanced processing company -including mobile options, online services, conventional in-store processing, and so more. Additionally, SignaPay also offers access to an introductory video that explains the overall commitment of the organization.
- In-store Processing: For conventional brick-and-mortar retailers, SignaPay comes forth with a wide range of choices for full POS systems or countertop terminals. This service allows retailers to accept all major forms of debit cards and credit cards -including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and so more.
- Mobile Processing: If you require payments on the go, SignaPay can set you up with a dedicated mobile processing solution. The mobile processing solution by SignaPay makes use of the Clover Go smartphone reader. There is also the utilization of a wireless, portable countertop card reader -including the Dejavoo Z9. The option of wireless terminal can serve to be an ideal solution for those who are visiting tradeshows or other events wherein a full terminal can be helpful. The smartphone card reader is regarded as an ideal option for advanced delivery services while taking payments at homes of customers
- Online Processing: The gateway solution by SignaPay offers the ability to securely accept payments with the help of the website or with a dedicated virtual terminal. The payment gateway is PCI-compliant and allows you to accept debit or credit card payments along with ACH transactions. The payment gateway is available with the option of a shopping cart for integrating with the website.
SignaPay Complaints
There are some negative reviews about SignaPay. Some of the complaints report the company to be a rip-off or a scam. The complaints regarding the company are posted with consistently over the past few years. This indicates the average range of products and services of the company. None of the complaints have received any type of public response from the representatives of the company. Almost all complaints are with respect to excessive fees or hidden fees as charged by the company.
SignaPay Fines & Lawsuits
In November 2015, Priority Payments Systems went ahead with suing SignaPay for the issue of copyright infringement. In this matter, Priority Payments Systems puts forth allegations on SignaPay that the company has misused trade secrets after it had received access to confidential data from the merchant management systems of the plaintiff. Priority Payments Systems moved forward with its claims that SignaPay had made use of the proprietary information for creating its own version of the respective software.
In 2019, there was another class-action suit that was brought up against SignaPay. It was put forth by Terry Fabricant. The lawsuit case by Terry Fabricant was presented to the court for achieving a settlement. Therefore, minimal information is available about the case. Still, Fabricant had brought credit card processors to the court over its respective allegations for excessive robocalling.
SignaPay Pricing
SignaPay comes forth with its offer services through TSYS, First Data or Fiserv, and Priority Payments System. The terms & conditions for every agreement vary. However, most of the terms & conditions are quite transparent.
All the contracts are available with the agreement of three years. The agreement is known to automatically renew for around one year. The agreements made through First Data or Fiserv and Priority Payments System feature a termination fee of around $495. At the same time, the agreement put forth by TSYS does not have information about an exclusive termination fee. The agreement made by First Data or Fiserv puts forth an annual fee of around $99. There is also the presence of the annual PCI fee of $99. At the same time, there is also the IRS reporting fee of $2.95 for every month.
The Priority Payments System comes forth with the agreement charges of $25 as the minimum monthly amount. There is the presence of an annual fee of $89 along with the IRS reporting fee of $2.95 that is charged every month.
The TSYS agreement with SignaPay lists only the presence of the PCI compliance fee of $6 along with the IRS reporting fee of $2.95 for every month. Due to the use of independent resellers by SignaPay, it is possible that some of the specific terms of the agreement might vary. It will ultimately depend on the agent who is setting up the account, the overall time in business, size, and type of the merchant business.
SignaPay Partnership with Valor
In March 2021, SignaPay extended its partnership with Valor -a reputable hardware company. As per the given partnership, it is expected that it will bring about major changes to the cost and type of equipment available to the merchants with the help of SignaPay. Still, it remains unclear about what exact changes will be made.
Payment Gateway and Virtual Terminal Pricing
In addition to the payment processing services by SignaPay at the storefront, the company is also committed to dedicating its part of the website to advertise the payment gateway and virtual terminal services. It is made possible with the help of PayHub+. However, pricing has not been disclosed by either of the service providers.
One of the striking features of the PayHub+ gateway is that enables merchants to charge a dedicated service fee to online transactions. This helps in offsetting the processing costs. Additional fees and rates -including technical support fees, gateway fees, batch fees, and additional transaction fees might also apply -especially in case of e-commerce services.
Cash Discount Program by SignaPay
SignaPay has come forth with a service known as PayLo -allowing merchants to offer a dedicated discount to the customers making payments with cash. It is also available as a surcharge to customers who are making payments with cards. The surcharges for customers are meant to offset conventional per-transaction fees. In theoretical terms, the surcharges help in saving money for merchants who are participating. The program is available at a time when most processors have started experimenting with similar types of services.
Contract Terms of the Company
On an overall basis, the terms of the company are slightly less competitive than the average of the entire industry. Therefore, it can be said that the terms of the company are not entirely favorable in comparison to the cheapest merchant accounts available out there.
Third-party Resellers of SignaPay
SignaPay makes use of independent resellers to promote its products and services. The practice is mostly the result of the increased complaint rates for the company. It is because it becomes difficult for any organization to monitor the overall conduct of independent sales parties. With respect to SignaPay, there are some complaints with respect to the misinterpretation of fees & terms by sales representatives.
According to the complainants, they were not informed about the cancelation fees, downgrade fees, PCI compliance fees, and other types of fees by the company before signing up.
Equipment by SignaPay
SignaPay offers its Clover family of processing equipment -including the Clover Mini, Clover Station POS, Clover Go for smartphones, and Clover Mobile. Pricing for the respective equipment or systems is not published on the website of the company. You should note that it is not possible to reprogram Clover systems. They are only expected to work with the processors from whom you are buying them. Therefore, it is recommended to stick to the processor that you have chosen.
SignaPay offers access to a proprietary gateway for online businesses. Along with the Clover systems, SignaPay is also capable of supporting portable terminals by leading brands like Verifone and Dejavoo.
Transparency of Sales & Advertising
One aspect to understand as far as marketing is concerned is that when PayHub served as an independent business, the founders observed it as a leading software company firstly, and a payment processing company secondly. The philosophy continues being evident in the layout of the website of PayHub. This offers more information about the software features and additional services for developers than about pricing. The pricing plan information of PayHub turns out to be slightly higher than you will receive from other companies – and there is no true competitive advantage.
