CardPointe Gateway Review

To accept credit, debit, or ACH payments you need a credit card processor, and you have many choices. CardPointe is an option for a cloud-based platform that allows you to accept credit cards in-person and online or over the phone.

The service is offered by CardConnect, a subsidiary of First Data, one of the largest processors in the country. If you choose CardConnect, you essentially use First Data’s merchant services.

Here’s an honest review of CardPointe services.

CardPointe Features

You can use CardPointe to collect credit card payments in almost any form whether you operate online, in-person, over the phone or a combination of the three. You can accept personal and commercial credit cards and it integrates with many third-party software programs for easier back-of-the-house maintenance.

A First Data Merchant Account

Like we said above, First Data is one of the largest merchants in the United States, so you get one of the best merchant accounts available. This enables you to accept credit and debit cards. When the transaction completes (is successful), the funds are sent to your merchant account and then to your bank account. 

Your First Data merchant account also includes a payment gateway which allows you to accept payments online whether you’re strictly an e-commerce store or you offer both in-person and online transactions.

Credit Card Processing

The largest and most obvious feature CardPointe offers is credit card processing. You can accept most major credit cards, as well as debit cards in-person or virtually. It offers most of the common features including immediately emailed receipts, real-time reporting, and instant refunds.

Virtual Terminal

A virtual terminal allows you to accept payments over the phone or by mail. These are card-not-present transactions that require you to manually enter the credit card information. To accept them, you’ll need a computer with internet access. The information is entered securely and isn’t stored on your computer.

You can use your virtual terminal to accept in-person payments too, but it’s best to have a credit card terminal that allows customers to insert, swipe, or tap their card since card present transactions (swipe, chip, or tap) have lower processing fees.

Integration with Countertop Credit Card Terminals

CardPointe works with a variety of countertop terminals to give you the chance to accept card present transactions and pay lower fees. You can find the available terminals in the CardConnect store. They have options for all types of terminals including contactless payments.

Mobile Processing App

If you want the benefits of card present transactions, but your business is on-the-road, the mobile processing app makes it easy to accept swipe and chip cards while on the go. You can also perform all the same functions you’d do with the online platform from your computer.

A Hosted Payments Page

If you run an e-commerce business, CardPointe offers a hosted payments page. This means you can securely collect credit card payments right on your website, reducing the risk of losing customers because they are sent to a third-party website for checkout. 

Recurring Billing

If you have repeat customers that you want to set up on repeat billing, you can set up recurring billing within the gateway. This eliminates the busy work of typing in a customer’s information each time you charge them.

CardPointe Pricing

Like many credit card processors, CardPointe isn’t transparent about its pricing. Each merchant must call and get individual pricing based on their business model. Overall, larger businesses often get interchange-plus pricing, which is the preferred method for credit card processing fees (and usually the cheapest).

Smaller business may pay based on a tiered structure, but overall, the pricing is fair and transparent once you call and talk about your business.

CardPointe Customer Service

If there’s one thing merchants need when choosing a credit card processor, it’s customer service. You can’t predict when something might go wrong, yet you’ll need answers right away to ensure that you service your customers in a timely manner.

Fortunately, CardPointe offers 24/7 customer service via phone and email, giving you multiple options to get the help you need. They also offer a variety of online tools to help answer your questions quickly.

CardPointe Security

Something that’s important for all merchants is the security of the credit card processor. You’re collecting private information from your customers, and they need to be able to trust that you’ll protect the information.

CardPointe uses a tokenization process that removes all sensitive information when it’s transferring from one data point to another to reduce the risk of fraudulent activity. CardPointe is also diligent about PCI compliance and helps its merchants ensure they are on track with protecting their customers’’ information.

What to Watch out For

As is the case with any credit card processing company, you should always be aware of the following:

  • The pricing model – always ask for interchange plus pricing if possible or read the fine print to see how you’ll be charged
  • Ask about hidden fees – Look for full transparency in all aspects of the agreement
  • Ease of use – An easy to use system is the key to successfully processing credit card payments

Final Thoughts

CardPointe is a great gateway for businesses looking to accept credit cards, including commercial credit cards. While the fees aren’t transparent on their website, you can call and get custom pricing.

Their features are robust, and the 24/7 customer service helps ensure you are always able to help your customers with credit card issues. If you want more flexibility and a way to increase sales, accepting credit cards is important.

CardPointe offers low interchange-plus fees in many situations, a variety of ways to collect credit card payments, and even ways to customize what your customers see or how your processing occurs on the back-end to work well with your business model.

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