Payline Data Review: A Great Overall Payment Processor

Payline Data has built quite the reputation for its transparency and honest practices, which is so not the norm in the credit card processing world. All you have to do is pick a standardized pricing package that fits your business needs, and you’ll see your rates, fees, and terms right there on the website.

Payline Data also strays from the pack by giving back to its community through the Payline Giving program, which partners with charities to support twelve causes each year, one cause per month. The card processor donates a portion of its profits to its causes and lets its employees three days of paid time off annually to volunteer.

Payline Data Features

Payline Data offers a wide variety of processing solutions for retail, eCommerce and omnichannel businesses.

• Merchant Accounts. As Payline Data’s main product, these merchant accounts come with unique merchant ID numbers for each business and low, simplified pricing. Payline is not a direct processor. Instead, Vantiv is its primary backend processor.
• High-Risk Accounts. If your business is deemed high-risk, Payline Data may get you a merchant account with the help of SMB Global. Of course, you’ll probably have to pay higher processing rates with tighter contract terms, but that’s pretty reasonable considering the nature of your business.
• Non-Profit Accounts. Registered 501(c)(3) charities and non-profit organizations can apply for discounted processing rates. Non-profits can also benefit from Payline Data’s “Commercial Co-Venture” program by getting recurring donations just for referring business customers to the company.
• Payment Gateway. A fully-featured payment gateway for processing online transactions, which is included in the Payline Connect plan. Features include recurring billing, electronic invoicing and a customer information vault. There are no additional fees or per-transaction charges for the payment gateway.
• Virtual Terminal. This feature allows you to accept payments from a computer without a credit card present. With a USB-connected card reader, it can also process card-present transactions. The virtual terminal is free with the Payline Start pricing plan and is available for $10 per month with the Payline Medical plan.
• Credit Card Terminals. Payline does not offer terminal leases. Models for direct purchase include:
  • Verifone Vx520
  • Ingenico iCT220
  • Ingenico iCT250
  • All three machines are compatible with EMV payments. Payline Data can also reprogram existing equipment, if you would like to go that route.
  • Under the Payline Shop pricing plan, you could get a free terminal, however you’ll have to return the terminal promptly when you decide to close your account.
• POS Systems. Payline does not offer any POS hardware in its standardized pricing plans. Instead, the company can integrate its processing system with your existing equipment. Ask your sales representative to make sure it’s compatible.
• Mobile Payments. Available for both iOS and Android and works with smartphones and tablets, this system uses the Ingenico RP457c card reader which can accept magstripe, EMV and NFC-based payments. The card reader can connect via headphone jack or Bluetooth.
• Shopping Cart Integration. Integrate your website with any of Payline Data’s third-party shopping cart partners. There are over 175 options to choose from.
• eCheck (ACH) Services. This is a good option to add, giving your customers another payment option while you’re saving money on processing costs.
• Fraud Protection. To lower the risk of chargebacks, Payline Data offers anti-fraud features with all of its pricing plans. The company has teamed up with Ethoca and Verifi to prevent chargebacks before they happen.
• Payline API. This toolkit is designed for developers who want to accept credit card payments from B2B clients. It offers secure payment integration, instant merchant onboarding, and flexible funding for integrating payments into software platforms. For this option, pricing is under a separate plan.
• Business Loans. With partner Lendio, Payline Data offers small business loans under the Payline Capital program.

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Payline Data Fees & Rates

Payline Data offers pricing plans designed for different types of merchants. If you’re a retail business, you should check out Payline Start. eCommerce merchants will want to look into Payline Connect. Doctors, dentists, optometrists, and other medical practitioners should go with the Payline Medical plan.

All plans feature interchange-plus pricing. Low-volume and eCommerce merchants pay higher rates, while high-volume retailers pay lower ones. Payline Data also advertises a price-match guarantee, so there is a possibility of getting lower rates than advertised if you are switching to Payline from a different processor.

All core plans are month-to-month and include one free terminal or mobile card reader with lifetime equipment protection.

Payline Start (for retail)
$10 monthly fee
$0 annual fee
$0.10 per transaction fee
0.25% for swiped debit card
0.25% for keyed debit card
1.71% for swiped credit card
1.90% for keyed credit card
$0 gateway monthly fee
$0 gateway per transaction fee
$0 cancellation fee
1-2 days deposit time

Payline Connect (for eCommerce only)
$10 monthly fee
$0 annual fee
$0.20 per transaction fee
0.55% for keyed debit card
2.30% for keyed credit card
$10 gateway monthly fee
$0.10 gateway per transaction fee
$0 cancellation fee
2 days deposit time

Payline Medical (for healthcare providers)
$0 monthly fee
$0 annual fee
$0.10 per transaction fee
0.45% for swiped debit card
0.45% for keyed debit card
1.91% for swiped credit card
2.20% for keyed credit card
0.40% ACH check fee
$10 gateway monthly fee
$0.05 gateway per transaction fee
$0 cancellation fee
1-2 days deposit time
1-2 days deposit time

Payline Start and Connect also include PCI compliance for no additional fees. However, you may have to pay a fee if your account becomes PCI non-compliant. All plans include American Express card processing at no extra charge.

Several optional add-ons are also available:

• Payline mPOS (under Payline Start) for $7.50/month
• Fraud tools (under Payline Connect) for $19.95
• Subscription billing (under Payline Connect) for $29.95

All in all, Payline Data offers pretty competitive rates and fees for its pricing plans. Although you can find lower interchange-plus rates elsewhere, the company’s low fees and free equipment and software translates into significantly lower overall costs when compared to other providers.

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Customer Support & Satisfaction

You can reach customer service and support via email or call Monday through Friday during office hours, from 8:00am to 5:00pm CST. Customers often praise Payline Data for the quality of its telephone support.

There’s also a convenient FAQ section on Payline Data’s website. Although it doesn’t go into detail, this section answers most common questions new merchants might have. A helpful API Reference section online covers integrating Payline’s payment platform with websites.

Since 2014, Payline has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and currently sports an A+ rating. The company has a very low volume of complaints compared to its size, which indicates that Payline Data does a good job of keeping its customers happy.

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Contract & Closing

All standard contracts are month-to-month with no early termination fee (ETF). That means you can close your account whenever you want without having to pay a penalty fee and without having to worry about automatic charges months after you close your account. Of course, you should return any “free” equipment in your possession quickly.

In contrast, other processors require long-term contracts with high cancellation fees. Keep in mind, if you’re a high-risk merchant, you most likely won’t get a standard contract, so you won’t get as flexible of terms. Make sure to read your contract thoroughly, so you know what the length of the contract is and whether or not you have to worry about an ETF.

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My Impressions

Payline Data has a lot of things going for it: interchange-plus pricing, month-to-month billing, and no ETF. These three features alone make Payline stand out from the crowd, but that’s not all. Toss in free equipment, take away gateway fees, and add low monthly account fees. Now we got what looks like a winner. The solid customer support you get with Payline is just the icing on the cake.

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