Global Payments Review

If you are a large business, processing a great number of transactions or with a big international audience, then Global Payments could be worth approaching for a quote.

However, small businesses should look elsewhere, for several reasons which we’ll go on to discuss.

Things we like:

Things we don't like:

Global Payments Overview

Global Payments is based in Atlanta, USA and is on the largest merchant services providers, processing 6 billion transactions per year, in over 38 countries.

In recent years, its product and services range has expanded, thanks to a number of acquisitions — so you could be using a Global Payments platform already. The firm’s largest acquisitions to date have been:

Russia’s largest card processing company United Card Service in 2009.
Australian payment processing company Ezidebit in 2014.
California-based Payment Processing (also known as PayPros) in 2015.
Heartland Payment Systems in 2016.
And just last year (2019), Global Payments announced it will merge with TSYS — the largest processor for issuing banks in North America.

So one thing is for sure: Global Payments is growing quickly.

However, the financial provider’s customer service history hasn’t been entirely smooth. In 2012, a data breach at Global Payments resulted in 1.5 million credit and debit card numbers being leaked in the US, creating 428,000 fraud cases and $708,000,000 in fraudulent payments. Needless to say, the business has reviewed and secured its data protection systems since.

Now you know Global Payments a bit better, it’s time to jump into our review.

As with many other payment processors, it’s not particularly easy to get the full picture. Nevertheless, we’ve assessed Global Payments’ product range, associated fees and customer reviews, so you can decide in minutes whether this provider the best choice for your merchant needs.

Check out our run-down of the most popular payment processors in the UK.

Products & services offered

As one of the largest merchant services companies, it’s little surprise that Global Payments offers a complete range of financial platforms:

A choice of POS payments solutions, including those tailored for retail and hospitality. There’s also a number of attractive add-ons, such as tax free shopping capability and ‘HomeCurrencyPay’ — both of which would benefit businesses with an international focus.
Card machines from Ingenico and Verifone, enabling businesses to take payments in-store or remotely with portable and mobile devices.
Virtual terminal for taking payments by phone and or mail.
Online gateway platform, supporting card payments, digital wallets, direct debits and gift, prepaid or loyalty cards from across the world. There’s also the option of a hosted solution — where your customers will pay on a payment page branded by Global Payments — or an embedded solution, where merchants use an API to send card data to Global Payments for processing. Global Payments also offers an eCommerce product, but few details are available via the website.
Mobile payments using a portable card reader to process payments either in-store or on-the-go. You also need the Global Payments app, though.
‘Global Fortress’, Global Payments’ consultancy serviceto help merchants achieve Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance and safeguard customer’s data from theft.

Fees

Not uncommon for this sector, Global Payments’ processing fees are not disclosed on the UK website and you’ll need to contact a sales representative for further details. When speaking with sales, be sure to get a written summary of all charges, including non-compliance fines and chargeback fees.

We can glean a little further information, though, thanks to Global Payments’ partnership with BIRA (British Independent Retailers Association). Here, typical values are:

No joining or setup fee for BIRA members (usually £150).
Rates from 0.890% (subject to ATV and turnover).
Monthly terminal rental @ £12.95 + VAT.
Early termination fees and contracts apply.

Sales & advertising transparency

Sales

Global Payments doesn’t offer standardised pricing. Instead, it funnels merchants towards their sales team or partners, including HSBC in the UK.

So what does this mean for you?

First, you’ll need to negotiate your merchant services agreement with a sales representative, to find the best deal for you. We can do this on your behalf and normally securing bigger discounts due to our existing relationships and the volume of business we do.

Remember that if you contact one of their your sales representative directly they are often working on commission and it may not be in their interests to offer you the best rates possible.

We’d encourage you to get a quote in writing and carefully review the terms of the contract before signing anything — various online reviews have noted hidden fees for non-PCI compliance, so make sure you’re fully informed before you make a decision.

Website

Global Payments is a typical payment provider with a website designed to persuade visitors towards enquiring. There are various downloadable brochures detailing most of the key products and services.

However, as fees are undisclosed, it’s impossible to really compare the products that they offer with other payment processing providers.

Customer service and technical support

With Global Payments, your first customer service stop is the ‘Global Payments Support Centre’. A word of warning, though, all the information is contained in very long PDF documents.

Whilst this may be useful for those who want to really deep dive into how a certain payment solution works, if you’re looking for a quick trouble-shooting answer, it isn’t ideal.

So if you need to speak with support, customer support is available 9 am-6 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. For eCommerce, they offer 24/7 emergency support.

However, online reviews are very critical about the quality of customer service, noting that callbacks can take several days and the support team lack technical knowledge.

Typical Global Payments reviews

Global Payments has a strong Trustpilot rating on 4.4/5. However, take this with a pinch of salt as they manage their Trustpilot account and at present they have 90 Google reviews with an average rating of just 1.5/5.

Positive Reviews

Helpful sales representatives.
Prompt setup.
Competitive processing rates.

Negative Reviews

Hidden fees added mid-contract.
Fees charged for non-PCI compliance without notice.
Poor customer service with slow response times.

Global Payments Verdict

If you have a high transaction volume, it may be worth speaking to Global Payments as the transaction and processing fee savings could be significant.

However, smaller or inexperienced merchants should look elsewhere. The most negative online reviews also tend to come from disappointed small merchants, who couldn’t get the support they needed with common issues.