Fiserv (First Data) - ICICI Merchant Services vs. Square for Retail vs. Stripe Payments

The software which is web-based offers our employees access the portal for reporting, credit card processing remotely. This feature has been very useful during the current Covid environment.

Incentivized

Square for Retail is simple, easy to account for, and serves most purposes that a business like ours needs. There are very few drawbacks once it's up and running. For a company like ours who wants to emphasize experience from the time the customer walks in the door to the time they walk out, and where cost is important, Square for Retail provides an awesome interface for the customer, with attractive, easy to use terminals, and a very accessible price point where we can get set up with a clean, attractive, and functional point of sale system while starting up. We have no intentions of moving away from Square for Retail as long as it maintains its quality and support.

Incentivized

We had a client who wanted a QR to use in their marketing, which enabled their clients to donate to us. It was so useful to be able to set it up, and we can track the views and donations received using this code. Another client with issues with our website wanted to set up a monthly subscription, so I sent her a payment link, which worked brilliantly. For clients that want to make one-time donations, it also lets the client choose the amount. The only scenario where we haven't been able to help is when clients want to change the card associated with the payment - whilst we understand it is for security/gdpr, it means they have to cancel and set up something new, which poses the danger that we may lose them as a customer.

Incentivized

• Securely stores data on FirstData's servers so that I don't have to worry about the technical details there.
• Integrates well with WordPress and WooCommerce and provides a seamless user experience.
• Allows customers to pay while staying on site, rather than leaving and coming back like PayPal.

Incentivized

• ease of collecting payments
• transfer money collected to other accounts
• using Square card to access money collected as payments on my website

Incentivized

• They are reliable. I can count on everything going smoothly with transactions.
• They are accurate. I don’t run into problems with collecting the proper amounts or being overcharged for fees.
• They have good customer service. If I have a question about the customer portal or a problem with a customer, they help me resolve these issues.

Incentivized

• They're too big of a company, each division seems to know only about their own area to such a specific degree that if we make an inquiry about how another division integrates with whoever we're talking to, we're told to contact the other team.
• Constantly finding out there is yet another team that we need to work with to troubleshoot an issue.

Incentivized

• This may just be me, but I want some additional customizations for our biggest annual fundraiser, so that we can differentiate between donations, chance drawings, etc.

Incentivized

• It would be nice to be able to see my Shopify payments from my main payment gateway. I currently have to go to Shopify for that.
• The ability to be able to offer discounted rates at a smaller threshold would be nice.

Incentivized

Stripe is the leader in the industry when it comes to any type of industry. All that is needed is a plan and then implementing that plan either with a developer, or through the help of Stripe's customer service team to assist in getting you setup. The ease of use time it takes to get up and running is second to none

Incentivized

Stripe offers a very easy-to-navigate platform with many different functions. From linking it to our website and accounting platform to tracking our payments, being able to issue a refund quickly if required, and setting up QR codes and payment links for subscriptions or one-time donations, it really covers so many aspects that we need and use on a weekly and monthly basis.

Incentivized

Stripe's support is nearly perfect – great attention to detail, fast response times, and a willingness to really dig into issues and get to the bottom of them. In the five years we've been using Stripe, the only negative thing I can say about their customer support is that it seems like there has been a slight shift to less technical front-line support agents, which means it's more likely your issue will have to be escalated before you get more information. This, however, has happened as Stripe rolled out more real-time support features like call and chat, and that really isn't workable if you're escalating everything right off the bat. It's absolutely an acceptable trade-off.

Incentivized

It took less than an hour to have everything setup and running

Incentivized

First Data is competive on its rate. Quality is acceptable, but not good compared to its competitors mentioned above.

Incentivized

Stripe is more suited for internet or online order forms and businesses for which it integrates. It works well and same as Square with similar fees. Stripe however does not send a physical card reader by default and is not as large of a company. We chose Square due to the integrations it offers, ease of use, and familiarity clients have with existing card readers to make them more comfortable.

Incentivized

Stripe is easier to use and offers better support and rates. My favorite part with Stripe is probably their ready-to-use plug-in that's offered for me. We have multiple eCommerce stores and we rely on our payment process going smoothly. The plug-in from Stripe is free, constantly updated, secure, and very easy to implement.

Incentivized

• Our ROI has been very positive
• Our company has been able to process cash receipts remotely
• Our processing charges have been lower

Incentivized

• Simplicity: Integration of appointment management and billing
• Time saving: Quick management of billable services
• Time Management: Integration of Google calendar and customer-facing appointment calendar

Incentivized

• It makes getting money from your clients really easy
• It gives your clients the guarantee that their payment information is totally secure and confidentially used and kept
• It is very easy to integrate with online assets of the company
• In a couple of occasions, some companies have wanted me to use Stripe for them to pay me, and I have had a couple of hiccups. This was more related to the way that these companies set up the Stripe integration of my account to their platform. In both cases, the integration has not been possible and to this date, I still do not know why with exactitude.
• As I said before, the commissions kept by Stripe could be lower, and shared with the CC companies, rather than having us clients pay for all of o it.

Incentivized