Payline Data Review: Is It Right for Your Business?

Payline pricing comes in two payment processing options—in-person and online—with monthly and payment processing fees for each. Its pricing plans make it more suitable for businesses selling either exclusively in person or online.

If your revenue is divided heavily between sales from your website and storefront (multichannel sales), you may have to pay separate monthly fees or negotiate a custom monthly fee through one of Payline Data’s sales representatives.

Payline Data uses a subscription interchange-plus pricing model. Merchant account holders pay a monthly fee in exchange for low processing rates, inclusive of incidental fees. Add-ons such as PCI fees, payment gateway (setup and use) fees, and QuickBooks integration are already included in the monthly plan. Note that this provider also charges a monthly virtual terminal fee, which most businesses need—other processors, like Square, offer this for free.

Payline Data also offers payment processing for medical, nonprofit, and educational institutions and high-risk merchants. We were quoted the following rates:

• Medical: Interchange plus 0.2% + 10 cents, with free subscription for the first month
• Nonprofit: Starts at interchange plus 0.1% + 10 cents, with free subscription for the first two months
• High-risk: Interchange plus 1%, with free subscription for the first two months

If you need any of these services, it’s important to ask all your questions around transaction rates and incidental charges when you get on a call with a Payline Data representative.

There is a fee calculator on Payline Data’s website that can give you an idea of how much you can expect for payment processing costs. This not only includes the markup fee you pay to Payline Data but also covers an estimate of the interchange price that goes to the acquiring bank and card networks. There’s no long-term contract, and new subscribers will also be offered the first month free.

Payline Data does not advertise hardware pricing but does support in-person payment processing, including mobile, countertop, and smart terminals. It also integrates with several POS systems like Clover and Vend. In some cases, Payline Data offers free hardware in your contract but note that this will most likely require you to sign up for a long-term contract. Contact Payline Data’s sales team for more information.

Mobile & Countertop Hardware

Desk3500/500

• Countertop terminal
• Best for accepting payment from a countertop checkout
• Accepts magnetic stripe reader (MSR), EMV, and near-field communication (NFC) transactions
• Can be programmed to accept electronic benefits transfer (EBT) payments
• Point-to-point encryption (P2PE)

Bolt Clover Flex

• Wireless terminal*
• Best for processing payments anywhere within your store
• Accepts EMV, and NFC transactions
• Signature capture and touch-screen-enabled
• Internet Wi-Fi connectivity
• P2PE

iPP315 Pin Pad

• PinPad (customer-facing) device
• Best for pairing with Desk terminal
• Accepts dipped, tapped, and swiped card payments
• P2PE

Ingenico iSC Touch 250

• Hardware for virtual terminal
• Best for multilane stores
• Accepts EMV transactions
• Signature capture and touch-screen-enabled
• Supports Payline Data’s virtual terminal
• P2PE

Ingenico iSMP4

• Hardware for virtual terminal
• Best for mobile checkout
• Accepts EMV, NFC, and PIN Debit transactions
• Tip selection enabled
• Supports Payline Data’s virtual terminal
• P2PE

Ingenico iPP 320/350

• Hardware for virtual terminal
• Best for mobile checkout
• Accepts EMV chip and PIN payments
• Supports Payline Data’s virtual terminal
• P2PE

ID TECH SREDKey 2

• Hardware for virtual terminal
• Best for mobile checkout
• Accepts EMV, NFC, and PIN Debit transactions
• Tip selection enabled
• Supports Payline Data’s virtual terminal
• Internet Wi-Fi connectivity
• P2PE

ID Tech Augusta

• Hardware for virtual terminal
• Best for countertop checkout
• Accepts EMV and magnetic stripe transactions
• Supports CardPointe and Transax virtual terminal
• USB connectivity

*Verifone, DejaVoo, and FD wireless terminals are also available.

POS Hardware

Clover POS

Offers a range of POS hardware, including mobile, countertop, and smart terminals. An ideal choice for busy retailers and restaurants. It can be preprogrammed to support Payline Data’s primary backend processor, Vantiv.

NCR Silver

NCR’s hardware is designed to handle multiple sale types, including food retail, making it an ideal solution for grocers and convenience stores.

Vend

Payline Data recommends Vend for its merchants who prefer using their own iPad for processing payments at checkout. Pair your tablet with Vend’s mobile card reader with an option to purchase outright or lease from Vend’s Portal Advantage website.

Oracle/Micros

Micros is a secure POS system often used for retail restaurants, ticketing, and hospitality, such as hotels, resorts, casinos, and arenas. It offers the widest support service reach of more than 180 countries

Generally, Payline Data offers a month-to-month contract to its merchant account holders. This means you can cancel your account at any time and not have to worry about early termination fees or cancellation fees. On top of that, Payline Data’s transparent pricing gives you a pretty good idea of the fees you can expect to pay every month, with most of your incidental fees already covered in its subscription pricing model.

However, you will need to contact a representative to get the finer details of its terms and condition of service. As with most merchants, a customized plan will mean paying only for services you need to run your business, but certain conditions on the contract may change significantly, such as:

• Accepting ACH payments
• Higher monthly fees for businesses with heavily blended sales channels
• Free (or leasing) hardware in exchange for a long-term contract with early termination fees
• Additional monthly fees and set up fees when using certain payment gateways
• Higher monthly fees and transaction rates for high-risk merchants
• Terms and conditions, including incidental fees, of chargeback management dependent on Payline Data’s partner integration
• Separate fees for fraud protection tools

For instance, Payline Data partners with CardPointe, NMI, Transax, and Authorize.net for its payment gateway and virtual terminal solutions. These third-party integrations vary in their basic plan fees and features, so you may be charged an additional fee if you require functionalities included in its more advanced plans.

This solution comes with both pricing plans at no extra cost. Payline Data offers a mobile card reader and payment app you can use anywhere with any Android- and iOS-compatible mobile device. It offers tokenization and encryption tools for processing swipe, chip, tap, and NFC payments.

Additional features allow you to upload and manage your products in sync with your POS system; manage recurring billing; auto-calculate taxes and gratuity; process surcharges, voids, and refunds; and send electronic receipts. The mobile payment app also lets you view reports and manage cash transactions.

Payline Mobile has a simple interface that lets you see sales reports, connect card readers, and accept card and cash payments. (Source: Payline Mobile listing in App Store)

Manage one-time and recurring billing with Payline Data’s payment management platform. It allows you to send emails to collect payments, set up billing plans, view reports, and more. The dashboard features design and templating tools, customization options, and a customer database you can use to set up profiles for recurring billing functions.

Design a collection form and attach the payment link directly to your collection email. (Source: Payline Data)

Payline Data offers different tools for accepting online payments. The Payline gateway lets you process debit, credit, and other electronic payments online securely through hosted payment pages, while the virtual terminal allows you to accept payments from phone orders through manual input (keyed in or using card readers). Additionally, it integrates with popular third-party virtual terminal and gateway providers, such as CardPointe, NMI, Transax, and Authorize.net.

For those wanting a more customized payment processing experience for their customers, Payline Data gives you access to its application programming interface (API) at no extra cost. This also makes it easy for businesses that require omnichannel payment features for synchronizing sales made in-store and online. Payline Data’s onboarding team also helps set up this functionality if you need them.

Payline Data’s onboarding team will help you set up, customize, and embed a payment link on your website to start accepting payments. (Source: Payline Data)

Signing up with Payline Data starts with sending an inquiry from its website. You’ll need to fill out the online form with your contact information. The next window will take you to an online calendar where you can set up an appointment for a call with a Payline Data sales representative.

Included in Payline Data’s initial service is a statement analysis where an account manager will provide you a detailed comparison of your current payment processing fees against Payline Data’s pricing. Instant approval is also available for low-risk merchant account applicants signing up for the in-person plan.

Keep payments secure with card verification value (CVV) and address verification and a fraud protection tool that screens transactions for suspicious activity. You’ll need to reach out to Payline Data’s account manager to check for any additional cost for this service. As for chargeback protection, Payline Data uses Verifi’s Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network to provide up-to-date dispute data and comprehensive coverage.

Payline Medical is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)-compliant payment processing product created exclusively for healthcare businesses and offered at a special medical rate. It offers specialized tools for businesses in the medical profession, such as seamless integration with accounting and some EHR/EMR software and EMV/Chip and mobile payment services.

Nonprofit businesses and educational institutions qualify for a reduced rate, starting at interchange + 0.10%, and a hosted payments page. Payline gateway and other third-party payment gateway partners provide advanced security features for ensuring safe and secure collection of donations and student payments. This provider also offers a secure form to gather donor and student information without requiring adding an extra step to your online process. Nonprofits and educational institutions get to enjoy the first two months without any monthly fees.

Payline Data supports high-risk merchants operating in industries like travel, tobacco, and CBD. It works with more than 20 bank partners to provide you with the most opportunity to get approved for a merchant account.

Also, among Payline Data’s list of partner payment gateway solutions is Network Merchants Inc. (NMI). High-risk merchants will benefit from its load balancing feature and ability to manage multiple merchant accounts through one gateway to avoid being unnecessarily flagged for potentially fraudulent transactions. It can also route transactions to specific accounts automatically.

Another partner payment gateway is Authorize.net, which tops our list of the best payment gateway because of its popularity, numerous integrations, easy setup, and user-friendly features.

High-risk merchant accounts also don’t need to pay any monthly fees for the first two months.

Payline Data offers hundreds of shopping cart and accounting software integrations for you to customize a solution that works best with your needs. Payline’s secure gateway payment processor integrates with over 200 online shopping carts, so you can easily accept payments online without impacting the customer experience. The QuickBooks integration allows you to check out real-time financial information and automate accounting tasks.

Not all payment processors offer a payment app like Payline Data, with POS features such as inventory, CRM, and reporting tools. However, if you want to run a small but growing business, you may find these functionalities somewhat limited. You will need to integrate with popular POS systems like Clover, Vend, and Shopify.

Deposit speed for your payment proceeds takes one to two business days. Payline Data commits to having your funds sent to you the next day, making it a competitive option for businesses that require fast access to funds.

Payline Data offers 24/7 customer support via email or phone. You can also review the frequently asked questions (FAQs) section to troubleshoot on your own and check the gateway service status page if you’re having trouble processing payments. Payline Data also has a YouTube channel and blog where you can search for and discover helpful resources and information about merchant services.