Cayan Card Processing Review, Features & Pricing [2019]
Article by Chris Costi, Last update at November 26, 2019
Key Features
- EMV compatible products
- Monthly contracts with no termination fee
- No set up or application fees
- Reasonable interchange-plus pricing
Pricing
When it comes to pricing, Cayan does not advertise on their website, but is open to negotiating a structure suitable for every business, according to its needs. There is no standard pricing and you will have to negotiate the cost with them. If you sign up for the Genius platform you can cancel within 60 days without paying a penalty, after that they do charge a nominal fee. You can attempt to negotiate this out of your contract, before you sign the merchant agreement. They will work out the cost based on the size of your business and the amount of transaction you process. You will also need to find out what the startup costs and process entails and what their policy is when it comes to contests and fraud if they occur. Cayan offers bundled and interchange plus pricing plans. For low volume merchants there is a minimum amount that you have to have in transaction per month in order to avoid paying the industry standard of a minimum of $25 per month. Other charges are $99 per year PCI compliance fee and $7.95 monthly statement fee.
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Things To Note
Before signing up with Cayan be sure to find out what all the possible charges and fees are. There have been quite a few complaints regarding non-disclosure, most of which is in the fine print of the merchant contract that you sign. To avoid any negative experiences you should do your research and inquire as to what you will be charged for. If you consider the volume of transactions that Cayan processes, these complaints are hardly representative of the overall ratings from their customers. Cayan offers services that exceed the industry standards and have a lot to offer merchants in all types of businesses.
In A Nutshell
Cayan is constantly updating and improving their services. Their new Genius Customer engagement platform is new way to receive payments and is used as mobile marketing for your customers. Their reasonably priced quality products and services are well received and the fact that they do not charge an early termination fee is a huge draw for merchants. Customer service which is offered on a 24/7 basis, is excellent and you will find that representatives will address your problem in a timely and efficient manner. Cayan does not promote any expensive third party leases, which is common practice with other payment providers. Their interchange-plus pricing might not be explained on their website, but it is the most transparent pricing model for most merchants. The credit card providers charge their normal fee and Cayan adds a set percentage which they charge to process your payments. They have an impressive collection of services and their products a listed on the official Cayan website. All their products focus on processing payments and marketing and the hardware can be purchased outright or leased.
LETS DIVE DEEPER
Are you looking for the best credit card processing company? Cayan has been around since 1998 and was an early leader in internet payment technology. New technology in their cloud based, Cayan Genius, has been well received and the company can process any type of payments across the board including Customer loyalty cards. Apart from numerous awards in their field, Cayan has a BBB rating of A+ with the Better Business Bureau for many years. Cayan also has a variety of hardware and software for you to choose from at reasonable prices. All their extra services and hardware are listed on the official Cayan website and are available to buy or lease. Leasing does involve extra hidden costs and it is advisable to buy outright wherever possible. There is equipment available for both of their Genius products and also third party brands like VeriFone. The Genius platform includes an API for developers which can be integrated into your POS system or website. There is a counter top, mobile card reader and mini terminal which can be used with other processors and all three can accept mobile payments, chip and magnetic cards. This impressive collection of products and services is cataloged on their website and they all focus on processing payments and marketing.
One of the new additions to the Genius platform is the loyalty card programs for your customers, e-commerce features and digital coupons and rewards. The Genius platform is cloud based which makes it easy to update with new features. The open API that is included allows developers to integrate the Cayan shopping cart solution and its MerchantWare4 software. If you have an existing POS system you can use Cayan for your payment processing.
When it comes to sales and marketing Cayan hires independent sales representatives which may cause some confusion when it comes to closing a deal. It is always best to deal directly with Cayan sales representative if you need to negotiate a fair price for their fees or other products. Cayan relies on referrals and lead generation with an inside sales force to market their brand, their re sellers are all under the Capital Bankcard brand name.
A big plus for Cayan is that they do not charge an early cancellation fee making your contract with them on a month to month basis. The cancellation procedure is pretty straight forward and if you stick to their instructions you will not have a problem. Most companies in this field require a three year contract with fees that can exceed $1000 if you cancel, so you can see the appeal of Cayan’s no cancellation fee policy. The reason Cayan does not advertise their rates online is because their rates vary depending on the business type and the amount of transaction. The only charge that is standard is the annual PCI compliance fee of $99, which is written clearly in the merchant agreement that you will have to sign.
Cayan has also had some bad reviews, most of the complaints were due to non-disclosure of charges. In their defense all charges are listed in the merchant agreement, except the PCI compliance fee, so read this carefully before you sign. The other complaint was for withholding funds. This can happen when there is suspicious movement on your account and it raises a red flag with Fist Data which is used for processing all transactions. This can be done without Cayan authorization and it depends on the type of transactions that go through your account. Most of these complaints were based on security issues. Another problem was that Cayan does not clarify the PCI compliance fee in their merchant agreement. This fee is justifiable and should be clearly shown in their merchant agreement and on their website. Some complaints were that this fee should be charged on a monthly basis for those customers who don’t want to pay it yearly. In the event that you want to cancel, you will not be refunded for the months that you have already paid for. Cancellation is not difficult, you would need to submit a cancellation request and you will be sent a link for an online cancellation form.
Cayan Credit Card Processing BEST FEATURES
- Debit and Credit card processing
Cayan uses First Data to process their transactions. They can support all credit or debit cards with terminals online and by mobile processing. The mobile app, SwipeSimple, which is available on IOS and Android, can be used with their swipe terminal which you would have to purchase. Check processing and insurance programs are also available with CrossCheck which offers extras like remote capture.
- Online payment gateway
New processing technology in the Genius payment platform offers a cloud based payment processing system that has advanced features for those who want to keep ahead with the latest technology. This offers automatic software updates and PCI solutions, to name a few.
- Virtual Terminals
When you sign up with Cayan you will get free use of the payment gateway and virtual terminal.
- Near-field communication (NFC)
Cayan’s Genius platform offers NFC, Near Field Communication which allows customers to place their card in front of the reader on the terminal without having to swipe. This feature is supported by Apple Pay and Android Pay.
- Cloud-based software updates
Automatic and free software updates are another feature of the cloud based payment processing platform Genius. You can rest assured that your software will be updated regularly and that you will have all the latest technology as it is released.
- POS system
You can purchase a fully integrated POS system from Cayan as well. They offer the Genius ITX, Genius STX and the Genius TX. All these systems offer different features and additions which you can choose from. The full descriptions of each system are listed on their website.
- Multiple services
The Omnichannel extension is one of the multiple additions that you will get with Cayan. This will give you a reporting feature that allows you to view all your transactions on mobile, in store and online via one login. A full list of additional software and hardware that is available is listed on their website at reasonable prices.
- EMV compatible products
Cayan payment terminals are compatible with EMV or smart cards that have data stored on integrated circuits and magnetic strips. These cards have to be inserted into the payment terminals. There are also contact cards that can be read over a short distance using radio frequency technology. These cards are often referred to as Chip and Pin cards and in most cases do not require the customer’s signature.
- Monthly contracts with no termination fee
Cayan is one of the only merchant processing companies that does not have an early cancellation fee. Merchant agreements are on a month to month basis and their prices are compatible with industry standards.
- No set up or application fees
There are no set up or application fees when signing up with Cayan.
- Reasonable interchange-plus pricing
Fees charged per transaction are worked out on an interchange-plus pricing. This means that the credit card processing provider charge their normal fee and Cayan adds on their fees which are standard for every transaction.
- Loyalty, reward and gift card programs
For those interested in offering their customers reward and loyalty cards, the Genius Customer Loyalty feature is ideal. This feature allows you to send SMS messages to all your customers and target customers in specific areas.
- Good customer support
Cayan has a good reputation when it comes to customer support. They have their service telephone numbers clearly displayed on their website and also offer 2/7 technical support through email support and FAQ’s. The company has representatives on a full time basis ready to address whatever problem you have. In most cases issues are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner. These services are provided for US based merchants by their in house service representatives.
