17 years helping Emirati businesses
choose better software
About Stax
Stax by Fattmerchant is a subscription-based payment technology company offering unlimited credit card processing at direct cost.
Software is straightforward and they offered competitive rates.
BEWARE!!! Their fees are completely misleading. Been processing with them for a few months now & besides the $99 monthly fee be prepared for.
Filter reviews (38)
Usage
Sort by
Filter reviews (38)
We save $1,000's on fees with FattMerchant
Comments: Their support is great. I've had dozens of questions and they always get back to me. And they send your payments super fast. Great experience overall.
Pros:
Flat rate pricing! Oh man, this is a breath of fresh air. After using stripe and square to process payments we have absolutely loved the simplified pricing structure that Fattmerchant uses. Only paying interchange fees and a fixed monthly rate saves us $100's each month.
Cons:
The integrations are weak. We've had to build a few workarounds to get fattmerchant to work with our tech stack but it's been worth it.
Stax easy and useful
Pros:
It is easy to use program with good looking interface. The support is perfect and the flat rate pricing is the best
Cons:
I haven't any con some bugs maybe appear but they fix them immediately
Starts out well, ends up being a huge disappointment!
Comments: It all starts out well. But, it's very far from transparent and extremely shady with the fees and the pricing. If you try to get support on a fee/pricing issue, it's almost like a planned ignorance type of framework where you'll have to make many calls and send many emails to wade through the mess of nonsensical and unhelpful responses to get to someone who actually knows what they're talking about. It took months and proably 20+ emails and 20+ phone calls just for Stax to tell us they're keeping the more than $10,000 in improper fees charged to us after we have in writing that these fees would not be added back to our accounts.
Pros:
It seems straightforward when you start with Stax. If there truly was a flat-rate fee structure, that would be very appealing.
Cons:
Stax adds extra fees that aren't explained up front, and aren't explained when they're added. They add these fees with little or no notice and wait for you to dispute them. These are Performance Analytics and Chargeback fees. They've now added these fees to our accounts three times, to the tune of more than $10,000 in additional fees. After months of back and forth, with many circular communications and nonsensical answers, Stax ultimately just said they're going to keep the ill-gotten money. We've never used Performance Analytics, we've never asked for it, and we've already gone through this once nad have emails from Stax from years ago wherein they state they will not add back these fees. Well, they did it again anyway, and now they're keeping the money.
Don’t use stax
Comments: Twice a year I think about looking for a new company but stay because sometimes I’m too lazy to do the work transition to a different company. Customer support when you reach them is OK PCI‘s terrible.
Pros:
It’s as good as some of its competitors.
Cons:
Customer support and PCI mostly PCI customer support is not convenient though
Alternatives Considered:
Dubious excuses to problems
Comments: They are fine until you have a problem. Do yourself a favor and ask around and do your due diligence before signing up. This way, when things go bad you can only blame yourself.
Pros:
On time banking. Sales people nice, but aren't they all?
Cons:
Customer service, sneaky price instability.
Worst with dealing with Chargebacks
Pros:
It works for payment processing works for the most part
Cons:
Customer service, especially chargebacks, is horrendous. They use IQ for support which is offshore and they give bad information, don't know how to handle and the system is junk as you cannot respond
Bad customer service, sneaky company
Comments: Very bad experience with Stax. We started with a company called payment depot in 2021. In 2022 Stax bought payment depot, and our nightmares began. The fees went up from 1.9% to 2.4. Then in 2023 it was 3.2%. They changed our fees despite sending us email at time if their merger that everything would stay the same. When we asked for some discounts, they dragged their feet but keeping our hopes up by saying specialists would reach out regarding special discounts. Nothing happened. When we finally decided to close our account and called about the timing and process, they told us it was pretty immediate - that it would be a one at most two day process. When we finally set up our new merchant processing abd contacted them about closing it now he one a 10-15 day process plus a 30 day notice - so 45 days we have to pay their monthly fees of hundreds of dollars. Stay away from this unethical business. We are so sorry we did business with them.
Pros:
Ease of use; nice when the company was still payment depot until Stax took over
Cons:
Uncaring, incompetent customer service; high costs; stealthy increases in costs
Terrible customer service
Pros:
I signed up with Payment Depot over 10 years ago with my first business and they were great. I have had multiple companies that utilized payment depot however since Stax bought Payment depot the customer service is non existent. Holds can be hours with no resolution for minor issues that should take 5 min to resolve. Customer service agents have to communicate via email with each other from remote locations. Highly ineffective business model.
Cons:
Non existent customer service. Being left on hold for hours at a time.
Ripped us out of $20,000
Comments: Terrible. Can't talk to anyone when you call other than an answering service who creates a ticket.
Pros:
Nothing good to say about it. They were good until they weren't
Cons:
Still withholding funds from 11 days ago. Didn't warn me or tell me why until I left multiple support tickets. They needed me to do something to update THEIR new bank info and didn't tell me in advance. Still owe me $20,000 saying it will fund "early next week"
Worst customer service experience
Comments: We switched to Stax Payment in sometime in the Spring, attracted by their competitive rates and promising software. But shortly after commencing transactions, our account was put under review, initiating a weeks-long process of supplying requested business documents via email. This froze the majority of our collected funds, causing significant cash flow issues for our small business. We were finally approved after a phone conversation with a representative.Two months later, while I was on vacation, our account was flagged. Despite numerous attempts to contact Stax, including leaving voicemails for the representative who had previously helped us and reaching out to our initial sales rep, we received no response. Ultimately, they terminated our account. This has caused us to scramble to set up another payment processing system. If we were not in a position to have some flexibility in the matter of payment processing, I cannot imagine how we would continue to run our business at the moment. If you are a smaller business that values customer and account support, look elsewhere!
Pros:
Software is straightforward and they offered competitive rates.
Cons:
Customer and account support. Lack of communication.
Some Ease of Use but to many problems
Comments: Converted from an existing system. Was clear that we needed daily batches and had to work with our current POS system, pricing was Stax Monthly Membership Fee and Wholesale Merchant fee's plus fee per transactions. Stax confirmed in writing yes to everything. Never worked with our POS, Fee's are significantly higher than quoted, batching does not at all match daily transactions processed, dates are intermixed so hard to reconcile. = No support, people will not even talk to you.
Pros:
The Stax on line terminal seams to function well. The employees who use this feature have been pleased.
Cons:
Reporting is poor, trying to get batch reports and data to reconcile with is horrible (multiple dates and devises are mixed together.). No body wants to work with you to solve problems.
worst payment processor
Comments: I would never use or recommend this company. So dishonest.
Pros:
GREAT SALESPEOPLE who give you a song and dance, BUT so very dishonest
Cons:
The fee structure was grossly misrepresented. I was told my account was closed in April 2023. They keep taking funds out of my account despite their associate sending me an email stating that my account is closed. Total liars and so dishonest.
Poor customer service
Comments: Their staff does poorly when following up with customers. I will switch with in the next week as soon as I find a suitable replacement.
Pros:
The terminal is average. It has performed all the necessary functions, even with poor customer support.
Cons:
Poor customer service. The customer service amounts to calling representatives numerous times with no results.
Terrible system, worst client support
Pros:
Not even the fee for the payment we lost.
Cons:
No account representative, no Client support
FALSE pricing structure for processing
Comments: Customer service is horrible! For example I called twice today to speak with a rep about issues. On hold for about 20-30 mins each time. You are the 4th caller in line .. followed by 2nd caller in line .... followed by your next caller & then ........ NO Representatives to take your call. Please submit your issue online. Which I did 3 times before.
Pros:
The processing is supposed to be straight forward & provide a free card machine BUT .....
Cons:
BEWARE!!! Their fees are completely misleading!! Been processing with them for a few months now & besides the $99 monthly fee be prepared for ... Chargeback service fee, Monthly Location Fee ...PCI Compliance Fee & something called Minimum Bill Adjustment. We process an $45-60K per month. Look somewhere else in my opinion as I am doing right now.
The Fort @ Exit 18 LLC
Comments: Your company uses very sly business practices and you should be ashamed of the way your procedures are marketed. You provide a quote and then proceed to start the business without consent of the consumer!!!! I would say that that would be FRAUD in ANY STATE !!! Not to mention that you can't even get ahold of the person that originally quoted the account and get an answering service!!!! I will mention your company to many of my businesses to stay clear of your company!!!
Pros:
The woman that quoted us was very nice and upfront and provided us with a competitive quote.
Cons:
The company literally moved forward without even our consent. We were upfront with the person who provided the quote and were still gathering additional quotes. I called the number on the e-mail and you get an ANSWERING SERVICE!!!! Noone EVER called me back and got an e-mail stating they will remove our business from their company!! BE VERY AWARE THIS COMPANY HAS LOW MORALS AND VERY UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES. I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO MY WORST ENEMY!! TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ETHICS AS A WHOLE!!!! BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!
The price is good but it has been a change for me now that they are getting more popular.
Comments: It started out as a pleasant surprise but the last year has not been as good. Their business is expanding at a serious pace and they are adding features for the price increases but I do not find value for me or my business in the new features.
Pros:
The costs are good and the billing is straightforward. The customer service has been very good but has been slipping the last few years. I referred about 4 other local businesses in my area to Fattmerchant over the years.
Cons:
The price keeps going up and I am a 4-month seasonal hospitality business that has been seriously affected by the pandemic. I also know that all prices go up, however, I was told in the beginning that I was in early for their company and my price would stay the same. Whether or not that was a sales tactic so I would give them a chance 5 years ago I do not know. I remembered that statement. A few months ago I got blindsighted with a big increase in my monthly cost. They are working on it but it is 3 months and it is still not resolved. It still is a low-cost merchant provider compared to others but I have a regional restaurant buying club alternative that has been begging me to give them a chance so I may because of this issue.
Stax works for small business needs
Comments: I used it for a bit to try out the low fees. While Paypal and Squarespace charge more, they are free and eventually won out against Stax for me but I did think it was great software to have.
Pros:
Stax is an all in one platform and it works great with business to business transactions. 0 markup on interchange rates make it very beneficial.
Cons:
It still isn't free so you have to still pay a monthly subscription so the lower fees must be leveraged by items sold.
Horrible Customer Service - Stay Away!
Comments: Negative -100
Pros:
10 years ago when we wet up the account it was the price structure.
Cons:
They surprisingly increased our monthly fee structure without warning from $49 per month to $199 for 6 Merchant Accounts. No communication back with concern over this matter. No call back no emails back. I tried to cancel and they still charged me for 4-6 months after wards. Still battling to get a refund 7 months after the fact.
Terrible service, fraudulent billing
Pros:
Nothing since Staxx payment took over, this used to be a better service before.
Cons:
Terrible service and literally fraudulent billing, they're refusing to refund us thousand of dollars after an explicit cancellation request.
Easy to Use - Customer Service On Point
Comments: Being able to keep cards on file and charge them after my lawn services are complete is a lifesaver. It keeps me from having to bill each customer, or chase my money down from now on. Also, the way they charge you for accepting credit cards is extremely clear and one reason I went with them. The larger I get, the more affordable FattMerchant will be as well, since the main cost each month is the flat monthly fee that will never change for you once you sign-up with them.
Pros:
Fattmerchant is so easy to use, even to me who has never really used a credit card processor to speak of. The software hasn't been without flaw, but what I like is anytime an issue has come up I email the small team at FattMerchant and they get back to me quickly and work to fix the problem and then update me on their progress. Maybe someday when they get really big this won't be the case, but for right now I am really impressed with their response and customer service. I've already recommended this to one of my friends and will be recommending it more in the future. Plus they give incentives for recommending them, which is nice.
Cons:
I wish they had a way where I could send someone a form and not an invoice to collect a card number. I wouldn't even need to be able to see the entire number, but if it could just collect it to be charged in the future. Right now the only way I have to collect a card number is either have the customer pay the first invoice, or have them call me and collect it over the phone, which I don't like. This is really the only thing I wish they would find a solution for though.
Professional
Comments: The software is amazing; But more than that it is the customer service I have received. the last thing I wanted in a merchant was someone that was inefficient, ineffective and hard to reach. I got NONE of that from Fattmerchant. They treat me like they have a huge privilege in handling my money. That is pretty much unheard of in this industry.
Pros:
This software is great. Easy to use, intuitive, and comprehensive with information that matters to you. The thing I like the most about it is the ability to send customers a link to pay there invoice to there phone or email. Great Software
Cons:
I have had no issues with this software at this time.
Great Company
Comments: We went from 1 owner to the next. They made the transaction from 1 to the other easy. And the fees are great. My CPA was impressed with how much we saved.
Pros:
Easy to use. Customer support was great.
Cons:
I Dont have one. No complaints, even when it was a minor issue they fixed it.
I love this company. All merchant fees are expensive, this company is very affordable and easy to us
Comments: This software make my company work so much smoother. We now have one place to go to track all credit card payments, physical and virtual. I love it!!! Thank you
Pros:
My favorite aspect of this software is the dashboard. They make it very visually ascetic, it's easy to find reports and see what's happening. I really like the company too! Very nice people :)
Cons:
The only downfall is the credit card machine is expensive to buy, but they allow a rental option.
Thank you to Fattmerchant and the entire team!
Comments: The customer support is second to none.
Pros:
Fattmerchant was a lifesaver in getting our business set up. We talked to many companies in this process who exhausted us by their lack of customer service skills or willingness to help effectively . Thank goodness one company made this process so smooth!
Cons:
None so far! We just started running this company in Jan 2019 and have run into zero issues this far.